Capturing Eternity

The Old City of Jerusalem, with its distinct limestone buildings and gold-plated domes, presents a fascinating tapestry of religious communities that have long praised the city as one of the most sacred junctions between the divine and the earthly. The earliest connection of the Armenians to Palestine dates back to their adoption of Christianity in 301 A.D. with the arrival of Armenian pilgrims in Jerusalem shortly after. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been a largely independent hierarchy within the sees of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In the second half of the 19th century, the Patriarchate underwent a period of modernization, becoming a center of scholarly, printing and educational activities. During this period, Patriarch Yessayi Garabedian established the first non-Western photographic workshop in the Armenian Quarter; his apprentice Garabed Krikorian in turn founded the first photographic studio in the holy city. This volume presents the catalogue of an exhibition on Jerusalem Armenian photography held at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest in September-October, 2024, and is preceded by scholarly reflections. The latter offer theoretically, contextually and archivally rich analysis of the lasting, multifaceted Armenian religious, educational and cultural experience in Jerusalem and in the Middle East.