Press Release Concerning the First Official Visit of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, to Armenia November 5-10, 2011

On November 5-10, 2011, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, made her first official visit to Armenia. The purpose of the visit, which was by invitation of the Regional Armenian National Cultural Autonomy of St. Petersburg, was spiritual-cultural and informational.

Through her Most August Mother, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna (1914-2010), the Head of the Russian Imperial House descends from the Royal House of Bagration, one branch of which (the Bagratuni Dynasty) ruled Armenia between 885 and 1045. The House of Bagration shared blood ties with the Armenian royal and noble families, and at present is the Royal Dynasty of Georgia and is headed by H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna’s cousin, H.R.H. Prince David Georgievich Bagration of Moukhrani. According to historical legend, all the tsars and emperors of the House of Romanoff, beginning with Tsar Mikhail I Fedorovich, who was summoned to the throne by the entire Russian people by the Great Assembly of the Land of 1613, are connected by kinship ties with the Armenian people through the tsar’s grandmother, Vavara Ivanovna Khovrina, who had Armenian ancestors.

The visit of the Head of the House of Romanoff to Armenia, to the land that was once the home of the Kingdom of Urartu—the oldest organized state that had been a part of the Russian Empire and USSR—took place during the 20-th anniversary of the first visit of her most august parents—H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich (1917-1992) and H.I.H. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna (1914-2010)—to their common homeland since the 1917 revolution.

On November 5, 2011, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, arrived in Erevan from Madrid. At the airport, Her Imperial Highness was met by A. E. Arshakjan, the Head of the Department for Relations with the Countries of the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] of the Ministry of the Diaspora. Also there was E. A. Kocharjan, the representative in Armenia of the airline “Russia”; K. R. Mkrtchjan, the representative of the Council of the Regional Armenian National Cultural Autonomy of St. Petersburg; members of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, who had arrived in Armenia earlier; and prominent representatives of society, who accompanied the Grand Duchess during the length of her stay in Armenia.

On November 6, the Grand Duchess toured the sites of Erevan and visited the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide in Erevan. Then Her Imperial Highness went to Lake Sevan, to the Sevan Seminary named in honor of Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Vazgen I (1908-1994), where she familiarized herself with the curriculum and observed classes, including Russian language courses. Then the Grand Duchess visited the ancient monasteries Surb Khach (Holy Cross) and Haghartsin, and also the city of Dilijan. At the Haghartsin monastery, which enjoys the special patronage of the House of Bagration, Her Imperial Highness venerated the tombs of the kings of this dynasty, Kings Smbat and Gagik.

On November 7, Her Imperial Highness toured the treasures of Armenian literary culture at the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, better known as the Matenadaran. The Head of the House of Romanoff also examined edicts and other writings by her royal ancestors—the emperors of Russia, who had sent these edicts to the Supreme Patriarchs and Catholicoi of All Armenia. Then the Grand Duchess went to Geghard Monastery, which is carved into the rock face of a mountain, and prayed in the cell of St. Gregory the Enlightener of Armenia. On the same day, the Grand Duchess visited the monument to the pre-Christian Armenian temple in Garni, which was once the residence of Armenian kings in the first century. After her return to Erevan, in the evening, Her Imperial Highness toured the House Museum of Sergei I. Paradjanov, then attended a dinner given in her honor by the director of the Museum, Z. Sargsjan and other representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia.

On November 8, the main event on this official trip to Armenia took place: a visit to the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the holy city of Vagharshapat, or Echmiadzin. In the morning, the Head of the House of Romanoff arrived in Echmiadzin, where she was met by Bishop Ezras Vartkes Artsruni, the Head of the Novonakhichevan and the Russian Eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Her Imperial Highness, accompanied by His Grace, went to the Cathedral in Echmiadzin and paid their respects to Supreme Patriarchs and Catholicoi who are buried near the entrance of the cathedral. There followed a historic meeting between the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, and His Holiness, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenia, Karekin II. His Holiness welcomed Her Imperial Highness to Armenia and spoke of the dialogue and cooperation between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. The Grand Duchess shared with His Holiness, the Catholicos, her impressions of her visit in Armenia, of its holy places, and of the Armenian people. Reviving a historical tradition, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, following the example of her royal ancestors, the emperors of Russia, bestowed upon His Holiness, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenia, Karekin II, the Imperial Order of St. Anna, First Class, “noting his enormous contribution in the rebirth of Christian spiritual and moral values and traditions, the long fruitful labors directed at strengthening the fraternal and historical ties between Russia and Armenia.” The Grand Duchess herself presented to His Holiness the cross, sash, and star of the Order. In his speech afterward, His Holiness thanked Her Imperial Highness for this sign of her affection and respect from the Russian Imperial House and expressed his certitude that both her Imperial ancestors and his predecessors on the Apostolic Throne were rejoicing in Heaven at the reestablishment of this deep symbolic connection between the All-Russian Imperial House and the First Hierarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. At the conclusion of the meeting, Catholicos Karekin II gave Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna a Holy Cross, a richly illustrated book on the saints of Armenia, and a commemorative medal, and Her Imperial Highness gave His Holiness several books about the history and current life and activities of the House of Romanoff, including a picture book entitled By the Grace of God and a collection of documents entitled In the Cellar of the Ipat’ev House, which treats the process leading to the rehabilitation of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in 2008.

