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 »  Home  »  History  »  Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian in Dubrovnik Celebrating the Day of St. Vlaho
 »  Home  »  Events  »  Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian in Dubrovnik Celebrating the Day of St. Vlaho
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 »  Home  »  Religion  »  Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian in Dubrovnik Celebrating the Day of St. Vlaho
Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian in Dubrovnik Celebrating the Day of St. Vlaho
By Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic | Published  02/3/2010 | History , Events , Culture And Arts , Religion | Unrated
The first history of Armenians in the West was written by a Croatian
Celebrating 1038th Day of St. Vlaho in the City of Dubrovnik


Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian addressing to the citizens of Dubrovnik. Left to him is Želimir Puljić, bishop of Dubrovnik.


Armenian bishop Nareg Alemezian bearing golden hand with reliquiae of St. Vlaho, patron saint of the City of Dubrovnik. The patron was born in Armenia:  St. Blais or St. Blasius, Armenian martyr from 3rd/4th centuries. Behind the bishop is Dr. Vinicije Lupis, historian.


The day of St. Vlaho, patron of the City of Dubrovnik, is a major event of the year. The day falls on February 3rd.

 
The festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik, UNESCO
Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The evening before the festivity of Saint Blaise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as all the church bells in the city ring and white doves are released as symbols of peace, worshippers gather for a ritual healing of the throat to preserve them against illness. On the third of February, the official day of both saint and city, parish banner bearers flow into the city in folk costume for the centrepiece of the festival, a procession attended by bishops, ambassadors, civic leaders, visiting notables and the people of Dubrovnik.

The festivity embodies many aspects of human creativity, from rituals to folk songs, from performance to traditional crafts (including the making of the historical weapons fired in celebration). The ritual dates back in some form to at least 1190 and has reinforced a close identification of Dubrovnik’s residents with the city's patron, Saint Blaise. Over time, the festivity has evolved as Dubrovnik and the world have changed. Each generation adapts it slightly, inspired by its own ideas and needs to make the ritual its own. On Saint Blaise's day, Dubrovnik gathers not only its residents, but all those who pay respect to tradition and the right to one's freedom and peace.


The festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik, in 2009. 



 
On Armenian and Croatian Contacts

Vinicije B. Lupis

Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar - Regional Centre Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, as an important trade centre between the East and West, was the meeting place of different peoples and cultures. Among the many foreigners in Dubrovnik there were also the Armenians. A special bond between Dubrovnik and Armenia is also the cult of the city's patron saint St. Blaise from Armenian Sebaste, in addition to the older city patron saints of St. Zenobius and Zenobia, who are originally from Lesser Armenia, as is the cult of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. Of the Dubrovnik Armenians, who  were mostly traders, the most renowned in history is Giuro Baglivi Armeno.

The archbishop Rajmund Jelić from Dubrovnik was a religious leader of the Catholic Armenians in Asia Minor at the beginning of the 18th century and exchanged letters with the priest Mkhitar, the founder of the Armenian Catholic Mkhitarist 216 order.

The most important connection between the Armenians and Croats is the Jesuit Josip Marinović from Perast; he wrote the first history of Armenians in the West, thus laying the  foundations of contemporary research of Armenian history in Europe.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries the citizens of Dubrovnik maintained their contacts with the Armenians resulting in the archbishop of Sebaste's visit to Dubrovnik in 1902. The interest of Dubrovnik's citizens in the place of birth of their patron saint has continued to the present day, which is proof of a permanent spiritual bond connecting the Croatian and Armenian peoples.

Source HRČAK
Bibliography of Dr. Vinicije Lupis


 
Josip Marinović, Croatian Jesuit, wrote the first history of Armenians published in the West

Josip Marinovic (1741 - 1801), was a Jesuit born in Perast - Kotor (in Boka kotorska, annexed to Montenegro in 1945), professor of theology in Venice. His friendship with an Armenian banker Serpos resulted in his interest for the history of Armenians. His assiduous research resulted in the book "Compendio storico...della nazione armena", published in Venice in 1783. The book had a great success. Though it was signed by Serpos, its true author was Marinovic. It represents the first history of Armenians published in Europe. It is interesting that the book had been extended and republished by Ivan Dominik Stratico (1732-1799), bishop on the Croatian island of Hvar. This book incited European interest for Armenian people and their culture. In particular, upon the initiative of the Vatican, supported by Austria and Russia, in 1830 the Turkish sultan admitted very old Armenian Christian Church and allowed Armenian Archbishopric to be founded in Constantinople.

Source www.croatianhistory.net



Independent Templar Order in Croatia - SCT Bernard,  Neovisni Templarski Red Hrvatske


Prior Templarskog Viteškog Reda - Prior of the Templar Knights Order, with beautiful inscription in Croatian Glagolitic Script, running vertically along his dress.

