Our Team

Hayk Hakobyan

Co-founder and President at ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Scholar of Theology, PhD in History, Senior Scientific Researcher in Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts ‘Matendaran’ and Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of NAS RA.
2013-2014 he was an affiliate doctoral student at the Department of Christian East of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. In 2012-2013 taught a course on History of the Armenian Church at the Armenian National Agrarian University; in 2013-2014 taught a course on Religious Studies at National Polytechnic University of Armenia.
His research interests include Medieval and Armenian Studies, Historical Theology and Caucasian Studies.
Co-author of the book Joseph Orbeli: Epigraphs of Gandzasar and Havotsptuk, (Yerevan, 2016) and author of sixteen articles.

Anna Ohanjanyan

Co-founder at ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Scholar of Theology, PhD in History, Associate Professor. Senior Scientific Researcher at Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts ‘Matendaran.’ Between 2005 and 2016 she was a Professor Assistant, then an Associate Professor at the Department of Theology of Yerevan State University. Between 2016-2020 — a post-doctoral research fellow at CEMS in Central European University in Budapest.
Her research interests include Historical and Speculative Theology, inter-faith dynamics and polemical / apologetical literature in late Middle Ages and early modern era.
Author of the monograph The Book ‘Key of Truth:’ A Linguistic-Historical and Theological Analysis, (YSU press, 2015) and the book Collection Tōnapatcՙar (Festal Homiliary). Editio Princeps, Part I, (Holy Ejmiatsin, 2017).

Shushan Khachatryan

Co-founder at ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Scholar of Religious Studies and Theology, PhD in History, senior researcher and head of Armenian Genocide Victims’ Documentation and Data Collection Department at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.
From September 2013 to July 2014 she did research as an Erasmus Mundus PhD student at University Ca’ Foscari of Venice. From 2011-2015-a PhD student at Yerevan State University, Faculty of Theology and in summer of 2018 defended PhD thesis on “The Issues of Religious Studies of the Armenian Genocide.”
Her professional interests and research are on Armenian Genocide Studies, Religious and theological studies of genocides, Judeo-Christian relations, Muslim-Christian relations, Philosophy of History, historical and modern persecutions of Christians.
She is the author of fourteen scientific articles.

Garnik Harutyunyan

Co-founder at ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Scholar of Theology, PhD in History. He received his PhD in 2014 (thesis titled Canonical Vernacular Texts and Issues of the History of Armenian Canon Law (V-VII centuries)). Between 2007 and 2012 has volunteered in the Sunday schools of Aragatsotn diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since 2010 works at Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts “Matendaran”, as codicologist, then as a Senior Scientific Researcher. From 2014 to 2021 he was an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology of YSU. Between 2018 and 2020 worked in Gevorkian Theological Seminary as a head of Post-graduate department. He teaches a course on Canon Law in the Seminary.
His interests are in the history of the Armenian Canon law, Armenian theological literature of late Middle Ages, interrelationships between bioethics and theology, processes of secularization.
He is the author of more than 10 scientific and several popular-scientific articles.

Shahane Harutyunyan

Co-founder at ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Received her BA in Theology from the Department of Theology of YSU with the qualification of a teacher. MA student at the Center of Armenian Studies at the Department of History of YSU. She has worked at the Bible Society of Armenia as an organizer of and teacher at the seminars for school teachers of the History of the Armenian Church. Over eight years she has been singing in the Armenian Apostolic Church choirs. Since 2017 she has been cooperating with “Dialog” NGO, in particular, she has lectured on such topics as the peculiarities of propagation through religious images as well as their usage to discern the orthodox and non-orthodox /sectarian propaganda mechanisms in iconography, visual art and media; the reflection of totalitar art in the religious denominations; the specificity of religious education in family and the role of schools in Christian education.
Her research interests include Օrthodox religious philosophy, Christian pedagogy, bioethics, Christian iconography, issues of the media security on religious topics and the Christian persecutions in the Middle East.

Arpi Aleksanyan

Member in ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Research Master in Theology. She completed Bachelor of Theology program at Yerevan State University, Faculty of Theology (2009-2013). In 2015, she took her first Master’s degree in Theology at Yerevan State University, in 2019 she was awarded the degree of Research Master at KU Leuven.
Her research scope includes inter-church dialogue between Chalcedonic and non-Chalcedonic Churches in the Middle Ages with the focus on Christology, the understanding of ecumenical church, the concept of church unity especially in the Oriental Orthodox theology.
The research themes of her articles are the beginning of the Ecumenical Movement in the Armenian Church, the ecumenical activity of Karekin I Catholicos and the perception of faith in the Western and Eastern Christianity in the nineteenth century.

Heriknaz Grigoryan

Member in ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis

Received her BA in Theology in 2018 from the Faculty of Theology at Yerevan State University. Since 2019 has been working at the Center of Christian Education of Mother See of Holy Ejmiatsin. For her paper The Issue of Second and Third Marriages among Armenians presented at the International Conference of the YSU Student Scientific Society she was awarded the Best Presented Paper Award.
Her research interests cover the Canon Law, issues of educational activity of the Armenian Church, peculiarities of the veneration of saints in Armenia, Living Theology, interplay of Bioethics and Theology, religion and violence, spiritual security and processes of secularization.
She has authored two scientific / popular scientific articles.

Tsoghik Leinen-Khachatryan

Member in ‘TheoLab’ Center for Science and Analysis, Research Analyst

Master in Religious Studies, Master in European Studies, and Diploma in state governance and local self-governance.
2001-2003 she studied at Yerevan State Academy of Public Administration. In 2004 took her first Master’s degree in Religious Studies at Yerevan State University, in 2015 she was awarded the Master of Arts at Europa University of Flensburg (Germany).
2000-2003 taught a course on Religion and History of Armenian Church at ‘Grigor Lusavorich’ University in Etchmiadzin.
Until 2015 head of the Administrative Control Department at the Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia.
To the scope of her scientific interests and research belong religion and public sphere, secularization, migration and securitization issues, representative and direct democracy, praxeology.
She is the author of 5 scientific articles.

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