Ghevont Alishan
Encyclopedia
Father Ghevont Alishan (1820-1901; also spelled Ghevond Alishan) was an ordained Armenian Catholic
priest, historian and a poet. He was awarded by the Legion of Honour of the French Academy (1866), an honorary member of the Asian Society of Italia, Archeological Society of Moscow, Venice Academy and Archeological Society of Saint-Petersburg.
He was a member of the Mkhitarist Congregation
in Venice
since 1838.
In 1885, Armenian Students Association of Paris appealed to him to create the first modern Armenian flag
. His first design was a horizontal tricolor, but with a set of colors different than those used on the Armenian flag of today. The top band would be red to symbolize the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), the green to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. While in France, Alishan also designed a second flag inspired by the national Flag of France
, identified today as the "Nationalist Armenian Flag." Its colors were red, green, and blue respectively, representing the band of colors that Noah
saw after landing on Mount Ararat
.
Armenian Catholic Church
|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
priest, historian and a poet. He was awarded by the Legion of Honour of the French Academy (1866), an honorary member of the Asian Society of Italia, Archeological Society of Moscow, Venice Academy and Archeological Society of Saint-Petersburg.
He was a member of the Mkhitarist Congregation
Mechitarists
The Mechitarists , are a congregation of Benedictine monks of the Armenian Catholic Church founded in 1712 by Abbot Mechitar of Sebastia. They are best known for their series of scholarly publications of ancient Armenian versions of otherwise lost ancient Greek texts.-History:Their eponymous...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
since 1838.
In 1885, Armenian Students Association of Paris appealed to him to create the first modern Armenian flag
Flag of Armenia
The national flag of Armenia, the Armenian Tricolour , consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1990...
. His first design was a horizontal tricolor, but with a set of colors different than those used on the Armenian flag of today. The top band would be red to symbolize the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), the green to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. While in France, Alishan also designed a second flag inspired by the national Flag of France
Flag of France
The national flag of France is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured royal blue , white, and red...
, identified today as the "Nationalist Armenian Flag." Its colors were red, green, and blue respectively, representing the band of colors that Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
saw after landing on Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
.