RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Armenia
To the tenth century belong two historical works, one by the catholicos John, an Armenian history from the beginning to the year 925; the other by Thomas Artsruni, giving the history of the Artsrunians to 936. In the same century lived Chosrov the Great, who wrote an exposition of the Armenian breviary; Mesrob the Priest, the biographer of Nerses the Great and author of a history of the Georgians and Armenians; and Gregory of Narek, a celebrated writer of hymns, prayers, homilies, etc. Historians include Uchtanes, Bishop (of Urha, i.e., Edessa?), and Moses of Kalankaituk. To the eleventh century belong Stephen Asolik of Taron, author of a history to the year 1004; Aristakes of Lazdiverd, who in his history from 989 to 1071 describes the catastrophe of Armenia caused by the Seljuks; and Gregorios Magistros (1058), whose letters are important for contemporary history.
Another flourishing period is the twelfth century under the reign of the dynasty of the Rupenides. To this time belong Nerses Klayetsi or Shnorhali, catholicos 1166-73, who wrote poems and prayers, the latter translated into thirty-six languages; Ignatius, author of a commentary on Luke; Sarkis Shnorhali, who wrote on the catholic epistles; Matthew of Edessa, whose history, comprising the period from 952 to 1132, and continued by Gregory the Priest to 1162, contains many interesting "notices concerning the crusades; Samuel of Ani, author of a chronicle to the year 1179, continued later to 1664; Nerses of Lambron, Archbishop of Tarsus, whose dogmatic works and spiritual addresses are published with the dogmatic letters of Gregory Tla, catholicos 1173-80; Michael the Great, patriarch of the Syrians 1166-99, who wrote a chronicle to the year 1198; and Mekhitar Gosh (d. 1213), author of 190 fables.
The thirteenth century was also rich in authors. Vartan the Great wrote a chronicle to the year 1268, and an exposition of Biblical passages. Giragos of Gandzak wrote a history consisting of two parts: one comprising the older Armenian history to 1165; the other contemporaneous, treating of the Mongols, Iberians, and the author's country, Albania, to 1265. His contemporary, the monk Maghakia wrote a history of the Mongolian inroads to 1272. Stephen Orbelian, archbishop of Siunik 1287-1304, wrote a history of Siunik. Sempad, brother of King Hetum I. (1224-69), composed a chronicle to 1274, continued to 1331. Mekhitar of Ayrivank wrote a chronograpby to 1289. To the period of decay belong Thomas of Metsop, of the fifteenth century, author of a history of Timur and his successors. To the seventeenth century belongs Arakel of Tabriz, author of a history from 1602 to 1661. With the eighteenth century commences the literary activity of the Mekhitarists (q.v.) and an entirely new era, animated by Western science.
III. The Armenian Church: Armenia has the .glory of being the first land which made Christianity the religion of the country. Later legend places the first preaching of Christian doctrine there in the apostolic time and claims for the land the graves of the four apostles, Bartholomew, Thaddaeus (Lebbseus), Simon, and Judas. The most prominent and important are Bartholomew and
Thaddaeus, and they are often mentioned alone. Sometimes two Thaddaei are distinguished — the apostle, and one of the seventy. i. Legends. These are the apostles whose activity the older legend has placed in the East, and these legends, mostly of Greek or Syriac origin, were worked over and enlarged by the Armenians in a relatively late time; the product can be seen in the historical work of Moses of Chorene. The Bartholomew legend is evidently the oldest; Greek testimonies of the fifth century know of his death by martyrdom in Urbanopolis (Albanopolis, Xerbanopolis, etc.), an otherwise unknown city of Great Armenia. But the importance of Bartholomew does not come up to that of Thaddaeus. The legend of Abgar, King of Edessa (see Abgar), of his correspondence with Jesus and the sending of Thaddaeus to Edessa, enjoyed at an early period great popularity in Armenia. The Armenian form of the legend is extant in a translation of the Doctrina Addasi (" Labubna of Edessa, Abgar's letter, or History of the Conversion of the Edessenes," Armen., Venice and Jerusalem, 1868, French by Alishan, Venice, 1868, by Emin in Langlois, ii. 313 sqq.).
There can be no doubt that Christianity was introduced in Armenia very early. Before Gregory the Illuminator, the true apostle of 2. Gregory Armenia, Merujan, the bishop of the the Illumi- Armenians, wrote a letter on repentnator. ance (Eusebius, Hist, eccl., VI. xlvi. 2) to Dionysius of Alexandria (248-265). A new epoch begins with Gregory. According to unreliable tradition, Anak, a scion of the noble house of Suren Pahlav, the murderer of King Chosrov (d. 238), was his father. Like many other Armenian princes he sought refuge on Roman territory during the Persian occupation. At CaBsarea he received a Christian and Greek education, which was of the utmost importance for the entire ecclesiastical development of Armenia. When the Armenian kingdom was retaken and reorganized, Gregory was one of the most zealous helpers of the king. But with the restoration of the kingdom was also connected the restitution of the national religion, which had been supplanted by Persian fire-worship. As a Christian, Gregory refused to offer chaplets upon the altar of the great goddess Anahid on the national festival arranged by the king, and professed to be a Christian. The enraged king subjected him to cruel tortures; legend speaks of his confinement in a pit for thirteen years. At last the king was converted by a miracle (Sozomen, ii. 8), and then the Christianizing of the country was undertaken by both. At the head of the army, Trdat and Gregory marched to the ancient capital Artaxata; the temple of Anahid and the oracle of Tiur with its school of priests were destroyed after a stout resistance, and all the temple property was given to the Christian churches. In the same manner they acted in West Armenia. At the request of the king, Gregory, accompanied by a retinue of Armenian feudal princes, went to Caesarea, and was consecrated primate of Armenia by Leontius. From Cappadocia Gregory brought the relics of John the Baptist (Surp Garabed) and
Armenia