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THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

Ipatriarcbate of 3erusalem
By ARCHDEACON DOWLING, D.D.
(with sixteen illustrations)
Dedicated, by permission, to DAMIANUS,
Patriarch of Jerusalem
PREFACE BY THE
LORD BISHOP OF SALISBURY
Secont) EMticm, IRevfeets ant> Enlargeb
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
Cloth, l/6
"In a Preface to this issue the Bishop of
Salisbury says he has read the book with great
interest and admiration. . . . Such an expression
of opinion on the part of so eminent a theologian
has a value that needs no emphasizing."
The Guardian, October 20, 1909.
"Archdeacon Dowling's admirable account of
the Patriarchate of Jerusalem."
The Church Times, January 14, 1910.

Frontispiece

THE GBEAT COUBT AND CATHEDRAL, BTCHMIADZIN.

' Page. 21.

THE
ARMENIAN CHURCH

ARCHDEACON DOWLING, D.D.
CANON RESIDENTIARY OF ST. GEORGe's COLLEGIATE CHURCH, JERUSALEM ;
COMMISSARY FOR EASTERN CHURCH INTERCOURSE WITHIN
THE ANGLICAN BISHOPRIC IN JERUSALEM

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
THE LORD BISHOP OF SALISBURY

ILLUSTRATED

LONDON
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
northumberland avenue, w.c.; 43, queen victoria street, e.c.
Brighton : 129, north street
New York: E. S. GORHAM
1910

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE

KE4

The beautiful tradition of the Armenian Church represents
its " Illuminator Gregory " as welcoming, at Vagharshabad, his
son Aristaces, who had represented him at the Council (Nicaea),
and breaking forth after he had heard the Nicene Creed, from
his son's lips, with the Doxology, which, to this day, is recited
after the Creed by the Celebrant of the Armenian Liturgy —
"Yea, we glorify Him Who was before the ages,
by adoring the Holy Trinity
And the One Godhead of the Father,
And of the SON,
And of the Holy Ghost,
Now and Ever, through Ages and Ages. Amen." 1
' The Age of the Fathers, by the late Reverend William Bright, D.D.,
Vol. i, p. 112. (Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1903.)

THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
TO
MATTEOS IZMIRLIAN,
" SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST,
AND BY THE UNBOUNDED WILL OF GOD
CHIEF BISHOP AND CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIA,
SUPREME PATRIARCH OF THE NATIONAL,
BELOVED, AND HOLY SEE AT THE
SACRED APOSTOLIC CATHEDRAL
CHURCH OF ETCHMIADZIN,
IN ARARAT."

INTRODUCTION
(BY THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY)
As I have the honour to be one of the Episcopal Canons of the
Collegiate Church of St. George at Jerusalem, which Bishop Blyth has
so carefully constituted, I am very glad to have this opportunity of
commending this work of one of my colleagues, which he has had the
goodness to submit to my judgment before its publication. Archdeacon
Dowling worthily represents one of our most important functions as a
Chapter, that of personal intercourse with the various Churches of the
East, and I need hardly say that he has taken up his duties both
earnestly and devoutly. This volume fills a worthy place in the series
of handbooks which he is issuing with the wise purpose of helping
English, residents and travellers who visit the East — as well as the
general public at home — to obtain correct information about the various
Churches with individual members of which they naturally become
acquainted. The results of his own careful study of documents, and his
personal and familiar intercourse — intercourse for which his patience,
gentleness and friendliness especially fit him — are here presented for
the guidance of others in their dealings with and comments on these
ancient Churches. As regards the separate Churches of the East,
Anglicans have specially to be on their guard against prejudices which
may have been instilled into their minds by those who have chiefly
read and thought in a formal manner, and have merely applied the
facile test of orthodoxy which consists in the inquiry, "Does such
and such a Church accept such and such a Council ? "
But the matter cannot, in fairness to them, be so readily disposed of.
We in the West accept the decisions of the General Councils, on the
doctrines of the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, because they came to our forefathers at the time
of their conversion as a' connected whole, and were taught to them as
matters of spiritual religion in the language in which the whole of their
religion was conveyed. But.it was not so with the nationalities on the
borders of the Roman Empire, which existed long before that Empire
was created, and which still exist in a somewhat fragmentary and
distracted condition, living largely on the traditions of the past. To
them these decisions came from time to time as part of a political
struggle. They came in a language which was the language of conquest,
and which did not fit very readily into the theological conceptions which
they had formed of Christian truth, aided by the peculiar genius and
structure of their own languages. They came subject to all the
prejudices which attach to anathemas, driving persons to accept a
particular form of words and perhaps to alter their natural way of
speaking and thinking at the demand of a foreigner who threatens
them ; and this prejudice especially attached to the decisions of councils
vii

viii INTRODUCTION
at which any of these national churches were not represented.
These general considerations explain the attitude both of the Copts
and the West or Jacobite Syrians, who were within the Roman Empire,
and of the Armenians and the East or Nestorian Syrians, who were
mostly without it. I will not say that, in the case of all these Churches,
"Tout savoir est tout pardonner"; but certainly I will say that the
more you know of their history the more easy it is to understand their
separation and the tenacity with which they guard their independence.
The head of the Archbishop's Assyrian or East Syrian Mission (Dr.
W. A. Wigram) is at this time doing a good work in putting out an
intelligent and well-grounded statement of the history and theological
position of the East Syrian or Nestorian Church, which exhibits all
these considerations, to which I have referred, in detail.1 Canon
Dowling has already done something of the kind for the Copts, and he
is doing it, in this volume, for the Armenians, in pages which will
interest all thoughtful readers. His statements on pp. 42-3, 59, 60-6,
with be read with great satisfaction by all those who wish to find
reasons for a measure of inter-communion with any of these separate
Churches (which have a position in many ways very like our own)
instead of an excuse for declining it. With equal pleasure will be read
the personal records of the fine character of the Catholicos Khrimian,
and the remarkable answer of Bishop Mouradiantz to Pope Leo XIII.
Others will find this book very convenient for its accurate account of
the doctrine and ritual of the Armenian Church, which they would
otherwise have to search out from larger volumes. Others will be glad
to be able to refer to the extract from Dr. James Martin, describing the
massacres of 1909 (pp. 150-5). Others will, I trust, be moved to
support Mr. Parfit in the interesting work which he desires to carry
on at Aintab (pp. 144-8).
I have myself written a short Memorandum on the relation ofthe
Anglican Church to the separated Churches ofthe East,2 which I mention
here because it adds an interesting detail to what is printed below
under the head of Friendly relations on pp. 99-101 — a striking instance
of inter-communion. On the occasion of the consecration of Dr. Charles
Gore, as Bishop of Worcester, on February 23, 1902, Dr. Baronian, an
Armenian archpriest, received Holy Communion from the Archbishop
of Canterbury. This instance certainly does not stand alone and it
would seem to be a sufficient precedent for any of our clergy to whom
application might be made by an Armenian for admission to Holy
Communion. I do not say that it would give an Armenian the right to
such reception, because that right depends upon a more forma! pro
nouncement under resolutions 63 following of the Lambeth Conference
of 1908. But it would justify similar action, and I should not myself
hesitate to follow it.
1 It will soon be published, I believe, by S.P.C.K., and is of course of greater
extent than the essay he published in 1908.
2 This Memorandum is prefixed to Dr.W. A. Wigram's The Doctrinal Position of
the Assyrian or East Syrian Church, S.P.C.K., roo8. My memorandum touches
the condition of other Churches besides the Nestorian.
John Sarum.
West Lulworth,
July 15, 1910.

