19/08/2025
On this day, 19 August 1934, Agha Garabed Melkonian's funeral and burial took place in Nicosia. The benefactor passed away on 23 July 1934, while summering in Alexandria, Egypt, at the advanced age of 85 years. His first funeral was held at 15:30, on Wednesday, 25 July 1934, at the Saints Paul & Peter church, officiated by His Beatitude the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Torkom Koushagian, who travelled to Egypt especially for this purpose. The solemn procession towards the city’s Armenian cemetery included 20-25 cars and about 5-6 thousand people, including dozens of officials, as well as political and religious personalities.
Honouring his wishes, the AGBU - responsible for the Melkonian's maintenance and operation - secured a permit from the British colonial government to transport his body to Cyprus. On the afternoon of 16 August 1934, his remains arrived at Famagusta harbour on board the “Boulac”, accompanied by Co-Adjutor Catholicos Papken Gulesserian; they were then transported to Nicosia, where they arrived at about 21:30. The coffin was temporarily placed in the Sourp Boghos chapel, at the old Armenian cemetery just outside the city walls, and was subsequently moved to the Sourp Asdvadzadzin (Holy Mother-of-God) cathedral on Saturday evening, 18 August. In the following morning, a solemn memorial service was held at the Gothic cathedral, during the Sunday Liturgy.
At around 14:30, the funeral service started; the cathedral proved too small to accommodate the multitude of people, from all ethnic communities of the island, who had gathered to honour the great benefactor. Officiating the state funeral were Their Holinesses, the Catholicos of Cilicia Sahag II Khabayan (who had already been summering at the Magaravank) and Co-adjutor Catholicos Papken I Gulesserian, and His Eminence the Armenian Archbishop Cyprus Bedros Saradjian. Because of his advanced age (he was born in the same year as the benefactor), the elderly Catholicos Sahag only blessed the coffin. Papken I officiated the rest of the Liturgy, and he also delivered a beautiful eulogy, exalting the God-pleasing and philanthropic work of the celebrated Garabed Melkonian.
Upon exiting the cathedral, the oak coffin was placed in the Armenian compound’s courtyard, where the crowds were gathered and eulogies were read. At around 16:45, the coffin was placed on a horse-drawn hearse and the solemn funeral procession first roamed the narrow streets of the old city, before exiting the walls from the Paphos Gate and then heading southbound, towards the Institute. Leading the procession was the school’s philharmonic, which played mournful tunes, with musician Vahan Bedelian as its conductor.
At around 18:15, the long procession reached the Institute, whose main entrance and both sides of the road leading up to the front yard were impressively decorated with black veils and branches; there were also censers on both sides of that road, burning incense. Following a moving encomium by Headmaster Krikor Guiragossian, a short encouraging speech by Co-adjutor Catholicos Papken and a farewell by both a male and a female student, the coffin was buried exactly in the middle of the empty space between the twin buildings.
In early 1938, the Institute's students constructed an octagonal wooden mausoleum, which was replaced by the existing white marble mausoleum (1954-1956, architect: Mardiros Altounian, sculptor: Léon Mouradoff), bearing Krikor and Garabed’s bronze busts.
Krikor and Garabed Melkonian are amongst the greatest benefactors of the Armenian nation, thanks to whom generations of Armenians were educated, and Cyprus became a hub for the Armenian Diaspora.
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra
