ARMENIA: RELIGIOUS HISTORY
from: Encyclopaedia
of Religion and Ethics, Edited
by James Hastings, Charles Scribner's Sons, Volume I, 1961.
"ARMENIA (Zoroastrian).—The
sources of our information for the earlier epoch of Armenia's religious history are the Urartic or Vannic
inscriptions (see preceding art.). For
the Indo-Germanic period down to Christian times the most important native
sources are Agathangelos (5th cent., ed. Venice, 1862), Moses
of Chorene's History and Geography of Armenia (5th cent.,
ed. Venice, 1865), Faustus of Byzantium (5th cent., ed. Venice, 1889),
Eznik (5th cent., ed. Venice, 1826), Anania Shiragaci, (7th cent., ed.
Patkanean, St. Petersburg, 1877), and (for names) the ancient Armenian
version of the OT. We also gather
short but valuable notices from Xenophon's Anabasis, Strabo's
Geography, and the works of Dio Cassius, Pliny, and Tacitus. Considerable as the material is, it is but
incidental to the main purpose of these ancient authors, and is, therefore,
very fragmentary. We may, however, hope
for important additions to our knowledge of Zoroastrianism in early Armenia from the critical study of Armenian folk-lore and
popular superstitions, when enough shall have been
collected for the purpose.
Originally there was nothing in common between the
Iranian races and the ancient inhabitants of Armenia, who were probably connected with the Hittites in
the West and the Caucasic races of the North…." [794].
"….The study here
presented must not be regarded as a complete picture of Armenian paganism. Both the pantheon and the world of minor
spirits contained other non-Zoroastrian names and beliefs which have been
omitted; but the old religion of Armenia was mainly Iranian, and may be described as
Zoroastrianism of a corrupt type.
It is probable that the ancient Armenians themselves
conceived their pantheon as containing the following deities: Aramazd, as chief god; Anahit, as chief
and favourite goddess; Vahagn, as the national god of war and heroism; the sun
and the moon; Mihr; and Tir as the god of human destiny, whose relation to
learning and eloquence has a Greek flavour.
Deities of a lower magnitude of importance disappeared more easily from
the popular
1
memory. Along with
these Persian deities, there were also an Elamitic goddess Nanē
(the Babylonian Nanậ, cf. also the 'Persian' goddess Nanaea of 2 Mac I13), the
Syrian Ast[Greek letter lamda (l)]ik
(Venus), and the Syrian Barsham (Ba'al-Shemin).
These three must have migrated into Armenia during post-Alexandrian
times, perhaps Doppelgänger [doubles] of some of the native
deities, though whether they formed a group, Barsham-Ast[Greek letter lamda
(l)]ik-Nanē, corresponding to Aramazd-Anahit-Vahagn, as Jensen (Hittiter
und Armenier, p. 181 ff.) suggests, is a less plausible hypothesis. At all events they soon asserted themselves
as independent and separate deities, so that Ast[Greek
letter lamda (l)]ik could become the paramour of Vahagn and have a temple in
the sacred town of Yashtishat, where Anahit also had a sanctuary. After Alexander, and especially in Roman
times, the Armenians came under strongly Hellenistic influences, and began to
seek parallels between the Greek and their own deities. It would also seem that during this period
the worship of the sun and the moon became somewhat neglected. Otherwise, we cannot understand why Agathangelos
[probable fictional name. Percent validity of history?
Book written in 460 ("Armeniapedia" (online) (The Armenian
Encyclopedia))] makes so little of them.
The ancient Armenians were also very much given to divination and
witchcraft (Moses of Chorene, 1. 30, ii. 66; Ohan Mantaguni, op. cit.
xxvi.; Alishan, op. cit. pp. 360-409)." [802].
"M.H. Ananikian." [802].
"ARMENIA (Christian). THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY.—The national legends and traditions of Armenia are rich in information regarding the introduction
of Christianity into the country. In
particular, it is said to have been preached by Apostles or disciples of
Apostles, such as St. Bartholomew and St. Thaddaeus. But it has been proved that these legends
did not appear till late in the literature of Armenia, and that they were borrowed largely from the
literature of Greece." [802-803].