PREFACE
My interest in the Armenian Church commenced
in 1 89 1, when I spent the whole of one night — from
sunset to sunrise — in the Church of the Resurrection,
with Mr. Theodore Isaac, the Theological Professor
at the Convent of St. James, Jerusalem. On that
occasion I stood beside the Armenian Priest at the
Holy Sepulchre Altar, when he celebrated " the
Divine Liturgy."
Since then I have visited Mr. Isaac at the Armenian
Convent of Holy Nazareth, in Calcutta, and have in
the following pages never hesitated to make use of
his valuable knowledge.
Again and again I have found it helpful to refer
to Captain Fortescue's popular Armenian Church,
published by J. T. Hayes, London, in 1873. It was
written mainly for the information of his Armenian
friends in India. Several points, however, of interest
in the Armenian Church I have described, which are
not contained in Captain Fortescue's book.
My object is to inform Anglicans, particularly those
who are not familiar with the doctrine and ceremonies
of this ancient national Church. Foreigners con
stantly speak and write of "The Armeno- Gregorian
Church." Armenians object to this addition. They
claim that a Christian Church was founded in
Armenia by the Apostles SS. Thaddasus and Bartho
lomew as early as A.D. 34. They describe their
Church as " The Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia."
Dr. Neale, however, is correct when, referring to " the
Divine Liturgy," he mentions " the Armeno-Gregorian
Rite." It will be noticed that I omit all allusions to the
History of the Armenian Nation. An ordinary

x PREFACE
encyclopaedia amply supplies what information is
necessary. I am concerned with the interesting fact
that Armenia has the honour of being the first country
in which Christianity was adopted as the national
religion. It is curious that " Armenia " is nowhere mentioned
under that name in the Holy Scriptures, though it
occurs in the Authorized Version of the Old Testa
ment (2 Kings xix. 37), being unnecessarily sub
stituted for "Ararat."
The reader will please to understand that this work
is not intended for theological students. They will
find what is required in such publications as Neale's
History of the Holy Eastern Church, General Introduc
tion, Vols. I. and II., and Conybeare and Maclean's
Rituale Armenorum.
The authorities I have consulted unfortunately
differ as to many dates. The translation of many
Armenian names into English also vary. Another
difficulty has been to distinguish carefully between
the exact differences of forms and ceremonies in this
ancient Church, and the Mekhitarists. The Latin
Church has unquestionably influenced "the Divine
Liturgy" of the Armenian Uniats, but not of the
old Armenian Church. Any imperfections on my
part in this respect will be most thankfully noted,
should a second edition be necessary.
I am indebted to Miss M. W. Frearson, the
honorary Superintendent of the Armenian Orphanage
at Aintab, Asia Minor, for a delightful visit to the
Armenians in that city during Lent and Easter,
1907 ; also to the late Superior of the Theological
Seminary at Armash (the Rev. Yeghishe' Tourian), now
Patriarch of Constantinople, for his kind hospitality
in 1899.
Archdeacon Ward, Alexandria, has lent me his
valuable manuscript on the Armenian Bible, which I
have gladly made use of in the section, pp. 104-112.
Mr. A. N. Malan, North End House, Winchester,

PREFACE xi
has enabled me to copy the Confession of Faith of the
Orthodox Armenian Church, translated by his brother,
the late Rev. S. C. Malan.
I have not hesitated to quote Mr. Malan's Life and
Times of St. Gregory the Illuminator. But it has
been impossible for me to slavishly follow him in his
description of " St. Gregory's twelve tortures," as
described in chapters vii-xiii.
The paragraphs on " interesting features " in the
Cathedral of St. James the Just, Jerusalem, pp. 1 56, 7,
are valuable contributions by Mrs. Spoer. (See
Appendix No. 1.)
I owe a debt of lasting gratitude to Herrn Professor
Friedrich Murad, at the Armenian Convent at Ramleh,
Palestine, and to his brother, Herr Serapion J. Murad,
of Jaffa, for invaluable assistance. This latter gentle
man acted as interpreter to the delegates at the Berlin
Congress, where his legal knowledge was of the first
importance. Mr. Haigazoun Hagop Keshishian, a graduate of
St. Paul's College, Tarsus, has made a few useful
suggestions in my manuscript. The same acknow
ledgment applies to Mr. John B. Nazlian, of Haifa.
Mr. J. H. Halladjian, the Armenian photographer at
Haifa, has presented me with his excellent unpub
lished picture of the interior of St. James's Cathedral,
Jerusalem, for which I am greatly indebted to him.
Mr. G. P. Devey, H.B.M. Consul at Damascus, has
generously placed at my disposal eleven photographs,
a few of which have already appeared in Mr. Lynch's
Armenia Travels and Studies.
Messrs. Sarrapion Brothers, Beirut, have most con
siderately allowed me to make use of their copy of
Lynch's Armenia Travels and Studies, which only
came into my hands just before going to press.
My warmest thanks are due to the Bishop of Salis
bury for his Introduction ; to Mr. F. C. Conybeare,
Oxford, for reading the proofs ; and to the Vardabet
Tirayre, Etchmiadzin, for spending two mornings in

xii PREFACE
the Duke Humphrey's Library, Oxford, discussing
questionable details in this booklet.
The Armenian Church in Turkey is passing
through a period of intense stress and anxiety.
It has been suggested that, if the Bishops of the
Anglican Communion feel it right, for whatever
reasons they may have, to withhold outward signs of
sympathy with a sister Church in the throes of her
agony, that all, whether cleric or lay, who believe in
Catholic Unity should unite in private prayer for the
Armenian Church and her people.
"A Prayer for persons troubled in mind or in
conscience," in the Order for the Visitation of the Sick,
with a few slight alterations, wonderfully fits the sad
case of the suffering Armenian Church.
" O blessed Lord, the Father of mercies, and the
GOD of all comforts ; we beseech Thee, look down in
pity and compassion upon this Thy afflicted Church.
The souls of priests and people are full of trouble.
But, O merciful GOD, Who hast written Thy Holy
Word for our learning, that we, through patience and
comfort of Thy Holy Scriptures, might have hope ;
give them a right understanding of themselves, and of
Thy promises ; that they may neither cast away their
confidence in Thee, nor place it anywhere but in
Thee. Give them strength against all their tempta
tions, and remove all their uneasiness. Break not the
bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Shut
not up Thy tender mercies in displeasure ; but make
them to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones
which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Deliver them
from the fear of the enemy, and lift up the light of
Thy countenance upon them, and give them peace,
through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen."
St. Luke's Mission,
Haifa under Mount Carmel,
Palestine. September, igio.

CONTENTS

DEDICATION 
INTRODUCTION BY THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY
PREFACE .......
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .
AUTHORITIES QUOTED
NOTES ON THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
ETCHMIADZIN ....
AN IDEAL CATHOLICOS
FIRST ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF MEGUERDITCH I
CONSECRATION OF MATTEOS IZMIRLIAN, CATHOLICOS
YEGHISHE' TOURIAN, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM, WITH APPENDIX
THE CATHOLICOS OF SIS .
THE CATHOLICOS OF AKHTAMAR
ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR
THE HOLY VARTANS ....
THE ORTHODOXY OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
POPE LEO XIII AND BISHOP MELCHIZEDECK MOURA
DIANTZ ....
THE ANSWER OF BISHOP MELCHIZEDECK MOURADIANTZ
THE HOLY ORDERS ....
PSALMIST AND CLEANER .
FIRST ORDER : THE DOORKEEPER
SECOND ORDER : THE READER
THIRD ORDER : THE EXORCIST
FOURTH ORDER : THE ACOLYTE
MARRIAGE OF THE CLERGY
FIFTH ORDER : THE SUBDEACON
SIXTH ORDER : THE DEACON xiii

