40 days have passed since the Armenian community of Tbilisi buried Sargis Darchinyan, the prominent archivist, who devoted his life to  tracing Armenian history in his native town.

On November 8, representatives of the Tbilisi Armenian community and Darchinyan's relatives, accompanied by the clergy of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia visited the Tbilisi Pantheon of the Armenian Writers and Public Figures “Khojivank”, where his body is buried.

Under the leadership of the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan delivered a prayer for the repose of Sargis Darchinian’s soul.

The same day, the Calouste Gulbenkian Hall of the “Hayartun” Center at the Diocese hosted an evening dedicated to the memory of Sargis Darchinyan.

The event was initiated by the Union of Armenian Intellectuals of Georgia and the Patriotic Union "Lorva Dzor" ("Lori Valley"), with assistance and financial support of the “Hayartun” Center at the Diocese.

Attending the memorial were Samvel Karapetyan, who heads the Foundation for Research on Armenian Architecture, Chairman of the Patriotic Union "Lorva Dzor"("Lori Valley”) Sergey Yeritsyan, historian and researcher of churches Ruben Nahatakyan, and Deputy Ambassador of RA to Georgia Vahagn Afyan.  

Chairman of the Foundation for Research on Armenian Architecture Samvel Karapetyan, who for decades had collaborated with Sargis Darchinyan, described the activities of the archivist, which included full study of 12,000 private homes in Tbilisi, belonging to Armenians, historical and architectural research on two Armenian-populated districts - Sololaki and Avlabari. The historian stressed the importance to release to the public domain Sargis Darchinyan’s archival heritage, collected with complete devotion.

In his speech Chairman of the Patriotic Union "Lorva Dzor" ("Lori Valley”), Doctor of Philology, Professor Sergo Yeritsian compared the work conducted by Sargis Darchinyan to the activities of the whole institute, which, perhaps, this rare and devoted patriot had carried out in solitude, despite the difficulties and obstacles. With a heavy heart he presented the book by Sargis Darchinyan “Tiflis: the Armenian Sketches”, published with the support of the company that he runs, only the electronic version of which the worthy author was able to see and enjoy. The speaker added that the book publication and receiving Arshil Gorky medal from the RA Ministry of Diaspora in 2012 became a small appreciation of huge work, conducted by Darchinyan.

The chronicler, who had devoted his entire adult life to the identification of the Armenian trace in Georgia, the representative of the Armenian elite, succeeded to present the Armenian civilization in Tbilisi, and due to his search and discoveries he became the most powerful man of the city – that is how historian and researcher of churches Ruben Nahatakian described Sargis Darchinyan, who often visited Yerevan and listened with interest to the information on the new fields and discoveries of its activities.

At the end of the event the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian sent his blessing to the audience, he assessed Sargis Darchinyan memory evening, appreciated everyone, who during his lifetime helped and supported Sargis Darchinyan. The Head of the Diocese stressed the importance to notice and appreciate on time the devoted sons of the nation, and announced that Sargis Darchinyan’s entire archive, collected over decades, would be handed over to Samvel Karapetyan, after studying under whose guidance it would be transferred to the National Archives of Armenia.