 
Armenski biskup na otvorenju 1038. feste sv. Vlaha

Tradicionalna 1038. festa sv. Vlaha otvorena je u utorak 2. veljače ispred crkve Sv. Vlaha prvi put kao svjetski priznata nematerijalna baština čovječanstva, a s platoa ispred crkve jezikom sv. Vlaha okupljene je pozdravio armenski biskup Nareg Alemezian, izaslanik katolikosa Arama I. iz Cilicije.

O duhovnoj vezi koja je stoljećima spajala hrvatski i armenski narod u pozdravnom govoru dubrovački biskup Želimir Puljić rekao je:
"Armenski sveci ugrađeni su u duhovne temelje Grada preko sv. Zenobija iz Cilicije, sv. Vlaha i četrdeset drugih mučenika iz Sebaste. Upravo zbog povijesnih i duhovnih korijena pozvali smo ove godine predstavnika armenske mučeničke crkve Arama I. na svečanost sv. Vlaha. Nije mogao osobno doći, ali je poslao svoga izaslanika biskupa Narega Alemeziana. Od srca ga pozdravljamo. Armenska Crkva vodi s Katoličkom aktivni i plodni dijalog. Posebice to čini Katolikat Cilicije koju ovdje predstavlja njegova ekselencija Alemezian. Kad je 10. svibnja 1967. tadašnji poglavar Koren I. posjetio Papu, Pavao VI. je rekao: 'Nastojmo svim silama preskočiti zapreke i ukloniti razlike kako bi naša celebracija postala jednom koncelebracija'. Biskup Alemezian neće moći sutra s nama koncelebrirati, jer još nije postignuto puno jedinstvo. No, ako se nastave plodni susreti i razgovori, nije isključeno da to u skoroj budućnosti i doživimo, kako se nedavno i molilo u Tjednu za jedinstvo kršćana".
Pozdravljajući okupljene biskupe, predstavnike vlasti i javnog života, biskup Puljić skrenuo im je pozornost na važnost brige o okolišu u svjetlu međunarodne godine bioraznolikosti i Papine poruke za 43. svjetski dan mira: "Ako želiš njegovati mir, čuvaj stvoreno".

"Ekološko pitanje, naime, kao i čuvanja stvorenoga bitno je za mirni suživot čovječanstva", kazao je biskup i dodao: "Zbog toga je nužno obnoviti i jačati savez čovjeka i okoliša s djelom Kristova otkupljenja koji je smrću i uskrsnućem izmirio 'sa sobom sve, bilo na zemlji, bilo na nebesima'. Budući da se baština stvorenoga, nažalost, uništava zbog kratkovidnih ekonomskih interesa, svi smo odgovorni i pozvani štititi zemlju, vodu i zrak pred opasnim samouništenjem. Neka nam sv. Vlaho, liječnik i biskup, pomogne razvijati tu zanemarenu osjetljivost za brata čovjeka, prirodu, okoliš i Boga Stvoritelja".

Poruku katolikosa Arama I. na otvorenju feste pročitao je pastoralni vikar Dubrovačke biskupije dr. don Petar Palić. Aram I. istaknuo je da je sveti Vlaho, na armenskom Sourp Vlas, jedan od popularnijih i čašćenih svetaca u kršćanstvu. Mnoga mu se čudesa pripisuju. Bio je predani navjestitelj i snažni branitelj kršćanske vjere.

"Doista, za sv. Vlaha kršćanska vjera bila je kvaliteta života isprepletena vrijednostima Evanđelja i izvor njegova služenja siromasima, nevoljnima, potlačenima i bolesnima", istaknuo je Aram I. U pismu je podsjetio da je podrijetlo sv. Vlaha povezano s armenskom Cilicijom i armenskom Crkvom "i to je vjerojatno zbog dubokih kontakata koji su bili između ovih naših Crkava i naših naroda".

"Zapravo, bez obzira na našu različitost i zemljopisnu udaljenost, sveci nas zbližavaju u duhovnu zajednicu. Stoga nas slavljenje svetaca potiče produbiti naše zajedništvo u vjeri i poslušnosti našem zajedničkom Gospodinu Isusu Kristu", poručio je katolikos Aram I.

Barjak sv. Vlaha na Orlandov stup uz zvuke himna "Čuj, sveti Vlaho naš" podigli su ovogodišnji festanjuli Nikola Kristović i Nikša Margaretić. Tradicionalno puštanje golubica mira svima je izmamilo osmjeh, jer se ove godine bijelim golubicama nije žurilo poletjeti nego su se, prije leta, zadržali na ruci biskupa Puljića. (ika / gk)

3rd February 2010.

Source www.glas-koncila.hr







Fantastic Croatian costumes from the Konvale region near Dubrovnik.

Many thanks to Najka Mirković, Dubrovnik, for her beautiful photos.


TEREZA KESOVIJA, Croatian diva, singing - O, Sveti Vlaho
with the Big Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian TV


Dubrovnik Sveti Vlaho festival 2006


Formated for CROWN by prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić
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