CONTENTS

seventh order : the priesthood ... 84
ceremony of the ordination . . 86
consecration of bishops .... 89
the vardabets  93
the kalendar  95
1. Fasts  96
11. Feasts  96
a fourth century saint in the anglican
kalendar ....... 98
friendly relations between the church of
england and the armenian church . . 99
churches •  i°i
the armenian bible  1 04
the seven mysteries  112
1. The Holy Sacrament of Baptism. . 113
11. The Divine Liturgy- . . . .116
111. The Sacrament of the Holy Chrism . 128
iv. The Sacrament of Penance . . . 132
v. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony . 134
vi. Holy Orders {See The Priesthood, p. 84). 135
vn. The Anointing of the Sick . . . 135
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA ........ 137
ARMENIAN ROMAN CATHOLICS  141
APPEALS FROM THE LATE ARCHBISHOP MEGUERDITCH'S
CONGREGATIONS TO THE BISHOP IN JERUSALEM
AND THE EAST  144
ARMENIAN PROTESTANTS  1 48
ARMENIAN MASSACRES, FROM 1894-1909 . . . 150
DR. MARTIN'S ACCOUNT OF THE ANTIOCH MASSACRE,
APRIL 15, I909 . . . . . igo
APPENDIX NO. I. INTERESTING FEATURES IN THE
CHURCH OF ST. JAMES THE JUST, JERUSALEM . 1 56
APPENDIX NO. 2. MELODIES OF THE HOLY APOSTOLIC
CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ARMENIA . . .158

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
To face page
THE GREAT COURT AND CATHEDRAL, ETCHMIADZIN Frontispiece
MEGUERDITCH I, LATE CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIA 28
HAROUTIOUN VEHABEDIAN, ARMENIAN PATRIARCH OF
JERUSALEM  39
GROUP OUTSIDE THE CATHEDRAL OF AKHTAMAR . 50
ARMENIAN CROSS: NEAR ANI  104
BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY SPECIMENS OF
FOUR ARMENIAN VERSIONS  112
A TYPICAL ARMENIAN ALTAR  Il8
INTERIOR OF ST. JAMES'S CATHEDRAL, JERUSALEM . 156

The following Publications have been consulted : —
Conybeare and Maclean's Rituale Armenorum, 1905.
Neale's History of the Holy Eastern Church, General
Introductions, Vols, i and ii, 1850.
Fortescue's Orthodox Eastern Church, 1907.
Adeney's Greek and Eastern Churches, 1908.
Curzon's Armenia, 1854.
Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D., 1825.
Hore's Eighteen Centuries of the Orthodox Greek Church,
1899.
Butler's Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, 1884.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Edition IX.
Hammond's Liturgies, Eastern and Western, 1878.
The Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia
(Cope and Fenwick), 1908.
Smith and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities,
1875- .
Malan's Life and Times of St. Gregory the Illuminator,
1868.
Fortescue's Armenian Church, 1873.
Issaverdenz's Sacred Rites and Ceremonies of the Armenian
Church, 1876.
The East and the West, January 1909. Article by Canon
C. H. Robinson.
Current numbers of The Living Church, 1904-1909.
Anglican and Foreign Church Society Reports.
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, 1851.
A. Goodrich-Freer's Inner Jerusalem, 1904.
Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. i, 151. Armenian
Version, 1904.
Lynch's Armenia Travels and Studies, Vols, i and ii, 1901.
A Catechism, of Christian Instruction, according to the
Doctrine of the Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia.
Calcutta, 1900.
Melodies of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of Armenia.
Privately printed. 4to. Calcutta, 1897.
A Brief Memoir of Ida Mellinger. Jarrold & Sons. No
date.
The Friend 'of Armenia. New Series. Nos. 37-41.
Marshall Bros., 1909-10.

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

NOTES ON THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
The sacred tradition of the spread of Christianity
among the Armenians by the Apostles SS. Thaddaeus
and Bartholomew is as old as the first historians of
the Armenian Church, by whom it is mentioned.
It cannot be proved, however, by critical history.1
The popular legend of the correspondence between
Abgarus the Black and our Blessed LORD is related
by Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. Book i, 13. Abgarus was
one of the Syrian Arsacidae, who reigned in Edessa,
from B.C. 5 — A.D. 32. Dr. Adeney in his Greek and
Eastern Churches, pp. 295, 462, gives an interesting
account of this ancient tradition. A portrait of this
king hangs upon the eastern wall of the Cathedral of
St. James the Just, Jerusalem.
According to Tertullian {Adv. Judaeos, c. 7), a
Christian Church flourished in Armenia during the
second century.
It is no easy task to indicate the geographical
limits of Armenia, since the late Sultan Abdul-
1 The Acts and Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Thaddaeus,
and the Acts and Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew,
translated from the Armenian, Venice, 1853 and 1854, are
printed in full in Malan's The Life and Times of St. Gregory the
Illuminator, pp. 66-103, London, Rivingtons, 1868. Armenian
Martyrologists say that St. Bartholomew was martyred in the
town of Arievbanus (Armenia Major), by Abgarus' son Sana-
trook, who had renounced the Christian faith of his father.
" Thaddaeus, Ap." is commemorated in the Armenian Kalen-
dar on July 20, and " SS. Thaddaeus and Bartholomew, App." on
November 30.
b 17

i8 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Hamid II, forbade the speaking or the writing of the
word ; and maps which gave Armenia as a distinct
province in Asia Minor were promptly confiscated by
the Ottoman Government.
Nevertheless, there is, or was, a distinct geographic
unit of that name, now under the sovereignty of
Persia, Turkey and Russia. Turkey has re-named her
Armenian territory, " Kurdistan " ; although the Arme
nians themselves designate their territories east of
the Euphrates river as " Greater Armenia," and those
on the west as "Lesser Armenia." The Armenian
population is most dense in the Turkish Vilayets of
Erzeroum, Van, Harput, Sivas, Diarbekr and Bitlis,
with considerable numbers in trie inland district north
of Aleppo.1
A few Armenians belong to the Orthodox Eastern
Church at Egin, on the western bank of the Euphrates,
to the north of Arabkir.
Armenians (writes Mr. H. G. Marcarian, a devoted
member of his Church) " claim to be the first among
Gentile nations to have embraced Christianity, which
is proved by our national history. The Armenian
Church, from its foundation to this day, has given
hundreds of thousands of martyrs for the sake of
Christianity. " Had it not been for the Armenians, the heathen
nations, Persians, Tartars and others, would have
delayed the Christianizing of the whole of Europe
many centuries ago, and most of the Christian nations
of to-day would have become Fire-worshippers,
Mohammedans, etc.
" The Armenian nation has sacrificed her independ
ence and royal crown, but never renounced Chris
tianity. She was willing and ready to shed the very
last drop of her blood ; she gave up life and wealth,
but never gave up the cross, the banner of triumph,
the sign of Salvation. The whole life of the Arme
nians has been a struggle so hard and long that their
1 Munro's Turkey and the Turks, p. 86. London, G. Bell
& Sons, 1908.

NOTES ON THE ARMENIAN CHURCH 19
number, which was once thirty-six millions, is now
less than five millions.
• " Had it not been for the humane and Christian
hospitality of the Armenians, the armies of the
Crusades, which went to Palestine to free the Holy
Land from the Seljouk Turks, would have perished
from starvation.1 And what reward have they received
from other Christian nations for all those sacrifices ?
They have been left to fight the hardest battles in the
history of the Christian era, having been denied all
help, and have been trampled under the feet of the
most savage people on earth.
" We think that if any Christian nation of to-day
were suffering even the half of what we have endured
for many centuries, they would probably renounce
CHRIST. There are many such examples among the
ancient nations to prove this." 2
Mrs. Bishop, a discriminating member of the
Anglican Church, who travelled extensively through
Armenia, says : —
"They are the most capable, energetic, enterprising and
pushing race in Western Asia; physically superior, and
intellectually acute, and above all, they are a race which can
be raised, in all respects, to our own level, neither religion,
colour, customs, nor inferiority in intellectual force consti
tute any barrier between us. Their shrewdness and aptitude
for business are remarkable, and whatever exists of com
mercial enterprise in Eastern Asia Minor is almost altogether
in their hands. They have singular elasticity, as their
survival as a Church and nation shows. And I cannot but
think it likely that they may have some share in determining
the course of events in the East, both politically and re
ligiously." 1 In 1190, Frederick, Emperor of Germany, wrote from
Iconium to beg assistance from Leon, King of the Armenians,
who at once sent him abundance of provisions. In return,
Henry, son of Frederick, sent Leon a splendid standard, bearing
a lion rampant, in allusion to his name, and this device was
borne by subsequent kings of Armenia instead of the ancient
eagle, pigeon, and dragon.
2 The Living Church, U.S.A., March 31, 1906.
B 2

