Podejmując inicjatywę wydawania czasopisma poświęconego dziejom Ormian polskich, kierowaliśmy się przekonaniem, że to ciekawe i ważkie zagadnienie powinno w większym niż do tej pory stopniu zaistnieć w humanistyce polskiej i światowej. Ormianie polscy to społeczność wielowiekowa i choć nigdy nie byli oni liczni, wytworzyli znaczący dorobek kulturowy, który funkcjonował i nadal jest żywotny w kulturze polskiej. Jako fragment diaspory ormiańskiej pełnili kiedyś niezwykle istotną rolę względem swojego macierzystego narodu ormiańskiego.
Ormianin piszący po łacinie (Józef Epifani Minasowicz, Nowołacińska Warszawa, przekład wybranych utworów pod redakcją Beaty Gaj, Kęty 2024)
Prawa autorskie (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Sprawozdanie z realizacji projektu badawczego „Pomniki dziejowe Ormian polskich”
Jubileuszowa konferencja naukowa „Ormianie polscy w XX i XXI wieku: historia, kultura, tożsamość”
Bibliografia prac profesora Andrzeja Pisowicza za lata 1964-2025
Rola i znaczenie ormiańskich organizacji w Polsce w uznaniu i upamiętnieniu ludobójstwa Ormian
Wystawy poświęcone tematyce ormiańskiej w Polsce
Spuścizna majora Melika Somchjanca i jego rodziny w zbiorach Centrum Dokumentacji Zsyłek, Wypędzeń i Przesiedleń UKEN w Krakowie
Przekłady utworów literatury polskiej na język ormiański z końca XIX wieku
Ormiańskie ślady pod Krakowem w XVII i XVIII wieku: przyczynek do badań ludności plebejskiej pochodzenia ormiańskiego
Ormiańskie starania wokół wizyt monarszych we Lwowie w drugiej połowie XVII wieku
Kondak’ de consécration de Nicolas Trosowicz. Source pour l’histoire de l’union du diocèse arménien en Pologne avec le Siège Apostolique
Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski († 2024) jako historyk Ormian polskich
TADEUSZ ISAKOWICZ-ZALESKI († 2024) AS A HISTORIAN OF POLISH ARMENIANS Abstract, Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski (1956-2024), a biritual Catholic priest (of the Armenian and Roman rites), also known in Poland as a publicist and a social, charitable activist, was simultaneously a historian writing about the history of Polish Armenians, especially their Church of the Armenian Catholic rite and extermination during World War II. The article analyses his publications against the background of contemporary Polish historiography and discusses historical essays of his authorship devoted to these issues.
Z materiałów źródłowych do dziejów Ormian w zasobie Archiwum Państwowego w Przemyślu: akta miejskie i sądowe
FROM SOURCE MATERIALS ON THE HISTORY OF ARMENIANS. IN THE RESOURCE OF THE STATE ARCHIVE IN PRZEMYŚL: CITY AND COURT RECORDS Abstract, The Resource of the State Archive in Przemyśl includes source materials from 16th and 17th centuries, concerning the history of Armenian culture. Among these sources, mentions are valuable written down in city and court records preserved in the records of archive sets no 129 (Records of the city of Przemyśl) and no 132 (Records of the city of Jarosław). Set no 143 (Greek Catholic Chapter in Przemyśl) includes the court record of the Armenian law of Saint John jurydyka with entries from 1600-1605 (ref. no 490).
Badania nad antroponimią ormiańską w Polsce
STUDIES ON ARMENIAN ANTHROPONYMS IN POLAND The history of studies on Armenian anthroponyms in Poland dates back to the mid 1880s, when the works of Jan Hanusz (1858-1887), one of the precursors of Polish onomastics, were published. Subsequent linguists conducting this research in the 20th and 21st centuries include: Eugeniusz Słuszkiewicz (1901-1991), Mieczysław Buczyński (1936-1992), Andrzej Pisowicz (born 1940), Stanisław Stachowski (1930-2021), Łukasz Trzeciak (born 1984). The article presents selected works of Polish researchers devoted to the personal onomastics of Polish Armenians.
