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PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
California State University, Fresno
Contact: Barlow Der Mugrdechian, 559-278-4930
ASP Office: 559-278-2669
Fax: 559-278-2129
Email: [email protected]
Visit the Armenian Studies Program Web Page at
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/
Dr. Ronald Marchese to Speak at Fresno State on `Treasures of Faith:
Sacred Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople'
Dr. Ronald Marchese will discuss his recent research in
Constantinople/Istanbul with a talk on `Treasures of Faith: Sacred
Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople and What They
Tell Us About Armenian Society and Culture ' at 7:30 PM on Monday,
January 28, 2013. This Leon S. Peters Foundation Lecture will be held
in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191,
on the Fresno State campus and is part of the Armenian Studies Program
Spring 2013 Lecture Series. The lecture is funded in part by the
Associated Students, Inc. at Fresno State.
Dr. Marchese is professor of ancient history and archaeology at the
University of Minnesota, Duluth and has spent the last several years
documenting the rich cultural history of the Armenians in
Constantinople, by studying the works of arts that the Armenians
produced. He will accompany his talk with slides of some of the
artwork that he has catalogued.
Over the course of hundreds of years Armenian society and culture
developed in Constantinople after the founding of the Armenian
Patriarchate in the city in 1461. Although a traditional date, it is
clearly evident that a substantial number of Armenians from eastern
Anatolia had established themselves in the city long before this
date. Most went unnoticed in the pages of history due to the fact that
they were absorbed within Byzantine material and political
culture. Simply stated they became `Byzantine' in nature. After the
mid-fifteenth century and especially after the establishment of their
own patriarchate and `patrik' this `invisibility' disappears.
Encouraged to immigrate `to the city' (to istan-polis) the Armenian
population increased substantially as witnessed by the steady growth
of neighborhoods and churches to match the population increase. By the
mid-18th city to the mid nineteenth century-1750-1850-approximately
half of all Armenian churches in the city were founded. Some were in
close proximity to others in densely concentrated areas near the
Patriarchate, especially in Kumkapi, Yenikapi, Samataya, and Beyoglu.
Associated with this increase in population was the rise of an
Armenian `aristocracy' -the amira class. Many of these individuals
financed church construction and are well-known in both Ottoman and
Patriarchal records. The issue here is not who these people were, a
powerful group of wealthy entrepreneurs, merchants and bankers, who
gave clout to their group, but rather those who worked hard,
accumulated modest amounts of wealth and were faithful church goers
who participated in the affairs of their congregation and
neighborhood-the emerging `petty bourgeois.' Who were they and what
they did has barely been recorded. It was their contributions to their
respective churches that is brought to light in his current research
and is illustrated in this presentation.
Dr. Marchese received his PhD from New York University and has a
distinguished career in archaeology, having conducted research at the
Plataiai Archaeological Excavation in Greece and at Tel Dor in
Israel. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in the
field. He is an alumnus of California State University, Fresno.
He is the author, together with Marlene Breu, of Splendor and
Spectacle: The Armenian Orthodox Church Textile Collections of
Istanbul (Ã=87itlembik Ltd., Istanbul, 2010). He has authored several
other books on art and weaving.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Parking: Parking rules have changed for the university. Parking is
available in Lots A or J on campus, only if a free parking pass is
obtained by using parking code 273305 in any of the campus kiosks.
For more information on the lecture please contact the Armenian
Studies Program at 278-2669.
Armenian Studies Program
California State University, Fresno
Contact: Barlow Der Mugrdechian, 559-278-4930
ASP Office: 559-278-2669
Fax: 559-278-2129
Email: [email protected]
Visit the Armenian Studies Program Web Page at
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/
Dr. Ronald Marchese to Speak at Fresno State on `Treasures of Faith:
Sacred Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople'
Dr. Ronald Marchese will discuss his recent research in
Constantinople/Istanbul with a talk on `Treasures of Faith: Sacred
Objects from the Armenian Churches of Constantinople and What They
Tell Us About Armenian Society and Culture ' at 7:30 PM on Monday,
January 28, 2013. This Leon S. Peters Foundation Lecture will be held
in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191,
on the Fresno State campus and is part of the Armenian Studies Program
Spring 2013 Lecture Series. The lecture is funded in part by the
Associated Students, Inc. at Fresno State.
Dr. Marchese is professor of ancient history and archaeology at the
University of Minnesota, Duluth and has spent the last several years
documenting the rich cultural history of the Armenians in
Constantinople, by studying the works of arts that the Armenians
produced. He will accompany his talk with slides of some of the
artwork that he has catalogued.
Over the course of hundreds of years Armenian society and culture
developed in Constantinople after the founding of the Armenian
Patriarchate in the city in 1461. Although a traditional date, it is
clearly evident that a substantial number of Armenians from eastern
Anatolia had established themselves in the city long before this
date. Most went unnoticed in the pages of history due to the fact that
they were absorbed within Byzantine material and political
culture. Simply stated they became `Byzantine' in nature. After the
mid-fifteenth century and especially after the establishment of their
own patriarchate and `patrik' this `invisibility' disappears.
Encouraged to immigrate `to the city' (to istan-polis) the Armenian
population increased substantially as witnessed by the steady growth
of neighborhoods and churches to match the population increase. By the
mid-18th city to the mid nineteenth century-1750-1850-approximately
half of all Armenian churches in the city were founded. Some were in
close proximity to others in densely concentrated areas near the
Patriarchate, especially in Kumkapi, Yenikapi, Samataya, and Beyoglu.
Associated with this increase in population was the rise of an
Armenian `aristocracy' -the amira class. Many of these individuals
financed church construction and are well-known in both Ottoman and
Patriarchal records. The issue here is not who these people were, a
powerful group of wealthy entrepreneurs, merchants and bankers, who
gave clout to their group, but rather those who worked hard,
accumulated modest amounts of wealth and were faithful church goers
who participated in the affairs of their congregation and
neighborhood-the emerging `petty bourgeois.' Who were they and what
they did has barely been recorded. It was their contributions to their
respective churches that is brought to light in his current research
and is illustrated in this presentation.
Dr. Marchese received his PhD from New York University and has a
distinguished career in archaeology, having conducted research at the
Plataiai Archaeological Excavation in Greece and at Tel Dor in
Israel. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in the
field. He is an alumnus of California State University, Fresno.
He is the author, together with Marlene Breu, of Splendor and
Spectacle: The Armenian Orthodox Church Textile Collections of
Istanbul (Ã=87itlembik Ltd., Istanbul, 2010). He has authored several
other books on art and weaving.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Parking: Parking rules have changed for the university. Parking is
available in Lots A or J on campus, only if a free parking pass is
obtained by using parking code 273305 in any of the campus kiosks.
For more information on the lecture please contact the Armenian
Studies Program at 278-2669.