20 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
ETCHMIADZIN 1
The Armenian Church of the present day is
divided into four patriarchal provinces, seventy-two
dioceses in Turkey, six in Russia, and two in Persia.
St. Gregory the Illuminator, it is said, having seen the
SAVIOUR descending in a flood of light in the neigh
bourhood ofthe Palace of Vagharshabad, was ordered
by an angel to erect a church on the spot. He obeyed
the command, A.D. 309, and gave the building the
commemorative name of Etch Miadzin, or " Descended
the Only Begotten."
The town of Etchmiadzin, or as it was originally
called Vagharshabad, dates from the fifth century B.C.,
and takes its name from King Vagharshag, who in the
second century A.D. chose it as his residence.
In A.D. 344, Vagharshabad ceased to be the Armenian
capital, and in the fifth century the Patriarchal See
was removed to Dvin.
In A.D. 1441 the Primate Kevork III (George)
brought back the See to the original site, and from
that day to the present time Etchmiadzin has been
the centre of the Armenian Church.
During the rule of the (Ecumenical Catholicos
Ephraim, A.D. 1828, the Province of Armenia in which
Etchmiadzin is situated, became part of the Russian
Empire. There is, therefore, now a solid prosperity for
this first Cathedral seat of Armenia — the one bond of
union and spiritual life for the children of Haig. In
their own language the Armenians call themselves
Hay {pi. Hayk), after their traditional first hero —
Haig, son of Togarmah, grandson of Japhet (Gen. x. 3).
The famous, ancient fortified convent of Etchmiadzin
is situated about thirty-five miles to the north of
Mount Ararat and of the Araxes valley in Upper
Armenia. There are several offshoots from this
convent in the neighbourhood, and many old ruins, or
disused churches.
1 Armenians complain that Russian influence is unfavourable
to the freedom of their Church.

ETCHMIADZIN 21
It is here that the CEcumencial Catholicos
(Katoghikos) is acknowledged as the supreme Head
of all the Armenians throughout the world. Here he
confers Episcopal consecration, and here the pre
paration of the sacred oil, or Chrism, for confirmation
of children, and consecration of Bishops, etc., is his
exclusive privilege in all other provinces, except Cilicia.
Priests from all parts come to Etchmiadzin to
fetch the holy oil every seven years, when the ceremony
of blessing it takes place.
Besides having the power of general supervision of
the Armenian Church throughout the world, he is also
Patriarch of the Province of Ararat, and has under his
immediate jurisdiction six dioceses in Russia, two in
Persia, including India and Afghanistan, one in
Europe, and one in the United States of America.1
From his decision while sitting in Synod there is no
appeal. In speaking of him the people use the term
" His Majesty."
A type foundry, printing press and a bookbinding
establishment are maintained by the Etchmiadzin
monks, who publish a monthly newspaper called the
Ararat, and supply religious and educational works
for their co-religionists. A theological seminary con
taining 150 students, schools, store-houses, and a
library and hostel, are all contained within the fortified
walls of this convent.
The income for the support of the Convent is
derived from adjacent lands, offerings of pilgrims, etc.
On St. John Baptist's Day (Surb Karapet), a most
popular festival, 100,000 pilgrims may assemble at
Etchmiadzin, all bringing offerings. During the
months of January, April, June and September, this
hermit of the Jordan is commemorated in the Arme
nian Kalendar. Mantashoff Brothers, the Armenian
1 The Armenian Communion possess seven churches in
India, with nine priests attached. They are under the
Archbishop of Julfa, in Persia who is himself under the
jurisdiction of this Catholicos,

22 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
petroleum merchants of the Caucasus, have lately
undertaken to rebuild the palace of Etchmiadzin.
They contributed 100,000 roubles, and have sent
engineers to examine the site. Rich Armenians are
apt to spend vast sums upon the embellishment of
Etchmiadzin. I must refer my readers to a delightful illustrated
chapter (Vol. i, pp. 334-392) in Mr. Lynch's Armenia
on " ANI, and the Armenian Kingdom of the Middle
Ages." Ani was the royal residence and capital under
Gagik II, A.D. 974, when Sarkis I was Catholicos.
A splendid Cathedral having just been finished,
he made it his residence. The city surrendered
to the Greeks A.D. 1045. At present it is deserted,
but still contains priceless architectural treasures.
AN IDEAL ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS
MEGUERDITCH was born of Christian parents at
Van, in Armenia, on May 16, 1820, and received his
early education first at the convent school at Lim, and
then at Ktootz, two islets on lake Van. He began
active life as a school-master in Van. During his stay
at Etchmiadzin, the Province of Ararat made a deep
impression upon his mind, so much so that he pub
lished, at Constantinople, in 1850, a magnificent poem
in the old epic style, in four books, entitled Invitation
to the land of Ararat}
From boyhood he had been a diligent student of
the Holy Scriptures, and had naturally felt a longing
desire to visit the Holy Land, which he accomplished
in 1850. This pligrimage afforded him another
opportunity for exerting his poetical talent, and a
work entitled Invitation to the Land of Promise was
the result. It is a poem, written exactly on the
1 The two great objects of Armenian veneration are Etch-
'miadzin and Mount Ararat. This noble snowy mountain takes
the place, in the estimation of the Armenians, that Mount Sinai
and the traditional Mount Zion do among the adherents of other
Eastern Christians.

AN IDEAL ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS 23
same plan as the former, except that this one was
religious, while the other was patriotic and national.
After travelling through Cilicia — that portion of
the late Armenian Kingdom that was annexed
by the Ottoman Turks — he returned to Van, where
shortly afterwards he had to lament the decease of
his wife, and of his daughter, his only child. This
misfortune decided his future career, for according to
the rule of the Armenian Church no married man is
eligible for the higher grades of Holy Orders, i. e. the
rank of monastic priests known as Vardabets, from
among whom alone Bishops are chosen.
Ordained Vardabet in 1854, at the famous tenth
century convent of Varak, his devotion and learn
ing soon raised him to the position of abbot. He
at once introduced a number of reforms, opened
a theological college in 1857, and introduced the first
printing press in Turkish Armenia. He also founded
a library and museum.
Among a number of useful publications issued
from this press, he edited a monthly review, which was
started in .1859.
So great was his popularity that by general consent
he was known by the endearing name of Hairik (little
father). In 1862 he was elected abbot of the ancient convent
of St. Carapet at Mush, and to that place he trans
ferred his printing establishment, and changed his
monthly publication into a fortnightly one. It was
natural for the Turkish authorities to feel uneasy
about this enthusiastic patriot. His movements were
therefore watched, and after ten active years all his
undertakings were stopped. The library and printing
press were closed, the periodical was suppressed, and
the seminary students dispersed.
His persecutors armed assassins against him. Once
as he was walking up from Van to the hill of the
Convent of Varak, he met- a Kurdish villain who
turned pale, and trembled at the sight of him. He

