Seminary Lectures (Audio)
| David the Invincible Philosopher | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Michael Papazian | |
| Description: Professor of Philosophy at Berry College, Georgia, Prof. Papazian introduces the somewhat mysterious figure known as David the Invincible (Davit Anhaght). David was a neo-Platonist, who was associated with the philosophy academy of Alexandria, Egypt. Papazian also reviews some of David's writings and contributions to the understanding of philosophy in Armenia. | |
| The Dawn of Armenian Philosophy | Download:
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| Speaker: Dr. Abraham Terian | |
| Description: Dr. Abraham Terian introduces the Armenian moral sermons known as Hajakhabadum Jark (literally, "Often-Repeated Discourses," attributed to St. Gregory the Illuminator. These sermons share many features with pre-Christian Greek moral treatises, and | |
| Our Strength and Our Song: Armenian Sacred Music Yesterday and Today | Download:
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| Speaker: V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan | |
| Description: V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Dean of St. Nersess and Professor of Liturgical Studies, discusses some of the distinctive features of Armenian sacred music inaugurating the Seminary's 2006-2007 lecture series on the theme of Armenian Sacred Music. | |
| Armenian Hymns of the Cross: Setting, Significance and Sound | Download:
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| Speaker: V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan | |
| Description: Fr. Findikyan analyzes the sharagans (hymns) associated with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, revealing that some of them are extremely ancient and derive from the celebrations surrounding the dedication of the holy churches built on Mount Golgotha in Jerusalem by Emperor Constantine in the year 335AD. | |
| The Liturgical Year of the Armenian Church: Feasts, Fasts and Foundations of Faith | Download:
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| Speaker: V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan | |
| Description: In a lecture originally delivered on June 18, 2008 at the ecumenical conference, Orientale Lumen XII East, Fr. Findikyan presents a broad survey of the Armenian Church year. He emphasizes the unique theological vision that is expressed in the structure, arrangement, historical development and meaning of the feasts, making comparisons with the liturgical year in the Latin, Byzantine, Coptic and other rites. [41min, 38MB] | |
| St. Ephrem the Syrian and the Singing Ministry of Women in the Church | Download:
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| Speaker: Bishop Mor Polycarpus Aydin | |
| Description: Mor Polycarpus is an American-educated monk and bishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church of the Netherlands. The bishop speaks about the women's choirs that St. Ephrem the Syrian founded, and for which he composed hymns. He illustrates his talk by singing several hymns of St. Ephrem in the original Syriac. (15min, 7MB) | |
| St. Ephrem and Modern Monastic LIfe: The View from New Skete | Download:
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| Speaker: Brother Christopher | |
| Description: A monk and scholar from the Orthodox monastery of New Skete in upstate New York describes his mixed monastic community--which includes monks, nuns and married couples--and how it is influenced by St. Ephrem's monastic vision. (27min, 5MB) | |
| The Colors of a Saint: How Our Traditions Depict St. Ephrem the Syrian in Iconography | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Richard Schneider | |
| Description: Dr. Richard Schneider, Professor Emeritus of Trinity College (Toronto, Ontario) and Professor of Liturgical Art at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, NY) gives a lesson in the theological meaning of icons before setting out to interpret some icons from various traditions depicting St. Ephrem the Syrian. [50min, 9MB]. | |
| St. Ephrem the Syrian and his Influence | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Christine Altinis-Kiraz | |
| Description: Prof. Altinis-Kiraz presents an overview of St. Ephrem and his influence on all of Christianity. Within decades of his death at the end of the 4th century, Ephrem's works had already been translated into every Christian language of the time, and achievement matched by few if any other Christian writers. (21min. 10MB) | |
| Soorp Yeprem Asori: Ephrem in Armenian Dress | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Edward G. Mathews, Jr. | |
| Description: One of the world's authorities on St. Ephrem the Syrian reviews the numerous writings of the Saint that have been preserved in Armenian translations of the so-called "Golden Age" of Sts. Sahak and Mesrob. His presentation, highlights the overwhelming influence that the saint's writings, thought and theological vision had on the theology of the Armenian Church. At the end of his presentation, St. Nersess alumnus Rev. Fr. Stepan Baljian sings the Armenian sharagan (hymn) dedicated to St. Ephrem, Vor hamanman medzeen Yeghiayee. [38 min, 18MB]. | |
| Victory Over Temptation, Victory Over Death: St. Ephrem on Christ's Descent into Sheol | Download:
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| Speaker: Thomas Buchan III | |
| Description: Dr. Thomas Buchan III of Gorgias Press and Drew University discusses St. Ephrem the Syrian's many references to Christ's descent into hell following his crucifixion. Reading numerous passages from the saint's writings, Prof. Buchan shows how St. Ephrem regularly compared two pillar events in Christ's life: his retreat into the wilderness after his baptism, where he refuted Satan's temptations; and his descent into hell after his crucifixion, where he scored victory over death. [45min, 22MB] | |
| The Phenomenon of the Armeno-Turkish Literature in the 19th century Ottoman Empire | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Bedross Der Matossian | |
| Description: From the early 18th century until around 1950, more than 2000 books were printed in the Turkish language using the letters of the Armenian alphabet. Prof. Der Matossian surveys this literature and argues that the phenomenon of "Armeno-Turkish" is not a sign of the deterioration of Armenian ethnic identity, but of its extraordinary endurance and resilience. | |
| The Role of Women in the Armenian Canons | Download:
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| Speaker: Rev. Fr. Hovnan Demerjian | |
| Description: Fr. Demerjian, speaking in 2005 before his ordination, surveys the New Testament, and the Armenian Book of Canons to discern the role of women in the Armenian Church, increasingly discussed and debated not only in the diaspora, but increasingly in Armenia itself. | |
| The History of Women Deacons in the Armenian Church | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Roberta Ervine | |
| Description: Dr. Ervine, Professor of Armenian Studies at St. Nersess, traces the long and intriguing history and roles of ordained women deacons within the life of the Armenian Church. | |
| The Sacrifice of the Divine Liturgy | Download:
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| Speaker: Abp. Tiran Nersoyan (✝1989) | |
| Description: In this lecture, the founder of St. Nersess Seminary gives informative and engaging insights into the theology of the Armenian Badarak, emphasizing holy Communion and its significance today. The lecture was delivered in the early 1980's at a Spiritual Renewal conference at St. Leon Armenian Church, Fair Lawn, NJ. | |
| Why Have an Armenian Alphabet? | Download:
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| Speaker: Prof. Michael Stone | |
| Description: Professor of Armenian Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Dr. Stone explores what actually was involved in the creation of the Armenian alphabet by St. Mesrob Mashdots, concluding, "It takes a genius to do what Mesrob Mashdots did." | |
