Professor Krzysztof Stopka recollects the Exhibition in Krakow (Cracow)
At the headquarters of the Foundation for the Culture and Heritage of Polish Armenians on February 25, 2023, a solemn promotion of the publication “Women with Pastorals. Portraits of the Duchess of the Benedictine Armenian Nuns in Lviv; history, contexts, comments” was held.
We were honored by the presence of many important guests, including Professor Antoni Kamiñski from the Polish Academy of Sciences – Academy of Kresy Heritage, Dorota Janiszewska-Jakubiak – Director of the National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage abroad “POLONIKA”, Polish ambassadors in Armenia – Marianna and Tomasz Knoths and Jadwiga and Jerzy Nowakowskis, Priest Professor Jozef Naumowicz, PriestPrelate Aleksander Seniuk, representatives of the media, many supporters and friends of the Foundation.
The participants of the meeting
However, the most important guests from Krakow were Professor Krzysztof Stopka, director of the Jagiellonian University museum, Collegium Maius and the authors of the publication Professor Andrzej A. Zięba – director of the Center for Research on the Culture of Polish Armenians, Jolanta Pollesch – Chief Conservator of the Jagiellonian University museum and Jolanta Sławinska, art historian of Krakow’s Collegium Maius. Among the authors was also our friend Monika Agopsowicz. The others – Tomasz Krzyżowski, Marcin Łukasz Majewski and Marek Stasiowski unfortunately could not take part in this meeting.
Curator Hanna Kopczyńska-Kłos takes guests round the Exhibition.
Professor Andrzej Zieba, as always, presented facts from the history of the Armenian Benedictine nuns in a very colorful and interesting way. There were very important events in this story, but also interesting facts from the life of the order over the 200 years of its existence,
There were references to the historical situation in those years, there were comparisons with Latin congregations, there were references to the importance of the Benedictine convent chapel, the importance and high level of the school run by them and about social life.
All this was conveyed in a lively, interesting story.
Then, Professor Krzysztof Stopka described last year’s exhibition at the Jagiellonian University Collegium Maius museum, where, as part of the Cracovia Sacra Festival apart from the collection of portraits of Benedictine Armenian nuns from Lviv many interesting exhibits were gathered showing the convent against the background of other congregations. The wonderfully prepared exhibition presented paintings, documents, exhibits from many monasteries that were related to the Armenian Benedictine nuns of Lviv.
The guests were invited to get acquainted with the museum exhibition Treasury of Polish Armenians, which aroused great interest and recognition.
The promotions ended with an Armenian treat prepared by the reliable Viola Khondkaryan. The friendly meeting, already in a smaller group, lasted until late in the evening.