24 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
was asked the cause of his fear. The Kurd confessed
that he had intended to kill him. " And why did you
not do so ? " he was asked. " Allah held my hand,"
he replied, and immediately threw himself at his
feet, to implore his forgiveness, which was at once
granted. Father Meguerditch Khrimian was consecrated
Bishop of Glack, at the Cathedral of the Only
Begotten, Etchmiadzin, in 1868, but he was not
allowed to remain long in his diocese, as in the follow
ing year he became Patriarch of Constantinople, a
post which is considered by the Porte as the political
representative of the Armenian Church in the Turkish
Empire. The Armenia-n Patriarch of Constantinople has the
right of supervision over the many dioceses in Turkish
Armenia, where there are over two millions of
adherents of the Armenian Church. In Constanti
nople itself, there are no less than two hundred
thousand of them. The Patriarch knew full well
that his tenure of office would not be long, as he
distinctly said to the thousands of people who had
thronged the Cathedral at Koum Kapou (Sand gate)
to welcome him on the day of his inauguration.
" You are showing signs of rejoicings, and have
received me with cries of hosanna to-day, but a day
will come when the cry of crucify him will be raised
from among you" His prediction was true ; in fact,
his overthrow by the Turkish Government was
inevitable. The outcome of his four years' active Patriarchate
induced the Government to force his resignation in
1873, on account of his fearless attitude towards the
Porte. Having retired from his official duties, the ex-
Patriarch spent the following five years in preaching,
and publishing some useful books, of which the best
known are The Pearl of the Kingdom of Heaven,
Discourse on the Cross, Family Paradise, Sirach and,

AN IDEAL ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS 25
Samuel, Little Grandfather and little Grandchild. All
these works have passed through several editions, and
have become standard books among young Armenians.
Soon after the last Turko-Russian war, the ex-
Patriarch joined a deputation (but not as an actual
delegate), and was sent to Europe to plead the cause
of Armenia before the courts of Christian Powers, and
at the Congress of Berlin.
The Treaty of Berlin, signed July 31, 1878, con
tained the following article : —
(61) "The Sublime Porte undertake to carry out without
further delay the improvements and reforms demanded by
local requirements, in the provinces inhabited by Armenians,
and to guarantee their security against Circassians and
Kurds. It will periodically make known the steps taken
to this effect to the Powers who will superintend their
application." Great Britain appointed a number of military
consuls to various parts in the Armenian districts,
who made tours and reports ; but no attempt was made
to introduce the promised "reforms and improvements."
Mr. Lynch may well remark : " The Plenipotentiaries
returned to their respective countries immensely
pleased with themselves and their work. Europe
forgot all about the Armenians, nor have the Powers
collectively displayed up to the present day the
smallest interest in the Armenian question."
Everywhere in London the ex-Patriarch was
received with cordiality. The quiet dignity of his
bearing, his amiability and saintliness, interested
among others the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr.
Tait), Mr. Gladstone,1 and Lord Salisbury, and it
was hoped that Article 61 of the Berlin Congress,
especially inserted in favour of Armenians, would
prove of real service.
After forming a project of opening an Agricultural
1 His Holiness was much impressed with the theological cast
pf Mr. Gladstone's mind,

26 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
School at Varak on the European system, the Turks
soon found a pretext for removing him from Armenia,
and his school was brought to an untimely end !
His place of exile was, at first, in Constantinople.
There he remained from 1885 to 1891, when the
Turks considering him dangerous, he was exiled to
Jerusalem. After two years spent in the Convent of St. James,
Jerusalem, his Holiness was elected by the unanimous
vote of seventy-two clerical and lay delegates of the
General Synod (representing all Armenian Dioceses)
as the 126th Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, where he
was enthroned, or rather consecrated, on October 8,
1893, at the mature age of 73 years.
Besides the Episcopal consecration, there is in the
Armenian Church a solemn consecration of the
Catholicos, performed by at least twelve officiating
Bishops who lay their hands upon the candidate and
pour Chrism upon the crown of his head.
In addition to the general supervision of the whole
Armenian Church, the consecration of Bishops and
the preparation of the Holy Chrism are the special
prerogatives of the (Ecumenical Catholicos. The
independence of this National Church is sadly inter
fered with through the rule which enacts that a year
shall elapse between the death of a Catholicos, the
election of a successor, and the confirmation of his
appointment by the Emperor of Russia.
Mr. H. F. B. Lynch, the author oi Armenia Travels
and Studies, was present at Etchmiadzin when
Meguerditch was solemnly anointed and enthroned
in 1893.
Let me quote a few words from Mr. Lynch about
this Catholicos, immediately after his decease : —
" Khrimian is the ideal High Priest. He is a figure which
steps straight out from the Old Testament with all the fire
and all the poetry. At the ceremony of his consecration
it seemed as if at the foot of Mount Ararat the ancient
spirit was still alive, and that the Holy Oil which descended

AN IDEAL ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS 27
upon that venerable head from the beak of the golden
dove, anointed a lawgiver to the people who announced
the Divine Word." — Vol. i, pp. 236, 237.
In his private life, the Catholicos lived in sim
plicity ; even when he was Patriarch of Constantinople
his talk was as simple as it used to be when he was a
novice at Varak. He never cared to have a better
material for his dress than the coarse cloth manu
factured in his native town. He seldom adorned
himself with any of the many decorations presented
to him by different sovereigns, and his photograph,
which he gave me in Jerusalem, is without even the
usual Episcopal cross. It was with difficulty that his
friends could induce him sometimes to wear it.
Probably no other Armenian ecclesiastic of the last
century was entrusted with such large sums of money
for educational and charitable purposes, and yet
" Hairik," during his exile, was absolutely penniless.
When Patriarch of Constantinople, he would
frequently divide his salary among the poor and
other charities before the close of each month. He
never occupied the house placed at his disposal in
Constantinople during his exile in that city. He
turned it into an almshouse for destitute Armenians,
while he himself occupied a cell adjoining the parish
church of Kuskunjook.
Hairik entered into rest on November 12, 1907,
at the advanced age of 87 years.
Such is a brief outline sketch of one of the great
men of the last and present centuries, a true servant
of GOD. Probably no prelate who has filled the
throne of Etchmiadzin, since the time of St. Gregory
the Illuminator (the first Catholicos), was so beloved
by his flock, and so renowned throughout Christendom
for his piety and large-heartedness.
Let us pray that the labours, the tears, and the
prayers of " the sorrowful father of Armenians " — as
the beloved Catholicos styled himself — may not have
been in vain, and that GOD may vouchsafe him light

28 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
and rest, peace and refreshment, joy and consolation
in the ample folds of the REDEEMER'S great love ;
and that his life so troubled here, may there unfold
itself in the spacious fields of eternity ; and that to
his bereaved and sorrowing people GOD may grant
peace and consolation, and a happy issue out of all
their afflictions.1

FIRST ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS
LORD MEGUERDITCH I, CATHOLICOS OF ALL
ARMENIA 2
Meguerditch, servant of Jesus Christ, and by the
incomprehensible will of God, Chief Bishop and Catholicos
of all Armenia, Supreme Patriarch of the Oecumenical
Throne of Ararat, and of the Mother Church, the Cathedral
of Etchmiadzin :
Greetings be to thee, Apostolic Church of Armenia, born
in Christ through the preaching of SS. Thaddaeus 3 and
Bartholomew, and of St. Gregory the Illuminator, increased
and grown in the fear and worship of God.
Greetings be to thee, Jerusalem, Mother Zion, Mountain
of God ; if the Light of the world, the Incarnate Saviour
hath appeared in thee, the same Only Begotten Son of God,
hath also laid the foundation of the glorious Church of
Etchmiadzin. Greetings be to thee, House and Apostolic Throne of
St. James.
Greetings be to you, entire Armenian and Monastic
Community, who, like crusaders, always contend for, and
serve the holy places, of the Lord ; and with extreme self-
sacrifice defend the Armenian portion therein, which is the
most desirable and enviable of all in the Holy City.
Greetings be to you, Catholici and Patriarchs, who are
my brothers and fellow-labourers in the ordinance and
1 The political connection between Armenians and Turks is
fully described in Turkey in Europe by Odysseus, Chap x.
London, Edward Arnold, 1900.
2 Translated into English by Theodore Isaac, Calcutta ;
Oxford Mission Press, 1894.
3 The Reverend George Williams speaks of the Mission of
Thaddaeus, one of the seventy disciples,