ARMENIAN PAINTING SAGA. ANTONI AND KAJETAN STEFANOWICZ The article presents historical and artistic analysis concerning the works of two Polish painters of the Armenian origin, from the Stefanowicz family: Antoni (1858-1929) and Kajetan (1886-1920), the father and the son. In the context of their biographies, the author discusses their works, covering various areas of painting: portraits, landscapes, monumental painting, graphics, drawings, book illustrations, posters. In reference to Kajetan Stefanowicz, she makes a successful attempt to place him in the stylistically and regionally variable European art of his time – Secession, Art Nouveau, Art Deco. She also extensively describes his politically engaged works, created in atmosphere of fight for Poland’s independence during and after World War I.
MODERN KHACHKARS IN POLAND The article analyses the history of erecting, artistic values and symbolism of Armenian votive crosses (khachkars) in Poland within its current borders, from the first one, funded in 1978, until the last one from 2023. It presents their geographical distribution (Warsaw, Krakow, Gliwice, Elbląg, Gdańsk, Lublin, Zamość, Kartuzy, Szczecinek, Kurów, Białystok, Zabrze, Kielce, Łódź, Polanów), funders, authors, goals and circumstances of foundations, dates of consecrations, persons consecrating, materials and places of creation. The analysis has been placed in the context of the history of carving art concerning khachkars, their connections with the culture of Armenia and its Church, the tragedy of the 1915 genocide, as well as creation an Armenian diaspora in Poland, its martyrology in the time of World War II and expatriation trauma after 1945.
Księgozbiór Grzegorza Ignacego Szadbeja (1796-1839) w Bibliotece Ossolineum
THE BOOK COLLECTION OF GRZEGORZ IGNACY SZADBEJ (1796-1839) IN THE OSSOLINEUM LIBRARY The article presents the book collection of Grzegorz Ignacy Szadbej (1796-after 1839), an Armenian lawyer and poet active in Lviv. Before commiting suicide, he donated his entire collection to the Ossolineum Library. This gift included publications representing fiction and law as well as economic and medical guides. It was Szadbej’s private library, primarily helping him in his professional work and assisting in development of interests and writing skills. In 1946, the collection was divided between the National Ossolineum Library in Wrocław and Wasyl Stefanyk Lviv National Scientific Library of Ukraine.
Patriota czy buntownik? Działalność niepodległościowa księdza Grzegorza Moszory w okresie Wiosny Ludów w świetle archiwów lwowskich i wiedeńskich
A PATRIOT OR A REBEL?INDEPENDENCE ACTIVITIES OF THE PRIEST GRZEGORZ MOSZORA DURING THE SPRINGTIME OF THE PEOPLES IN THE LIGHT OF LVIV AND VIENNA ARCHIVES Abstract, Grzegorz Moszoro (1812-1881) was born in an Armenian family in Łysiec (Eastern Galicia). In 1838, he graduated in philosophy and theology from the University of Vienna and became a priest of the Archdiocese of Lwów within the Armenian rites. In 1839, he joined in Lwów a secret society called “Sons of the Fatherland”, for which he was accused of high treason, sentenced to death and deprived of his nobility. In 1845, the Emperor Ferdinand I pardoned him, ordering penance. In 1848, Moszoro became a vicar of the Armenian parish in Stanisławów, where he got involved in independence activities again. He participated in the work of the Regional National Council – an organisation striving for introduction of democratic changes and regaining independence by Poland. During sermons within the Armenian Church, he encouraged the faithful to rebel against the Austrian authorities. Gubernium in Lwów and starostvo in Stanisławów collected extensive material documenting the priest’s activity. On its basis, the activities of Moszoro were recreated – in the context of socio-political changes, occuring in Galicia at that time. In 1849, Moszoro became a rector of the Armenian parish in Tyśmienica, devoting himself exclusively to priestly work.
