Council Member Tehmina Vardanyan Proposes to Add 'Saint' to the Names of Two Streets and One Avenue

Council member from the Luyis alliance, Tehmina Vardanyan, has introduced new proposals.

Dear fellow citizens, today I have put into circulation 3 projects, in which I propose to rename two streets in the Central administrative district—Moses Khorenatsi and Grigor Lusavorich—as well as the name of Mashtots Avenue. The proposed projects suggest renaming Grigor Lusavorich Street to 'Saint Grigor Lusavorich Street', Mashtots Avenue to 'Saint Mesrop Mashtots Avenue', and Moses Khorenatsi Street to 'Saint Moses Khorenatsi Street'. Each street name in a city holds crucial information related to the state and culture. It reflects the history of the city and its surroundings, the natural-geographical conditions of the region, religious beliefs or ideological convictions, social characteristics of the urban population, and much more.

Furthermore, their harmonious sound and enshrined meaning can influence the spiritual atmosphere of the city and the moral condition of its population. The aforementioned streets and avenue do not contain the adjective 'saint', which is necessary to rectify, considering that the Armenian nation was the first to adopt Christianity as the state religion. The world recognizes us primarily based on this fact. We must constantly elevate both the role of the church in Armenian society and speak of our Saints' names, thus educating future generations and, why not, showing the world that our culture, history, and values characterize our national identity. The proposed name changes also hold serious tourist significance. In many countries, streets and squares named after canonized individuals possess special allure and spark interest among tourists regarding that country and its people.