LCO Continues Historical Renovations in Armenia

PASADENA, Calif.—From March 14-16, chapters of the Land and Culture Organization (LCO)/Union International de Organisation Terre et Culture (UIOTC) from France, the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, and Armenia took part in the annual meeting in Lyon, France. Members of the Lyon Armenian community attended a fundraising cultural program at the AGBU Armenian Center for a presentation about the LCO mission and its projects.

The Board discussed the status of ongoing
projects, including in Kessab, Syria. In the 1980-1990’s, LCO restored Karadouran’s village church and three traditional Armenian dwellings in Kessab, one of which is used as the Kessab ethnographical museum. With the current crisis in until the recent attack on Kessab.

During the 2013 summer campaign, 20 volunteers from Canada, England, France, Russia, and the United States launched a new project in the southern Syunik region in Shikahogh. The village of Shikahogh is located in the dense Shikahogh State Reserve, Armenia’s second largest forest reserve. Volunteers lived in the village while renovating the 16^th-century Sourp Stepanos Nakhavegah Church, with inscriptions from the 13th century. The church had been in a state of collapse from years of neglect during Soviet times. The 2013 group cleared the site and conducted archaeological excavations. Swords and artifacts from the era of David Beg were discovered during the digs. In 2014, a new group of volunteers will start on the restoration phase of the project.

Another ongoing project is the 7^th-10^th century Tchitchkhanavank in Shirakamut, in the northern Shirak region near Spitak. LCO already completed archaeological excavations there in 2011 and 2012; the restoration phase will begin this summer, from July 20 to Aug. 17. The completion date of this historic site is expected to be in the summer of 2015. For more campaign information, visit www.lcousa.org.

LCO’s mission is to preserve our past and secure our future. As the Armenian nation continues to struggle with many challenges in Syria, Karabagh, and Armenia, LCO strives to solidify the Armenian historical presence and remains committed to the restoration of Armenian cultural heritage. For over 36 years, LCO has been organized volunteer groups in Armenia and Karabagh working to restore, renovate, and rejuvenate the historical monuments and sites of our nation. It has performed this mission through its summer campaigns, by volunteers of every age from the diaspora and Armenia. To learn more about LCO or join in our summer volunteer program, visit www.lcousa.org.