CARPETS AND DIPLOMACY. MORE ABOUT THE MISSION OF SEFER MURATOWICZ IN PERSIA: GENESIS, GOALS AND LISTS OF ABBAS I AND SIGISMUND III In 1601, Sefer Muratowicz, an Armenian merchant from Poland, travelled to Persia at the command of the Polish king Sigismund III. He wrote a concise account of this journey. Previous studies have defined purposes of his stay in Safavids’ country in various ways. Some researchers considered the journey to be a purely commercial expedition, during which he made a purchase of carpets for the king. According to others, it was a diplomatic mission. The article, beginning from the state of research on Muratowicz’s stay at the Persian court, re-discusses his account primarily from a Persian perspective and a standpoint of Polish diplomacy, in connection with the political situation at that time and the relations of Shah Abbas I with Europe and Moscow. This allowed a new interpretation on grounds of Muratowicz’s departure and purposes of his stay at the Persian court. Furthermore, the article includes two previously unknown letters of Abbas I and Sigismund III related to the mission of Muratowicz.
Szlachectwa Ormian polskich od XIV do XX wieku: zarys problematyki
THE NOBILITY OF POLISH ARMENIANS FROM THE 14TH TO THE 20TH CENTURY (OUTLINE OF ISSUES) The article is an introduction to analysis of the phenomenon of social advancement in the community of Polish Armenians, allochthonous in terms of the origin and minority in terms of the ethnicity, experienced by obtaining nobility status, throughout the history of Poland from the second half of the 14th century to the beginnings of the 20th century, i.e. in evolving political, socioeconomic and cultural conditions. It contains: 1) the discussion of previous studies and their further directions in this field; 2) the characteristics of chronology, bestowers and recipients of ennoblement, ways of its obtaining and consequences as well as myths developed around this phenomenon; 3) the initial list of ennoblement, indygenat, legitimacy, effective nobility usurpation, golden knighthood and aristocratic titles of Polish Armenians.
Tematyka ormiańska na konferencjach naukowych w Polsce w 2024 roku
ARMENIAN SUBJECT AREA WITHIN SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES IN POLAND IN 2024 Abstract, In 2024, several conferences, entirely or partially devoted to Armenian subject area, were organised in Poland. Two conferences, concerning the genocide of Armenians, took place in Warsaw – the first one at the University of Warsaw (participants: Edita Gzoyan, Nune Gevorgyan, Agnieszka Bieńczyk-Missala, Harutyun Marutyan, Dominika Maria Macios), the second one in the Eastern House of the Karta Center Foundation (Lech Nijakowski, Karine Arutyunova, Inga Nosikova). Subsequent four conferences concerned issues of archival science, museology, and historical documentation. They presented an Armenian strand in reference to the collections of the now-defunct Archdiocesan Armenian Museum in Lwów and the Foundation of Culture and Heritage of Polish Armenians in Warsaw: “Archives of churches and religious organisations in Poland from 1918 to the present times” in the Archives of Modern Records and the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (Hanna Kopczyńska-Kłos); “Family and social archives” in Lublin, within VI Domestic Archival Symposium, organisers: Association of Polish Archivists and State Archives in Lublin (Monika Agopsowicz, Hanna Kopczyńska-Kłos); “Polish museology in the inter-war period” in Ossoliński National Institute in Wrocław (Tomasz Krzyżowski) and “National Scientific Conference devoted to Preservation of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Church” in Tarnów (Ewa Soszko-Dziwisińska, Małgorzata Podkańska). Two conferences concerned only Armenian content: “Axentowicz. On the 165th anniversary of the artist’s birth” in Szymbark, within the European Heritage Days, organisers: Museum of the Manors of Karwacjan and Gładysz Families in Gorlice, Mesrop Mashtots Foundation in favour of Supporting Armenian Studies (Adrianna Napiórkowska-Bek, Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha, Krzysztof Stopka, Andrzej A. Zięba) and “Armenians in the culture of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: status and heritage”, panel within II Congress of Researchers of the History of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus in Warsaw, organiser: Centre for Eastern Studies of the University of Warsaw (Krzysztof Stopka, Andrzej A. Zięba, Dzianis Liseychykau, Maksym Potapenko).
