African and Middle Eastern Division sponsored the Eleventh Annual Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture on May 20, 2003, at the Library of Congress.

The program is named for the Armenian holiday that commemorates the battle of Avarayr which was waged in A.D. 451 by Vardan Mamikonian and his compatriots against Persian troops who had been sent by the King of Kings to reimpose Zoroastrianism on the Christian state. Though chiefly a religious holiday, it celebrates as well Armenia’s retention of its essence in the face of its millennia-long struggles against various forces of assimilation.

Speakers were: Levon Avdoyan, Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist “Welcoming remarks from James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress” “Armeniaca and the Library of Congress: 2002-2003"

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.,Democrat, 6th District, New Jersey Founder and present co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues “The U.S. Congress and Armenia Today”