Mens-Sarda
11-18-2014, 04:07 PM
Establishment of the monastery
In 1700, an Armenian Catholic monk Mekhitar of Sebaste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekhitar_of_Sebaste) settled in Constantinople (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople). He moved to Modon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methoni,_Messenia), Peloponnese in 1703, after being forced to move out of the Ottoman capital. In Modon, he established a new order which was approved by Pope Clement XI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_XI). In April 1715, a group of twelve Armenian Catholic monks led by Mekhitar of Sebaste arrived in Venice from Morea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea) (Peloponnese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnese)), following its invasion by the Ottoman Empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Venetian_War_(1714%E2%80%9318)). The Venetian Admiral Mocenigo and Governor of Morea, Angelo Emo "sympathizing deeply with the fearful distress of the unfortunate community, yielded to their earnest entreaties for permission to embark on a government vessels which was about to leave for Venice." On September 8, 1717, the Venetian Senate ceded the Island of St. Lazarus to the Mekhitarist community. "The Law did not at that time permit the establishments of any new Communities with the limits of the city."
"The Armenian Monks at once hastened to occupy the ruins on the Island... and the Abbot ordered the most necessary repairs to be at once made on the crumbling and dilapidated buildings which still remained." The construction of the monastery was completed by 1740. Mekhitar of Sebaste died nine years later, in 1749.
19th century
Steven Mekon of Constantinople succeeded Mekhitar and remained as abbot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbot) until 1800. Aconce Kower, a Transylvania Armenian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenians_in_Romania), replaced him in a time of hardship. The Venetian Republic was disestablished by Napoleon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon), however, the Mechitarist congregation was "left in peace", allegedly because of the "presence of an indispensable Armenian official in Naopleon's secretariat."
Library
"In the island there is a Picture-gallery with XVIIth and XVIIIth century Venetian and Armenian schools works. S. Lazzaro houses a 150,000-volume library, as well as a museum with over 4,000 Armenian manuscripts and many Arab, Indian and Egyptian artifacts, collected by the monks or received as gifts."
In literature
Prominent Armenian poet Hovhannes Shiraz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovhannes_Shiraz) wrote a poem about the island highlighting its significance:
Օտար ջրերում հայացեալ Կղզի
Հայոց հին լույսն է քեզնով նորանում...
Գիտեմ տքնում ես, այս է դարեց-դար,
Հայրենիքից դուրս՝ հայրենեաց համար:
An Armenian island in the foreign waters,
You rekindle the old light of Armenia...
I know you are tired, it has been many centuries,
Outside the homeland, for the sake of the homeland.
Notable visitors
Lord Byron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron), English poet (1816)
Ivan Aivazovsky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Aivazovsky), Russian-Armenian painter (1840)
Komitas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komitas), Armenian musicologist (1907)
Robert Kocharyan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kocharyan), 2nd President of Armenia (2005)
Serzh Sargsyan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serzh_Sargsyan), 3rd President of Armenia (2011)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni
http://www.chipsmachine.com/sugardatabase/image/data/Gite2014/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/IsolaSanLazzaro2008.JPG/1024px-IsolaSanLazzaro2008.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/St-lazare-entree.jpg/640px-St-lazare-entree.jpg
http://www.bru-italia.eu/media/news/195.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni_Abate_Mechitar.JPG/640px-San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni_Abate_Mechitar.JPG
http://www.candc.it/site/sites/default/files/imagecache/project_gallery/project/02.jpg
In 1700, an Armenian Catholic monk Mekhitar of Sebaste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekhitar_of_Sebaste) settled in Constantinople (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople). He moved to Modon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methoni,_Messenia), Peloponnese in 1703, after being forced to move out of the Ottoman capital. In Modon, he established a new order which was approved by Pope Clement XI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_XI). In April 1715, a group of twelve Armenian Catholic monks led by Mekhitar of Sebaste arrived in Venice from Morea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea) (Peloponnese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnese)), following its invasion by the Ottoman Empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Venetian_War_(1714%E2%80%9318)). The Venetian Admiral Mocenigo and Governor of Morea, Angelo Emo "sympathizing deeply with the fearful distress of the unfortunate community, yielded to their earnest entreaties for permission to embark on a government vessels which was about to leave for Venice." On September 8, 1717, the Venetian Senate ceded the Island of St. Lazarus to the Mekhitarist community. "The Law did not at that time permit the establishments of any new Communities with the limits of the city."
"The Armenian Monks at once hastened to occupy the ruins on the Island... and the Abbot ordered the most necessary repairs to be at once made on the crumbling and dilapidated buildings which still remained." The construction of the monastery was completed by 1740. Mekhitar of Sebaste died nine years later, in 1749.
19th century
Steven Mekon of Constantinople succeeded Mekhitar and remained as abbot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbot) until 1800. Aconce Kower, a Transylvania Armenian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenians_in_Romania), replaced him in a time of hardship. The Venetian Republic was disestablished by Napoleon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon), however, the Mechitarist congregation was "left in peace", allegedly because of the "presence of an indispensable Armenian official in Naopleon's secretariat."
Library
"In the island there is a Picture-gallery with XVIIth and XVIIIth century Venetian and Armenian schools works. S. Lazzaro houses a 150,000-volume library, as well as a museum with over 4,000 Armenian manuscripts and many Arab, Indian and Egyptian artifacts, collected by the monks or received as gifts."
In literature
Prominent Armenian poet Hovhannes Shiraz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovhannes_Shiraz) wrote a poem about the island highlighting its significance:
Օտար ջրերում հայացեալ Կղզի
Հայոց հին լույսն է քեզնով նորանում...
Գիտեմ տքնում ես, այս է դարեց-դար,
Հայրենիքից դուրս՝ հայրենեաց համար:
An Armenian island in the foreign waters,
You rekindle the old light of Armenia...
I know you are tired, it has been many centuries,
Outside the homeland, for the sake of the homeland.
Notable visitors
Lord Byron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron), English poet (1816)
Ivan Aivazovsky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Aivazovsky), Russian-Armenian painter (1840)
Komitas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komitas), Armenian musicologist (1907)
Robert Kocharyan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kocharyan), 2nd President of Armenia (2005)
Serzh Sargsyan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serzh_Sargsyan), 3rd President of Armenia (2011)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni
http://www.chipsmachine.com/sugardatabase/image/data/Gite2014/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/IsolaSanLazzaro2008.JPG/1024px-IsolaSanLazzaro2008.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/St-lazare-entree.jpg/640px-St-lazare-entree.jpg
http://www.bru-italia.eu/media/news/195.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni_Abate_Mechitar.JPG/640px-San_Lazzaro_degli_Armeni_Abate_Mechitar.JPG
http://www.candc.it/site/sites/default/files/imagecache/project_gallery/project/02.jpg