Mesrob z Kaffy († 1624) – ostatni przedunijny arcybiskup „wszystkich Ormian obojga płci, mieszkających we Lwowie, Kijowie, Łucku i Zamościu”
MESROP OF KAFFA († 1624). THE LAST PRE-UNION ARCHBISHOP OF “ALL ARMENIANS OF BOTH GENDERS, LIVING IN LVIV, KIEV, LUTSK AND ZAMOŚĆ” Mesrop from Kaffa (Kaffatsi), the last pre-Union archbishop of Lviv before the union of the Armenian Church in Poland with the Holy See, came from the Principality of Moldavia. He was born in a mixed Armenian-Ruthenian family. As a child, he was sent to the vardapet Hovhannes Aintabetsi in Sebastia to receive education. According to his vardapet command, he left for Crimea before finishing studies, where he was probably ordained a monk. For this reason, he later referred to himself as “from Kaffa” – Kafatsi, Kafali (1605). In Crimea, he arbitrarily accepted the title of a master (rabbuni) and a vardapet afterwards. In the search of Armenian manuscripts, he travelled to eastern Armenia (Ejmiatsin, Khor Virap, Saghmosavank, Sanahin and Haghpat). In 1607, he was in Jassy and in 1608 in Suceava, thence he moved in 1610 to Lwów, where in 1611 he was employed as a preacher- vardapet in the Armenian cathedral. In 1613, he began a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On the way back (about 1616) in Aleppo, he was already formally appointed as a vardapet by his former teacher Hovhannes Aintabetsi the catholicos of Cilicia, who also ordained him as a bishop of Poland and Moldavia. In 1617, he was recorded in Lwów as a local archbishop. In 1621, during the Polish-Turkish war, he was in the monastery of Saint Auxentius in Suceava. On 4 March 1623, the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, during the Warsaw Seym approved him as the archbishop of Lwów. Mesrop was a benefactor of the Armenian church of Saint Nicholas in Kamieniec Podolski where he founded an altar dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator. He also took care of churches in Lwów and Zamość. He died 12 May 1624 in Zamość and was buried there. The article includes three supplements in Polish translation: the royal confirmation of the archbishop Mesrop by Sigismund III from 1623, written in Latin; the will of the archbishop Mesrop made on 9 May 1624 in Zamość in Kipchak-Armenian ethnolect, according to the transcription of Edward Tryjarski, and an extract of the Armenian chronicle by Grigor Daranaghtsi, concerning the archbishop Mesrop.
Rekognicje celne jako źródło do dziejów Ormian kamienieckich w drugiej połowie XVI wieku
CUSTOMS RECOGNITIONS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING THE HISTORY OF KAMIENIEC ARMENIANS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY Armenians were among the constituent ethnic groups in the society of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Actively participating in trade, they were subject to legal regulations in as much as other urban citizens. Customs recognitions, or testimonies given by merchants enjoying customs freedom, serve as evidence of this process. The article analyzes the overall trade activities of Armenians from Kamieniec Podolski [Kamianets-Podilskyi] at Lublin fairs based on these recognitions. On their basis, it discusses the significance of customs exemptions as one of the privileges of Kamieniec residents, as well as the intensity of trade relations between this city and Lublin, and the range of goods exchanged. Additionally, it addresses the Armenians’ knowledge of legal practices and their ability to use the Polish and Ruthenian languages. An annex includes the edition of customs recognitions, which are an interesting source for studying economic history, diplomatics, and sigillography.