MEGUERDITCH I., LATE CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIA:
a.d. 1893-1907. Pag'. -Ii

FIRST ENCYCLICAL LETTER 29
guidance of the service of the Church of Christ. You
know well the greatness of our responsibility before the
chief Pastor, for each one of us has to give an account of
the flock committed to his care.
Greetings be to you, Shepherds and" Bishops of the little
flock of Armenia, who with watchful eyes care for and
pasture the believers in Christ, remembering the word of
our Lord : " The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
Greetings be to you, Vardabets of the Church, who teach
and announce the Word of God, " Comfort ye, comfort ye
my people, for she is full of sorrow, and her sins shall be
forgiven, saith the Lord."
Greetings be to you, Priests of the High God, who
dispense the Sacraments of the Church, Teachers and
guardians of domestic holiness, who know well how great is
your office.
Greetings be to you, Deacons, who offer incense before
the Altar of God, and minister to the wants of the widow
and the poor ; remember Khath, the deacon of Nerses the
Great, and endeavour to be like him.
Greetings be to you, Cantors, who sing with sweet voices
hymns and holy songs, and move the spirit of piety in the
people, that they may love and worship God; remember
that you resemble the heavenly choir of Angels.
Greetings be to you, Fathers and Brethren of the
Monastic Orders, who are the guardian Angels of the
remaining relics of our ancient monasteries, which are
the ever-glorious memorials of the primitive religious and
letter-loving Fathers of our Church.
Greetings be to you, Professors and Teachers, to whom
is entrusted the education of the youth of our nation in
various studies and sciences,"the object of which education
is to guide and lead men to a better life, not only to a
prosperous life upon earth, but also to the higher life of the
Kingdom of Christ.
Greetings be to you, Public Writers, who are incessantly
engaged in literary labours, and who, as public heralds,
through the medium of your journals do guide our people
in the path of progress and civilization, enlightening their
minds to receive the good, and to shun the evil ; be ye
mindful, therefore, always to instruct, for that is your
proper duty.

30 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Greetings be to you, Authors and Translators from
different languages, of works which are deemed helpful to
moral training, and to scientific knowledge.
Greetings be to you, Beneficent patrons, who, by en
couraging the literary labourer, make public his work and
present it to the nation, by which means the poor Armenian
libraries are increased and enriched.
Greetings be to you, who are filled with a holy zeal for
the true religion, devout and charitable souls, who build
churches and schools, establishing and keeping up those
temples of piety and learning, by means of which the children
of the Church are enlightened, and people are moved to
piety, which is more powerful than all things.
Greetings be to you, School Children, boys and girls,
brothers and sisters, who go to school together, hand in
hand, you are happy, and will be still more happy, if in the
end with equal amount of education, you meet each other
in later life, and join one with another in the holy tie of
Matrimony. Greetings be to you, that dwell in cities and towns, who
are engaged in manufacture and trade, who are honestly
endeavouring to carry on your business with wise economy,
and shrewdness, always persevering and progressing accord
ing to the requirements of the times.
Greetings be to you, dwellers of valleys and mountains,
tillers of the ground, who love the earth and the plough, the
cattle and the oxen ; you are the labourers of the good and
irreproachable business of the world, you are the genuine
sons of our first parents ; now, knowing that the earth only
is your life and stay, you must endeavour always to preserve
that paternal inheritance.
After saluting you all, my dear people of Armenia, according
to your various classes, I must now tell you what the Lord
has done unto me, which you also already know, partly
from what has been published in newspapers.
The Lord doeth not as men will, but as He Himself
willeth, and who can comprehend His unfathomable pur
pose ? for whoever hath known the mind of the Lord, and
whoever was His counsellor to give Him advice ?
When I was small, being the youngest of my brothers, I
used to feed my little flock on the hills of Varak, under the
shadow of the Church of the great sign of Christ ; and lo,

FIRST ENCYCLICAL LETTER 31
the hand of the Lord laid hold of me, and bringing me to
Jerusalem, made me stand upon Mount Zion, where the
Eternal Word, the Saviour of mankind, and the Revivifier
of the old man had appeared.
From the thirtieth till the seventieth year of my life I
was constantly driven about from place to place, and tossed
to and fro among the rocky ups and downs of the world,
and I was at one time even regarded as having been quite
broken in pieces ; but what was it that, notwithstanding all
the disadvantages, still kept me alive ? Surely it was God's
grace of meekness and patience.
There on Mount Zion, Jesus the Potter was at hand, and
mended me, his broken pot. Once or twice I fell ill very
severely, and it seemed to me that I had reached the door
of my grave, and my life was like the last tnread of a
cobweb ready to be broken up entirely; my heart and
spirits failed in me ; I wept and cried : " O Lord, it is too
early," I said, "I have still many duties to perform towards
Thee, and towards Thy Church. Spare me, restore my
soul, that I may perform those duties ; or if I die, do not
hold me guilty before Thy awful judgment."
The Lord heard me, and had mercy upon me, and added
also new life unto me ; He raised me from Mount Zion,
and placed me on the Zion of Ararat, in the Cathedral of
Etchmiadzin, and said unto me : " Son of man, I have
appointed thee overseer over the house of Armenia, and
shepherd over the scattered sheep of St. Gregory ; behold
thou hast time, go, and do thy duty."
Bowing before the will of the Heavenly Father, and
yielding to the unanimous election (by the General Synod),
behold I come to fulfil the remainder of my sacred duty
which I have to perform towards the Church, and the
people of Armenia, which duty, as you know, is of a diverse
and manifold nature.
But when I consider that I have reached old age, being
past the seventieth year of my life, and that I have " to
stretch forth my hands, in order that others may gird me,"
how shall I be able to do such weighty duty, at least
according to the small amount of talent committed to me
by our Lord, who will assuredly demand an account of it
with the due interest, and will require of me to acquit
myself of my debts ?

32 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
But I tremble when I consider, 0 Church of Armenia,
how thou art scattered over the whole surface of the globe,
being exiled from thy own home ; I know not how I shall
be able to perform my pastoral duties. Can I, peradventure,
while sitting in Ararat, reach with my eyes as far as India,
Europe, and other distant parts, and see you? And how
is it possible for me to feed my flock which is scattered all
over the world, away from my sight, beyond my reach ?
I was indeed sent from the Mount of Olives, but I have
not the freedom personally to visit all the Armenian
churches, to speak and teach with the living voice, and to
see with my own eyes, the ills of my flock, in order to
devise proper remedy for them. But, after all, what is the
remedy a man can offer? would that the good Samaritan
lighted upon you !
Therefore, it only remains for me, according to the
primitive custom of flock-loving shepherds, to speak to you,
my dear people of Armenia, by means of encyclical letters,
as long as I live upon this earth, as I also hope to have
communion with you when I shall have passed into Life
Eternal ; for I shall live also there, where the spirits of our
ancient Holy Fathers do live and pray for you.
But in one respect, I have also eyes that are near you,
and can see you. Those are my brethren, "the elected
together with me," the pastors and bishops of dioceses, who
are commissioned, not by me, but by Christ, to pasture
and care for the congregations, to keep and confirm them
in the Faith of the Apostolic Church of Armenia, of which
Church the Holy Apostles, Thaddseus and Bartholomew
laid the foundation, and St. Gregory the Illuminator, by
his marvellous sufferings completed the whole building.
It has already been made known to you that on the day
of my consecration before the Church of the Holy Descent,
I vowed before God to remain faithful to this Apostolic
See of the Armenian Church, and to hold fast the traditions
of our ancient holy Fathers, and to be mindful not to allow
a breach to be made in our sacred hedge.
And you, my brother bishops, are bound by the same
vow which you made at your ordination, to keep stainless
and incorruptible the seal committed to your care by
Christ, through the Apostles and the Patriarchs.
We have, therefore, to serve the Lord with holy fear, for

