Archbishop Barkev Martirosyan on the People of Artsakh and Armenia Fund’s Impact on their Daily Lives
HOLLYWOOD–In an exclusive Horizon TV interview, Archbishop Barkev Martirosyan, the Prelate of the Diocese of Artsakh, speaks to Manouk Seraydarian about faith, hope and survival in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the transformative impact of Armenia Fund’s programs in Artsakh.
The Archbishop visited Horizon late last week while in Glendale, California for the 13th annual Armenia Fund Telethon scheduled to air live on Thanksgiving Thursday. More information about the telethon here.
Archbishop Martirosyan has traveled to California year after year to participate in the event, appearing on TV to appeal to Armenians around the world to support the development of the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.This Thanksgiving he will once again take to the airwaves during the telethon, this time to raise awareness of the fact that more than 70,000 people in Artsakh are deprived of clean water.
During his interview on Horizon, Archbishop Martirosyan spoke of Armenia Fund’s role in Nagorno-Karabakh and its positive impact on the people of the land. But he also discussed many of the problems still facing the nascent republic.
He described the 21st century as an era of victory for the Armenian people. But that the victory, he noted, is incomplete when the average villager in Artsakh, who fought to liberate his homeland, lacks access to life’s most basic necessity.
He said that while the Armenian people are proud of their victory in Karabakh, its villagers, who live on the land, still suffer serious problems and lack the infrastructure to develop their land.
Archbishop Martirosian is an inspirational figure in Artsakh, most well known for giving religious and moral guidance to Armenian soldiers during the war of liberation. After the war, he took to the TV during annual telethons to help raise money for the redevelopment of war-torn areas in Artsakh. In the late 90s, he passionately called upon Armenians to unite and finance the building of the vital North-South Highway connecting Armenia and Karabakh.
Simply good to hear good Armenian.
I am wondering if in California Armenian families care about their children speaking Armenian.
yes, we do. we send them to ayf, church, and armenian language saturday school. we also encourage them to have more armenian friends.
Barkev Mardirosian, it is these kinds of people that inspire me to send money and to reach out to the people of my homeland. In him I can feel the warmth and the selfless dedication of our clergy who for centuries have not spared an effort to reach out for our Armenian people through its struggles against successive political oppressions and persecutions. I love this man as a symbol of our national virtue like no one else. With these kinds of people fueling our hearths Armenia will live long and prosperous.