Prawa autorskie (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Lwowscy zastawnicy w niewoli tureckiej, 1672-1679
LVIV HOSTAGES IN OTTOMAN CAPTIVITY, 1672-1679 After capturing Kamieniec Podolski [Kamianets-Podilskyi] in late August 1672, Ottoman army moved towards Lwów [Lviv] and started its siege in September. The condition for withdrawing from the siege was a ransom of eighty thousandtalers. Only five thousand was collected, and the missing amount was compensated by agreeing to hand over eleven hostages, including two Armenians. Later efforts resulted in the release of the Armenian hostages in 1676, while the remaining ones were released only in 1679. The author attempts to organize the topic of Lwów hostages, frequently mentioned in source materials but scattered and containing many contradictions, especially regarding their names and fate.
Between Lwów and Rome: Armenians in Transylvania and Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Lwów (1681-1691)
In 1988, the renowned Polish-Armenian church historian Gregorio (Grzegorz) Petrowicz published a book in Italian about the history of the Armenian Catholic Archbishopric (1686-1954) in Lwów (Lemberg; now Lviv, Ukraine). In his book, he dedicated a subchapter to the church-union of Armenians in Transylvania in the late 17th century, principally based on the documents kept at the Historical Archive of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of Faith (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide) in Rome. At the same time, the scholarship has analyzed this book critically during the past two decades, and unfortunately, his subchapter proved to be very sketchy and poorly elaborated. His argumentations, however, regarding the history of the Armenians in Transylvania were based upon old, obsolete books published in the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore, my article also deals with this problem from an ecclesiastical-historical perspective concerning the church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania. Furthermore, my study also aims primarily at analyzing the role of the Armenian Catholic Archiepiscopacy in Lwów in creating the process of the church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania in the years 1681- 1691. With regards to the methodology of my article, it is mere critical analysis focusing upon the incomplete as well as newly discovered manuscript sources kept in archives in Armenia, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and the Vatican.
Prawa autorskie (c) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
FROM ISFAHAN TO WARSAW: POSTHUMOUS INVENTORIES OF SALOMON SYRI (ZGÓRSKI), ENVOY OF JAN III SOBIESKI TO PERSIA The embassy of Salomon Syri (Zgórski), an Armenian in the service of Polish King Jan III Sobieski, to Persian Shah Suleiman I, undertaken in 1688-1690, was related to efforts to include Persia in the anti-Ottoman alliance. It was also connected with the Jesuit mission in the 1680s, aiming to reach China via Siberia. However, Syri was killed in Isfahan during the mission and was buried in the Jesuit church there. After the diplomat’s death, Poles residing in the capital of Persia compiled an inventory of his belongings, packed them into several crates, and sent them to Poland through Moscow. The University of Warsaw Library holds four handwritten inventories of Syri’s property, prepared in Moscow by the Polish resident Jerzy Dominik Dowmont. He sent to his king the belongings of the envoy in several parts. The inventories of Syri’s property, published in the article, constitute important and unique sources for the history of both Polish diplomacy and Polish material culture.
(Proto)nazwiska polskich Ormian na podstawie rzymskokatolickich ksiąg metrykalnych z Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich (XVII-XIX wiek)
(PROTO)SURNAMES OF POLISH ARMENIANS BASED ON ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH REGISTERS FROM SOUTHEASTERN BORDERLANDS (17TH-19TH CENTURIES): SELECTED ISSUES The article is based on excerpts from Roman Catholic parish registers in Brzeżany, Kołomyja, Obertyn, and Żółkiew, serving as a significant source for anthroponymic studies of Polish Armenians. Criteria for including the collected anthroponyms in the study were defined: besides undisputed cases where the ethnicity of a person was indicated in the entry, other criteria of being Armenian were also taken into account – confessional (notes about the Armenian rite) and anthroponymic (the form of the name or surname used by Armenians). The dictionary includes 69 (proto)surnames covered in 63 entries.