The Old City of Jerusalem, with its distinct limestone buildings and gold-plated domes, presents a fascinating tapestry of religious communities that have long praised the city as one of the most sacred junctions between the divine and the earthly. The earliest connection of the Armenians to Palestine dates back to their adoption of Christianity in 301 A.D. with the arrival of Armenian pilgrims in Jerusalem shortly after. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been a largely independent hierarchy within the sees of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In the second half of the 19th century, the Patriarchate underwent a period of modernization, becoming a center of scholarly, printing and educational activities. During this period, Patriarch Yessayi Garabedian established the first non-Western photographic workshop in the Armenian Quarter; his apprentice Garabed Krikorian in turn founded the first photographic studio in the holy city.

This volume presents the catalogue of an exhibition on Jerusalem Armenian photography held at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest in September-October, 2024, and is preceded by scholarly reflections. The latter offer theoretically, contextually and archivally rich analysis of the lasting, multifaceted Armenian religious, educational and cultural experience in Jerusalem and in the Middle East.

Karen Jallatyan

researches, publishes, edits and organizes exhibitions on the literary, photographic and filmic dynamics of the Armenian diaspora, with a particular focus on the poet and intellectual Vahé Oshagan (1922-2000). Jallatyan has co-conceived and is one of the researchers for the “Lost-but-found: Armenian Capital Ani at Contested Crossroads” project funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, exploring the modern multimedia representations generated by the ruined Armenian capital. His forthcoming articles also analyze the works of the Beirut-born Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Gariné Torossian and the early-modern Armenian diaspora in Transylvania.

Diana Ghazaryan

is completing a Doctorate in the Department of Armenian Studies at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest. Her dissertation looks at generations of Jerusalem Armenian photographers from the second half of the 19th century to the present as a compelling instance of a transcultural diasporic experience. This research is part of Ghazaryan’s broader interest in the intersections of history, visual studies and curatorial practices across modern and contemporary art.

Bálint Kovács

(Budapest/Leipzig) is a historian specializing in the history of Armenian communities in Eastern and East-Central Europe. He is head of the Armenian Studies Department at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest and junior research group leader at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) in Leipzig, where he co-coordinates the research project Global Armenia/ns. He is also co-editor of the GWZO publication series Armenians in Eastern Europe, contributing significantly to transregional Armenian studies.

”Հետեւի արեւանկար (ֆօթօկրաֆ) արհեստին առ ի ծանօթս տալ Ազգին Սուրբ Տեղեաց վրայօք՝ նոցա զարեւանկարս հանելով, և ներքին դիտաւորութեամբն թէ զկնի ժամանակաց բոլոր Հայաստանի հնութեանց զորպիսութիւնն ծանօթացնել կարասցէ ընդհանուր Ազգին, որ է գործ հայրենասիրութեան, որ արդարեւ միակ պարտաւորութիւն բազմաց։”

“I studied the craft of photography in order to make Holy Sites known to the [Armenian] Nation through photographic images, with the deeper motive of eventually being able to make the ancient sites of all of Armenia known to the whole of the Nation, which is a labor of patriotism, truly the only duty to the masses.”

Yessayi Garabedian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1865 to 1885,
Sion, Jerusalem, February 1938.