"Frédéric Macler." [807].
● ● ● ● ●
2
_________________________________________________________________
from: Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition, Lindsay Jones, Editor in Chief,
Thomson Gale, 2005 (1987).
'ARMENIAN CHURCH. According
to legend, the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew were the original
evangelizers of Armenia. Reliable
historical data indicate that there were bishops in western Armenia during the third century, principally in Ashtishat
in the province of Taron. Eusebius of Caesarea
[c. 260 – c. 340] mentions "brethren in Armenia of whom Merozanes was the bishop"; Dionysius
of Alexandria wrote a letter on repentance to Merozanes in 251. There are scattered stories of Armenian
martyrs during the third century, but records are meager and mostly
questionable.
HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH IN ARMENIA. The
cultural contacts of the Armenians with the Greeks in the west and the Syrians
in the south and the missionary outreach of important Christian centers in Caesarea and Edessa facilitated the introduction of the Christian
religion into Armenia, which was a kingdom under Roman protectorate. Following the Edict of Toleration [?
(see pages 4–6)] issued
in 313 by Emperor Constantine [Roman Emperor 306 (312) – 337 (280? – 337)]
at Milan[see
pages 4–6], the king of Armenia, Tiridates III (298–330), and his courtiers were
converted and baptized by Gregory the Illuminator [c. 257 – c. 337], the apostle of Armenia.
Armenia became in 314
[NOTE: THIS CONFLICTS WITH THE "301" AND
"2001" DATES ON THE (MY) POSTAL ITEMS (EXCEPTING
THE VATICAN CITY ENVELOPE AND STAMPS, WHICH DIPLOMATICALLY, AND ERRONEOUSLY
(following this source), HAVE: "1700° ANNIVERSARIO DEL BATTESIMO
DELLA NAZIONE ARMENA" [1700th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAPTISM
OF THE ARMENIAN NATION])] the first
nation with Christianity as its established state religion.
Following the king's baptism, Gregory traveled to Caesarea (Cappadocia) in the fall of 314 and was consecrated by
Metropolitan Leontius [Leontius, the metropolitan of Caesarea, died 337] as the first catholicos, or chief bishop, of the
Armenian church. Gregory's consecration marked the farthest
extension of the Christian church in northeast Asia Minor from its base in Caesarea, where Gregory himself had been raised and educated. The formal conversion of Armenia reinforced its political and cultural ties with
the Roman world.' [487-488].
3
"BIBLIOGRAPHY
The
one outstanding and comprehensive history of the Armenian church is
by Mal'achia Ormanian, Azgapatown (History of the nation),
3 vols. (1912-1927; reprint, Beirut, 1959–1961), which uses primary
sources extensively. A similar
but older work is that by Michael Chamchean, Patmut' iwn Hayots,
3 vols. (Venice, 1784–1786).
An abridged edition has been translated into English by Johannes
Audell as History of America, 2 vols. (Calcutta, 1827).
There are also three smaller histories of the Armenian church
titled Patmut 'iwn hay ekeghets' woy:
those by Melchisedek Muratean (Jerusalem, 1872), Abraham Zaminean (Nor
Nakhijevan, 1908), and Kevork Mesrop (Istanbul, 1913–1914). Other studies in Armenian church
history are either topical or periodic.
However, ecclesiastical material is often incorporated into secular
histories. Important among these
are Jacques de Morgan's Histoire du people arménien:
Depuis les temps les plus reculés de ses annales jusqu'à nos
jours (Paris, 1919), translated by Ernest F. Barry as The
History of the Armenian People: From
the Remotest Times to the Present Day (Boston, 1965); François
Tournebize's Histoire politique et religieuse de l'Arménien des
origins à 1071 (Paris, 1947).
Tiran Nersoyan
(1987)" [490].