After her meeting with the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenia, Karekin II, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, accompanied by Bishop Nathan, the Chair of the Publishing Division of the First See of Echmiadzin, toured some exhibits from the Treasury at the residence of the Catholicos, including a set of golden letters of the Armenian alphabet and an Armenian gold cross. She then visited the Gevorkjan Theological Seminar in Echmiadzin, where, in the presence of its rector, Bishop Gevork, professors, and students, a new Section [Kabinet] for the Study of Russian was dedicated. The new Section was made possible with a gift from the chairman of the Council of Regional Armenian National Cultural Autonomy of St. Petersburg, K. R. Mkrtchjan. The seminarians gave a short concert in honor of Her Imperial Highness, performing spiritual hymns and folk songs in the ancient Armenian, modern Armenian, and Church-Slavonic languages, including the liturgical hymn for kings “O Lord, Save the Righteous and Harken unto me,” and “Holy God.” Then the Grand Duchess and Bishop Nathan went back to the Echmiadzin cathedral where the Grand Duchess venerated the Holy Spear, a fragment of Noah’s Ark (which had once been given by Catholicos Simeon to Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna’s ancestress, Empress Catherine II the Great), the cross that once belonged to one of the greatest of Armenian kings, Ashot II “the Iron” (914-928), and other holy objects.

From Echmiadzin, the Head of the Russian Imperial House went to the Embassy of the Russian Federation where a meeting took place between Her Imperial Highness and Ambassador Viacheslav Evgen’evich Kovalenko. Viacheslav Evgen’evich discussed the growing level of cultural cooperation between Russia and Armenia, and the construction of historical and cultural monuments that help to perpetuate the memory of those who fell defending the common Fatherland, Russia and Armenia, during the wars of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Also discussed was the question of the building of a chapel in the city of Gyumri (formerly known as Alexandropol).

In the evening, the Grand Duchess attended services at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Kanaker, near Erevan. The rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Arsenii Grigorjan, sang the hymn “Many Years” to “the most honorable and pious Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna and to Her Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich.” In the cathedral and at the parish meal after the services [trapeza], the Grand Duchess enjoyed the opportunity to meet and talk with members of the parish.

On November 9, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna gave an exclusive interview to Channel 1 of Armenian television and to journalists from several magazines. Then Her Imperial Highness visited the Museum of the History of Erevan. After this, the Grand Duchess attended a luncheon given in her honor by the Union of Armenian Nobility, before which the chairman of the Union, Dr. G. Pirumjan, presented the Grand Duchess with the device of the Armenian Medal-Order “Honor and Glory,” first class, “in recognition of, and with respect for, the dynasty of which you are Head, with gratitude, noting the great protection of the House of Romanoff over Eastern Armenia and its people and the valuable services offered in the rebirth of historical traditions.” In the afternoon, a press conference was held during which Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna answered many questions from the reporters on her visit. That evening, there was a final dinner at which were present Bishop Nathan, other officials, representatives of the armed forces of Armenia, leading figures in Armenian science, culture, art, and education, members of the Union of Armenian Nobility, and representatives of other civic and cultural organizations. A wonderful orchestra and chorus performed ancient and modern Armenian songs. V. V. Krivopuskov of the Russian Embassy and the director of the Russian Cooperative Society [Rossotrudnichestva] presented the Grand Duchess the V. Ia. Briusov Medal “for her contributions to the development of Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Relations.” Those present at the dinner warmly bid farewell to the Grand Duchess and presented her with gifts in the form of books and other souvenirs. Her Imperial Highness thanked all the organizers and participants in the events of her visit to Armenia from the bottom of her heart, and expressed her hope that the friendship and cooperation she witnessed on this trip would be only the beginning of the warm unity among all the peoples of the single cultural world that once was the Russian Empire.

On November 10, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, departed Erevan for Madrid.

A.N. Zakatov
Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery