Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Publishing Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has published 2 separate volumes entitled "Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin during the First World War and the First Republic of Armenia (1914-1920)". These publications are dedicated to the May Heroic Battles and the 100th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia.

The first volume contains 393 documents, which present events from 1914, at the beginning of World War I, until February 1917. The published documents are kept in the National Archives of Armenia. The documents are mainly taken from the resources of the Catholicosate of All Armenians; Armenian Synod of Holy Etchmiadzin; Armenian Benevolent Society of Caucasus; "Fraternal Assistance" committee, connected to the Armenian diocesan government in Yerevan; and the administrative committee of "Fraternal Assistance" of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The second volume includes 456 documents, which present events from March 1917 until the end of the 1920s.

The published documents present the role and activities of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Catholicos Gevork V of All Armenians, and individual clergymen during this period, and the relationship between the Mother See and the Government of Armenia.

Almost all the documents, with some exceptions, are being published for the first time, with partial spelling and punctuation corrections.

The two volumes have been published by the patronage of His Eminence Archbishop Paren Avetikyan, a member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See, in memory of his brother, Astvatsatur Avetikyan.