● ● ● ● ●
Excursus: from: Oxford
Dictionary of the Christian Church,
Second Edition edited by F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, Oxford, 1974.
"MILAN,
Edict of. Early
in 313 the Emps. *Constantine [Roman Emperor (306 (312) – 337 (280?
– 337)] and Licinius [Eastern
Roman Emperor 308 – 324 (c. 250 – 325)] met at
Milan and agreed to recognize the legal personality of the Christian
Churches and to tolerate all religions equally.
Their policy marked the triumph of Christianity over
*persecution, but did not 'establish' the Church. The
document commonly known as the 'Edict of Milan'
(it is not an edict and was not issued at Milan)
is to be found in divergent forms in *Lactantius (De Mortibus Persecutorum,
xlviii) and *Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., x. 5).
4
O. Seeck, "Das sogenannte Edikt
von Mailand' in Z.K.T., xii (1891), pp. 381–6; H. Nesselhauf, 'Das
Toleranzgesetz des Licinius' in Hist.
J., lxxiv for 1954 (1955), pp. 44–61.
N.H. Baynes, Constantine the Great and the
Christian Church (Raleigh Lecture for 1929; 1930), pp. 69–74
(full and valuable bibl.)."
[915].
_____
_____ _____
Excursus: from: The Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian Church, Third
edition edited by E.A. Livingstone, Oxford, 1997.
"Milan,
Edict of. The document so called is in fact a circular of 313
to provincial governors issued in Bithynia by the Emp. Licinius. In
accordance with an agreement made with *Constantine at Milan, he extended
to the E. provinces freedom of worship for all, including Christians,
and the restitution of possessions lost by the Churches since the persecution
of 303, concessions previously made in the W. by Constantine
and Maxentius [Western Roman Emperor 306 – 312 (c. 278 – 312)].
It is preserved in divergent forms by *Lactantius (De Mortibus Persecutorum,
48) and *Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 10. 5). See also PERSECUTIONS,
EARLY CHRISTIAN.
Comm. by J. Moreau
in his edn. of Lactantius, De Mortibus
Persecutorum (SC 39), 2 (1955), pp. 456–64.
N.H. Baynes, Constantine the Great and the
Christian Church (Raleigh Lecture for 1929; 1930), pp. 69–74 (full
and valuable bibl.)."
[1086].
_____
_____ _____
Excursus: from: Raleigh
Lecture on History, Constantine the Great and the Christian Church, By Norman H. Baynes, Read March 12, 1930.
"In February 313 Licinius met
Constantine at Milan, and there married Constantine's sister.41 At this meeting a policy of complete religious
freedom was agreed upon; the corporation of the Christian
5
__________________________________________________________________
Church—or
rather, perhaps, of each separate Christian Church—was recognized as a legal
person; the text was doubtless settled of a rescript which would be put into
force by Licinius on his return to the East. It is that text which is generally known as
the Edict of Milan. Seeck [Otto
Seeck 1850 – 1921] has shown that we
cannot prove that there ever was an Edict published at Milan;
it is indeed unlikely that any such edict was issued, but this is so because in
all probability [that phrase, though fashionable, is a mistake] Constantine
had anticipated the agreement in policy reached at Milan in rescripts similar
to that directed to Anullinus [proconsul of Africa], which had been sent
to all the governors of the Western provinces.
The Edict of Milan may be a fiction, but the fact for which the term
stood remains untouched.42 Licinius left Milan to carry to the Christians of the East the message
of toleration, recognition, and restitution framed by the senior Augustus [Constantine]. He was
met by the revolt of his Caesar Maximin [Maximinus, Gaius Galerius
Valerius, Roman Emperor 308 – 313 (c. 270 – 313)]; after Maximin's
defeat and death the mastery of the Roman world was shared between Licinius
and Constantine." [9].
"I should agree with Seeck that there never was an Edict of Milan: Constantine had previously to that
meeting in letters
to his officials anticipated the protocol of Milan which was itself composed on the basis of those
letters." [72].
6
