Saint Joseph University of Beirut inaugurated the Ara Hrechdakian Chair of Armenian Studies on October 27, 2025, made possible through a generous donation from the Hrechdakian family. The Chair, operating within the university's Bibliothèque Orientale, will focus on research activities while organizing academic conferences, cultural workshops, and exhibitions, as well as offering courses in Armenian Studies. Actress Arsinée Khanjian has been appointed as Chairholder, and Dr. Vahe Tachjian will serve as Executive Director. The Chair plans to create a website devoted to Armenian communities in Lebanon and the Middle East, aiming to preserve family materials and reconstruct the memory of community life while engaging both Armenian and non-Armenian audiences.
On October 27, 2025, the inauguration ceremony of the Ara Hrechdakian Chair of Armenian Studies was held in a warm and dignified atmosphere in the auditorium ofin the auditorium of the Bibliothèque Orientale (Oriental Library) at Saint Joseph University of Beirut. This new academic structure was made possible through a generous donation from the Hrechdakian family. The Chair will operate within the Bibliothèque Orientale, focusing primarily on research activities, while also organizing conferences and workshops, both academic and cultural, as well as exhibitions of various kinds. It will further offer courses in Armenian Studies.
The welcoming address was delivered by Dr. Joseph Rustom, Director of the Bibliothèque Orientale (Oriental Library) and master of ceremonies for the event. He reminded the audience that as early as 1933, an Armenian Studies Chair had existed at the same university, founded by the Jesuit priest Father Jean Mécérian. It was during Mécérian’s tenure that the Bibliothèque Orientale began building its rich collection of Armenian and Armenological books, which is preserved to this day. Rustom also noted that in recent years, the Library has acquired the photographic collection of Varoujan Sétian and the caricature archive of Diran Ajemian.
Following Rustom’s remarks, the musical ensemble Hekyat performed. The group’s members — Nareg Kechichian (cajón), Sevada Andonian (guitar), and Carmen Balian (vocals) — presented a selection of Armenian songs.
Next, the Rector of Saint Joseph University, Father Salim Daccache, addressed the audience. He expressed his gratitude to Peter Hrechdakian, representative of the Hrechdakian family, for making the establishment of the Chair possible. He also noted that in recent years there had been several unsuccessful attempts to reopen such a Chair in Armenian Studies at Saint Joseph University, and expressed his appreciation to the Armenian Jesuit clergy for their significant contributions to Armenological research.
Peter Hrechdakian was then invited to the stage. Speaking on behalf of his family, he shared heartfelt words and biographical details about his late father, Ara Hrechdakian, after whom the new Chair is named. He extended special thanks to Father François Boëdec, who will assume the position of Rector of Saint Joseph University in January 2026.
Next, actress Arsinée Khanjian, who has been appointed Titulaire de la Chaire (Chairholder), addressed the gathering. She recalled her childhood and youth in Lebanon, when she had dreamed of studying at Saint Joseph University. Khanjian expressed her gratitude to the university and to Lebanon for the opportunity to dedicate the Ara Hrechdakian Chair of Armenian Studies to the Armenian people — as a new space for enlightenment, remembrance, and innovation.
The final speaker was Dr. Vahe Tachjian, Executive Director of the Ara Hrechdakian Chair of Armenian Studies. He described the establishment of the new Chair within the Bibliothèque Orientale as a fortunate and timely development, noting that it not only provides access to the library’s rich collection of Armenian books but also creates an opportunity to enrich it with new publications. In collaboration with the library, it will also be possible to build an archive dedicated to materials of Armenian memory—including old photographs, films, documents, and handwritten memoirs. Dr. Tachjian went on to reflect on his fifteen years of experience as Director of the Houshamadyan website, emphasizing that Armenians from across the world have shared digital copies of their family materials with the Berlin-based project. Within the framework of Saint Joseph University’s Bibliothèque Orientale, such family materials can now be physically collected, documented and preserved.
Dr. Tachjian then outlined a specific project that could become one of the Chair’s first major initiatives: the creation of a website devoted to the Armenian communities of Lebanon and, more broadly, of the Middle East. The aim of this project would be to reconstruct the memory of community and family life. He concluded by expressing the hope that the new Chair would not only serve as a meeting place for specialists, but also inspire the interest of young people from across disciplines. At the same time, Dr. Tachjian emphasized that the Chair should engage non-Armenians as well – those who, through Armenian culture and history, might discover not only Armenian heritage, but also that of Lebanon and, more broadly, the universal human experience.
You can watch the full recording of the Ara Hrechdakian Chair of Armenian Studies inauguration ceremony at the following link
You can also follow the Chair on Instagram
(From press release)
