The Calouste Gulbenkian Library, Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 1925-1990: An Historical Portrait of a Monastic and Lay Community Intellectual Resource Center

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is a major religious, educational, cultural, and ecumenical institution, established more than fourteen centuries ago. The Calouste Gulbenkian Library is one of the Patriarchate's five intellectual resource centers. Plans for its establishment began in 1925 as a tribute to Patriarch Yeghishe I Tourian to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Its primary mission has been to collect and preserve valuable works of Armenian religion, language, art, literature, and history, as well as representative works of world history in a number of world languages. The benefaction of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian and the continued support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon, Portugal, and the Saint Sarkis Trust Fund of London brought to fruition the construction funds for Patriarch Tourian's vision of a book palace.In order to present a systematic chronological English language study on the Calouste Gulbenkian Library, this institutional history has aimed to investigate and analyze the emergence, leadership, development, and functions of the Library, as a centralized point of access to the Patriarchate's repositories of books, artifacts, and archives, and to serve the information needs and intellectual pursuits of the religious and lay populations of Armenian Jerusalem and the Armenian Diaspora.Although key primary and secondary sources regarding the Library and its collections existed in the Patriarchate's administrative archives, the information had not been organized in a consistent manner. There was no evidence of professionally trained librarians, curators, or archivists had been employed by the Patriarchate to develop and manage its intellectual repositories.Through its 65-year history, from 1925 to 1990, the Gulbenkian Library emerges as the gateway to information for the Armenian Patriarchate, brought to fruition due to the collective resolve of its parent institution and its leadership. Inevitable changes in reaction to external and internal factors and influences, both positive and negative, have contributed to the resilience and continuity of this millennial monastic institution. Analysis of the Library's collections reflects the detailed approach used to create and develop a research model for religious, cultural, social, and ecumenical studies