The episcopacy of Vanand was one of the ancient 12/13 dioceses of Armenia, which were confirmed by St. Gregory the Illuminator at the beginning of the 4th century. Some time later, with the second diocesan branch of St. Gregory the Illuminator, it became the 15th among the 30 (36) major dioceses of Armenia, occupying a central place. The episcopacy of Vanand played a decisive role in the national church affairs of the country in the early Middle Ages.

Keywordsepiscopacy diocese Vanand ancient main central place Middle Ages national church Catholicos.

Since the end of the 17th century, the Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople have faced trials and overcoming their grave consequences. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, weakened by theological strife, was unable to maintain the inviolability of the Jerusalem monastery of St. Jacob. The monastery was at the mercy of adventurers and greedy representatives of the local elite, who ruthlessly plundered the property of the monastery. The frequent change of patriarchs led to the fact that even the very existence of the Armenian congregation in Jerusalem was called into question.

KeywordsArmenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople properties of Holy Places Hovhannes Hannah Patriarch Avetik Patriarch Hovhannes Kolot Patriarch Grigor Shirvantsi Faizullah Mufti Greek Patriarch Meletios of Jerusalem.

The war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh on September 27, 2020, and the subsequent developments (the transfer of Artsakh’s historical territory under Azerbaijan’s control and the complete depopulation of Artsakh of its Armenian population) demonstrate that the systematic destruction of Armenian heritage has directly violated the cultural rights of the Armenians of Artsakh–depriving them of the ability to preserve and pass on their heritage to future generations. These destructions continue to this day on an alarming scale, deepening the crisis and erasing the Armenian presence in Artsakh.

KeywordsArtsakh Armenian cultural heritage cultural rights Azerbaijan heritage destruction appropriation forced displacement․

The renaming of oikonyms in the toponymic system of Artsakh is a multilayered process shaped by the interaction of historical, linguistic, cultural, and political factors. The renaming causes changes to the semantic content of an oikonym, the perception of its historical biography, and its symbolic value in public consciousness. The renaming is grounded on administrative-territorial restructuring, socio-economic relations and the ideological changes that reflect them, linguistic contacts, as well as requirements of written documentation and cartographic representation. In different historical periods, translation, phonetic transformation, calquing, reinterpretation, transliteration, literary normalization and standardization have served as mechanisms of oikonymic changes.

KeywordsArtsakh place name oikonym renaming toponymic system historical memory administrative-territorial restructuring socio-economic relations language standardization identity cartography