Reflections on Armenia and the Christian Orient. Studies in Honour of Vrej Nersessian

Librarian among scholars Scholar among Librarians.

This volume is dedicated to the Reverend Dr Nerses Vrej Nersessian, international authority on the Christian Middle East and former curator of the Christian Middle East section at the British Library for more than thirty years. He is Archpriest of the Armenian Church in London as well as a colleague, mentor and close friend of so many. His career and upbringing as an academic, churchman and family man spans India, the Middle East and England.

During his long years as a curator, by vigorous, relentless effort not only did he succeed in putting a strong new focus onto the study of the cultures of the Christian Orient, but also made his department a focal point for international scholars. He curated exhibitions of huge popular success at the British Library, including the unique ‘The Christian Orient’ (1978) and ‘Treasures from the Ark’ (2001). From the beginning, when he joined the British Library in 1975, rst as a curator of the Armenian manuscripts and brie y afterwards, as the curator of the Christian Middle East section, his focus was ‘to see the treasures of the collections represented in international exhibitions’:

‘I made sure that every exhibition would take note of the library’s collection and make sure that it was represented. I facilitated, selected, wrote the captions, couriered the loans to the exhibitions and returned them. There was no longer any room for institutions to plead ignorance or lack of expert support. My greatest contribution was to open the collections of the Christian Orient to the wider world.’ (Vrej Nersessian).