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Warsaw hosts the exhibition “Treasure of Polish Armenians”

by Dignity News
“The Armenian minority concentrated in Kamieniec Podolski and Lwów (today’s Kamianets Podilsky and Lviv) received confirmation of their autonomy as early as 1356. More than six centuries of Armenian activity brought an enormous contribution of this community to Polish culture,” said Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage Jarosław Sellin during the opening of the exhibition “Treasury of Polish Armenians”, which will be open to the public from 9 December at the premises of the Polish Armenian Culture and Heritage Foundation in Warsaw.

Based on the collections of the Armenians of Lviv, this first permanent exhibition in Poland, dedicated to the culture and history of Polish Armenians, was held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

The exhibition presents the most important events and historical persons illustrated by exhibits, and the Armenian rite. The items include unique manuscripts, old prints, a collection of portraits of Armenian Benedictine abbesses from Lviv, antique vestments and liturgical vessels. Visitors can also learn about the history of Polish Armenians and their everyday life.

Deputy Minister Jarosław Sellin noted that the history of the Armenians’ presence in Poland dates to the 1440s, when Armenian colonies appeared in Poland’s borders as a result of Casimir the Great’s military expeditions to Ruthenia.

In 1367, the King of Poland granted a privilege to Bishop Gregory, thus founding the Armenian Church in Poland and at the same time ensuring it all privileges. „From that moment, the presence of Armenians in the Polish Commonwealth was recorded; in 2017 we celebrated the jubilee of 650 years of official Armenian history in Poland”, recalled Jarosław Sellin.

The deputy head of the Ministry of Culture emphasised that more than six centuries of Armenian activity in Poland enriched Polish culture, as “thanks to Armenian craftsmen and merchants, it acquired oriental features”.

Adrian Andrzejewski

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