CONSECRATION OF MATTEOS IZMIRLIAN 33
each one of us has to give a strict account of his work,
according to his station, and the grace conferred upon him
by the Holy Ghost, in order that he may therewith guide
the Church ; and whenever in the course of our earthly
life, the Cross of Christ is placed before us, we ought to
bear it willingly, and to follow our Divine Captain, Who has
said, " whosoever taketh not his cross and cometh after Me,
is not worthy of Me." The virtue is so much greater, if
we can bear our crosses with love and meekness.
Pray for me, my spiritual fellow-workers and brothers,
for you know how heavy is the cross which the Church of
Armenia has placed upon my shoulders. If you will only
assist me, like Simon of Cyrene, by your prayers and co
operation, then I may also be still more strengthened by
the Holy Ghost to carry it to the top of Golgotha.
And I pray that you may also be able to carry your
crosses with patient love, following our crucified Saviour,
for it is impossible for us to escape from its burden, since
Jesus Himself has said : " Ye shall have trouble in this
world ; " but what is our trouble compared with the trouble
of our courageous forefathers ?
I earnestly entreat you, Church and People of Armenia,
who have chosen me to be your chief Pastor, I commend
myself to your prayers, and I believe that the Lord will
hearken to your prayers, and will keep me for His beloved
Church. I will live for you, and you live for Christ.
This, our first encyclical letter of blessing, was given on
the 15th day of December, in the year of our Saviour 1893,
and according to our kalendar 1 343, in the Cathedral See
of Armenia, in Etchmiadzin, at Vagharshabad.
CONSECRATION OF MATTEOS IZMIRLIAN, THE
I27TH ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS, SEPTEMBER 26, 1909
ONE of the earliest results of the Turkish Constitu
tion to the Armenians in Jerusalem was the setting
at liberty of their ex-Patriarch of Constantinople,
Matteos. Izmirlian. He was born in 1845, in Con
stantinople, and received the name Izmirlian (the
name for Smyrna, is Izmir) from the fact that his grand
father was originally a resident of that city. He was
c

34 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
educated in the Armenian schools, and at the age of
nineteen was ordained deacon in 1863, and priest in
1868, when he became private secretary to Khnmian,
Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1876, when only 31
years of age, he was consecrated Bishop of Iskandar.
Ten years later, he was sent as Bishop to Egypt, and
after four years' residence in Cairo and Alexandria,
he returned to his former See. In December, 1894,
he was unanimously elected to the Patriarchal Throne
of Constantinople.
AU his life long he had been a staunch supporter
of the rights of his people, and when- the terrible
massacres at Constantinople took place in 1896, the
Patriarch boldly denounced them before the Sultan.
For this courageous conduct he was deposed by
Abdul-Hamid II, exiled to the Armenian Convent at
Jerusalem, and placed under a close and vexatious
detective espionage.
Every legal means in his power was used in behalf
of his people, and threats of imprisonment or death
accomplished nothing. Soon after his installation he
sent to the Minister of Justice a letter, asking power
to appoint new bishops in places where the bishops
had been imprisoned for varying periods. The reply
came that the statements about those bishops were
false, and their withdrawal was demanded. The
Patriarch answered : " The statements are true, and
the truth I cannot withhold." From that time to this
he has been a thorn in the side of the Turkish
Government ; neither bribes, flattery, nor deception
have availed. Loyal to the Sultan, his loyalty refused
servility, as is instanced in his statement to the Sultan
in his inaugural audience. " As far as my conscience
permits me I will obey you, but at the same time I
must look to the welfare of my people." It is scarcely
surprising that the Sultan, in a rage, sent him away,
and omitted the customary decoration. A little later,
realizing his power with his people, the Sultan sent
for him, and offered him the highest decorations that

CONSECRATION OF MATTEOS IZMIRLIAN 35
could be conferred in the Empire. The reply came
as follows : " Your Majesty, what have I to do with
such things ? I am a single priest, I live on bread
and olives, as do my people, I have no place in my
house for such gorgeous things. I pray you, do not
ask me to accept them."
Another illustration of his boldness and firmness is
found in the following statement made to his people
in the installation service : " Before GOD, and in
presence of this meeting, I swear to remain faithful to
my Government and my nation, and to watch over
the just and explicit fulfilment of this Constitution
(the Constitution granted by Sultan Abdul-Aziz to
the Armenians). My understanding of the word
faithful'^ this : Faithfulness involves on the side of the
Government protection of life and property. With
out this, faithfulness on the side of the subject is
hypocrisy." " It is scarcely too much to say that such a man deserves
the same rank accorded to the great leaders of the world,
and a nation that can at such a crisis produce such a man
and stand by him, is a nation that under proper training,
and with favourable circumstances, may be expected to
develop a high national character. "
With the general amnesty consequent on the pro
mulgation of the new Turkish Constitution, he was
restored to freedom, and welcomed back to Koum
Kapou, having left Jerusalem on August 16, 1908.
He was re-elected the same year Armenian Patriarch
of Constantinople, and in the following November
he was designated as Catholicos.
On September 26, 1909, Matteos II was conse
crated Catholicos of All the Armenians in the Cathedral
of Etchmiadzin.
A correspondent of the Times, who was present
at the consecration, has described the picturesque
ceremony. c 2

36 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
"Elected by the people, and confirmed by the Czar,
twelve bishops took part in the Rite. The Cathedral is
small, and few of the people were able to obtain admittance.
Outside, in the great court, Armenians from all parts of the
world crowded round the Russian soldiers, who were
keeping the doors. The Russian cap predominated over
the Turkish fez, and it was said that the intelligenzia class
were present in greater numbers than at the consecration of
Meguerditch. On that occasion Meguerditch desired that
the ceremony should take place outside the doors, so that
the people might see ; but this time the former custom was
resorted to of holding it within the Church. The Armenian
Liturgy is in the Grabbar, or ancient Armenian.
" After the Gospel, in the ordinary course of the Liturgy,
the Catholicos knelt facing the people in front of the Altar,
and the twelve Bishops laid their hands on his head.
"After the Creed the Catholicos again knelt, and the
Bishops surrounded him for the Unction, which is
administered only to a Catholicos, and not to Patriarchs
or Bishops.
"The Holy Oil of Etchmiadzin was handed to the
eldest of the Bishops, Archbishop Mesrob, of Etchmiadzin,
in a golden dove, and from this he let fall a few drops on
the head of the Catholicos. In turn, each Bishop made the
sign of the cross, with the oil on the bent head of the
Catholicos. Wool was laid on the anointed place, and
a veil hung over his Holiness' head for the rest of the
service. "After the ceremony, his Holiness proceeded to his own
apartments where he received the homage of a number of
persons. Later in the day, a banquet was held in the hall,
at which the health of the Czar was drunk, and then that of
his Holiness, or as the Armenians say, of ' His Majesty.'
A number of speeches were made, each of which was
translated into Russian, out of compliment to the Russian
visitors, amongst whom was the Governor-General of Erivan.
In the evening the great court was illuminated, and the
peasants danced Armenian dances, and sang Armenian
songs, until a late hour.
" Three days later, Etchmiadzin was again deserted, but
for the students of the College, and the occasional Vardabet
pacing its courts and gardens, a solitary oasis of Academe,
in the midst of the desert plain of Asia."

