The Feast Of The Holy Translators

On Friday, the 7th of October 2011, at 12:30 PM, the students of the secondary section, the teachers and the members of the administrative staff as well as the guests were gathered in the Armenian Catholic Mesrobian High School’s «Farajian» auditorium to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Translators.

The opening speech was made by the director of the extracurricular activities of the school, Mrs. Garine Tashjian who mentioned that according to the Armenian calendar of feasts, the Feast of the Holy Translators is celebrated « tomorrow, on the 8th of October ». Then, she presented the speaker of the day who was the well-known social worker in the Armenian community in Lebanon and the journalist Mr. Sarkis Najarian « whose 50th jubilee was celebrated solemnly last year and who was able to take up different posts in his career ».

Then, Marine Halladjian, one of the 11th grade students of Mesrobian, recited the poem entitled «The Armenian Language». After that, she invited the speaker of the day to make his speech.

Mr. Sarkis Najarian’s speech was special and modern. He didn’t talk about the inventor of the Armenian alphabet or the alphabet itself and the translators in particular. As he said « I’m not a teacher, I’m rather a journalist and I leave that mission to your teachers ».

He began his speech with a historical glimpse of his private life. He said «In 1969, when the airline from Beirut to Yerevan was newly opened, I was among four other Armenian journalists in Lebanon who were invited to visit Armenia. There, I had a chance of inviting Mardiros Sarian to an interview. This man was known as the patriarch of modern Armenian painting and was already 92 years old at that time. So, I asked the professional painter what message he wanted me to pass on to the young Armenians in Lebanon when I go back there. He said «You go and tell them to stick firmly to their Armenian identity values, mainly the Armenian language». The speaker continued by saying «Today, Sarian’s message is in force more than ever, for the pillar of our existence is not only the language but also the Armenian culture, the traditions, our habits and customs as well as our lifestyle. He also said «The identity is something lived daily». And by talking about more than 10 million Armenians all over the world, he incited the present students to share always in the national life of all the communities in the Diaspora as well as in Armenia’s real life. Then, he talked especially about the events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, particularly the conference organized by the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia with the support of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, in addition to the military parade dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia during which the Government proved that it has really attained great and wonderful achievements during the past 20 years.

The speaker of the day ended his speech by entering into a special dialog with the present students, during which he asked the audience several questions about the achievements attained in different fields in Armenia and he was happy, for the present students were well-informed of all that.

At the end of Mr. Sarkis Najarian’s speech, the school Principal Mr. Gregoire Kaloust gave special thanks to him for this special lecture that he gave in an accessible style. Then, he ended his speech by saying « I’m happy and satisfied with today’s meeting, and I’m especially pleased with you dear students for you have followed carefully this lecture and participated in it ».