A total of 148.5 million drams (about $411,700) have been allocated for the acquisition of two manuscripts of interest to the Matenadaran, the Armenian institute and museum of ancient manuscripts. The relevant decision was made at the Cabinet meeting of the Armenian government on Thursday.

Earlier, an Armenian delegation, led by the director of the Matenadaran, had met in Vienna with Hugo Wetscherek, the founder and managing director of Antiquariat INLIBRIS Gilhofer Nfg. GmbH, and discussed the terms of purchasing five valuable manuscripts.

Considering the exceptional historical, cultural, and academic value of the two manuscripts included in the collection, it was considered expedient to acquire them with Armenian state funding. The latter will guarantee the return of these exceptional values and their registration as the property of Armenia.

The earliest of the two manuscripts is the collection of Sargis Pitsak in Drazark monastery in 1353 (estimated value: 250,000 euros), which includes sermons and biographies. The manuscript also contains fragments from the Gospel of Luke.

The second manuscript is the lavishly decorated Gospel copied by Azaria in Isfahan in 1695 (estimated value: 95,000 euros).

In addition, the Matenadaran plans to acquire another manuscript dating back to 1586, the 17th century, and the 17th–18th centuries.

As part of the Manuscript Return initiative, the Matenadaran is preparing to launch a pan-Armenian fundraising to purchase the entire collection.