YEGHISHE' TOURIAN 37
YEGHISHE' TOURIAN, 107TH PATRIARCH OF
CONSTANTINOPLE
THE Armenians have two important Patriarchates
in Turkey, at Constantinople J (founded A.D. 1453), and
Jerusalem. In virtue of the prerogatives and privileges allowed
by the Turkish Sultans, the Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople is the official representative near the
Sublime Porte of all the Armenians in Turkey who,
since 1861, have a national Constitution confirmed
by the Sultan Abdul-Aziz, and recognized by the
Turkish Government. This Assembly was abrogated
by Abdul-Hamid II, for nearly twenty years, but has
revived since the proclamation of the Ottoman Con
stitution in July 1908.
By this Armenian Constitution they have a national
assembly of 140 members, comprised of 40 ecclesias
tics and 100 laymen. Elected every six years by the
Armenian communities of the different dioceses in
Turkey, this Assembly meet at a certain period of
every year at Koum Kapou in Constantinople, and
under the presidency of the Patriarch, rule and
govern their internal national affairs.
The hierarchical arrangement of this Patriarchate is
peculiar. According to strict ecclesiastical rule, the
Patriarch is merely a bishop, neither greater nor less
than others. Owing, however, to the Turkish system
of classifying and organizing the subject races of the
Ottoman Empire according to their religions, this
Patriarch is recognized as the official representative
of the Armenian community in Turkey. Prac
tically, although not theoretically, he is a more
important official in Turkey than the Catholicos at
Etchmiadzin. 1 In Lynch's Armenia, Appendix I, " the National Constitution
ofthe Armenians in the Turkish Empire," there are sixteen Articles
in connection with the Election, Resignation, Office and Obliga
tion of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Bureau of the
Patriarchate.

38 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
By a Provincial Council, holden at Constantinople,
on November 20, 1830, eighteen dioceses were made
dependent on this Patriarchate. Since then their
number has increased.
The election of the Catholici at Sis, and at
Akhtamar, is ratified on the request of this Patriarch,
by the Turkish Government. All communications
between Sis and Akhtamar and the Sublime Porte,
or the Sultan, are arranged through the intermediation
of the Patriarch of Constantinople. The object of the
late Sultan Abdul-Hamid was to make the Patriarch
of Sis independent of his brother at Koum Kapou.
The Mekhitarists (Armeno-Roman Catholics)
finding that they could not obtain justice in the
Patriarch's civil courts, appealed for protection to the
Foreign Ambassadors. Under these circumstances,
Pope Benedict XIV, created an Uniat Armenian
hierarchy, and in 1830, owing to the pressure put by
France upon the Turkish Government, they were
granted the right of electing a civil chief to be
independent of the national Patriarchate.1
The present 107th Patriarch of Constantinople is
Yeghishe' Tourian. He was born in 1 847, consecrated
Bishop in 1898, and elected Patriarch by the National
Assembly in 1909. Owing to the massacres in Adana,
and the Turkish Government's delay' in punishing the
murderers, the Patriarch tendered his resignation the
same year, which he withdrew on February 7, 1910,
at the formal promise of the Turkish Government to
comply with his demands.
In February, 1894, 1 visited the excellent Armenian
Theological College at Armash, four hours' ride north
of Ismidt, near Constantinople, on the Baghdad
Railway. One morning I attended an excellent
lecture given by the Superior Yeghishe' Tourian (in
Greek), on the Epistle to the Romans, which was
attended by a large class of deacons.
1 At Venice there is a seminary for Armeno-Roman Catholic
priests, founded in 17 17 by Archbishop Mekhitar, and the Latin
Armenian clergy are educated there.

HABOBTIOfiN VEHABEDIAN, ARMENIAN PATEIABCS OF JERUSALEM. Page 39.

THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM 39

THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM
The Armenians have from time immemorial had a
bishopric of their own in Jerusalem, to govern their
small colony settled in Jerusalem, and the large
number of their pilgrims visiting the Holy City,
before the great festivals.
The Bishop's throne seems to have been on the site
where stood the house of St. James the Just, the first
Bishop of Jerusalem. Hence the title assumed of the
" Apostolic See of the Armenians in Jerusalem."
In the fifth ceritury they established on the same
site (the traditional Mount Zion) a Convent, where
they also built a Cathedral, both dedicated to St.
James. When in A.D. 637, the Khalif Omar took Jerusalem,
he, by a special writ, confirmed the rights and pre
rogatives of the Armenian Prelates in the dignity of
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, as well as their
privileges in their Cathedral Convent of St. James,
and in all the holy sites and sanctuaries, such as those
in the Church of the Anastasis, the Church of the
Tomb of the Virgin Mary at Gethsernane, the Church
of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, and the
Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, and their
Convent outside the Jaffa Gate, an ancient building
called the Palace of Caiaphas, containing tombs of
Armenian Patriarchs. According to an early tradi
tion the first prison of CHRIST was in this site.
During the Crusading period, the Armenians, whose
King of Cilicia had given the Crusaders great help on
their journeys through Asia Minor by land to Palestine
seemed to have prospered largely in Jerusalem and
its neighbourhood, where they erected seventy-two
convents, or hospices, for the accommodation of their
increasing, number of pilgrims from seventy-two
different provinces of Armenia. Remains of some of
these establishments have been discovered of late years
at different points within and outside the city walls,

40 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
and also in the Russian buildings on the Mount of
Olives, where a large floor in mosaics, with Armenian
inscriptions of a Princess Schooschan is still to be
seen in perfect condition.1
After the conquest of the Holy Land by Saladin
(Salah-ed-Din) the Armenians like all the other
Christian Brotherhoods and Communities in Jerusalem,
lost most of their chapels, convents and properties.
The present Convent of St. James, on the traditional
site of the old residence of the bishops and patriarchs
of the Armenians, is an extensive complex of build
ings, that can accommodate 3,000 pilgrims. It con
tains the Cathedral, with the tomb of St. James the
Just under the High Altar, and the imposing palace of
the Patriarch. The occupants consist of 41 Vardabets,
6 deacons, 12 subdeacons, and about 60 to 80 serving
brothers. This Convent includes a Seminary for 40
students from different Provinces of Turkey, schools
for boys and girls of the Armenian City community
(numbering about 200 families), a nunnery with a
chapel, printing, bookbinding and publishing offices,
and a library of valuable manuscripts. All told, there
are between 600 and 700 lay members of this Church
in the Holy City.
The Brotherhood of St. James is an exclusively
distinct life order, guarding the rights of the
Armenians at the Holy Places, which they share with
the Greeks and Latins. Their Deacons and Priests
are recruited from the Seminarists, who must be
1 In July 1894, Mr. F. J. Bliss photographed a magnificent
mosaic, a couple of hundred yards west of St. Stephen's, north
west ofthe Damascus Gate. It is a splendid piece of flooring,
about 21 ft. by 13 ft. Near the east end is the following
Armenian inscription : "To the memory, and for the salvation,
of all those Armenians whose names are known to the Lord."
The age of Justinian, a.d. 527-565, would suit this inscription,
and as that period was famous for its mosaic workmanship, we
may be prepared to accept that date for this mosaic, of which
there are two full-page illustrations on pages 258 and 259 of
the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund
October 1894.

THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM 41
ordained by their own Patriarch. Their Bishops-elect
are by special writ of the Patriarch recommended to
the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin for consecration. The -
Brotherhood is governed by the Patriarch under
special laws, amendable at need, and confirmed by
the Armenian National Assembly in Constantinople,
who also exercise the right of financial supervision.
The members of the Synod are elected annually.
The patriarch is also elected by the majority of the
votes from among the Bishops and priests of the
Brotherhood, and assumes his dignity after his con
firmation by the National Assembly at Constantinople.1
The post of Patriarch is a life appointment. In
cases of extreme need the Brotherhood elect a
locum tenens.
The Brotherhood live on the revenues of their
extensive properties in Jerusalem and elsewhere, the
donations of the annual pilgrims, and bequests from
all parts of the world where Armenians exist.
The Brotherhood possess the following Convents:
St. James ; House of Annas (nunnery), known as the
Convent of the Olive Tree ; and House of Caiaphas —
all at Jerusalem ; also at Bethlehem, Ramleh, Jaffa,
Beyrout, El-Ladikiyeh, at Nicosia in Cyprus, and at
Damascus. They have also the following Churches, or chapels :
The Cathedral of St. James the Just, with its two
chapels ; House of Annas ; House of Caiaphas ; a
share in the Church of the Anastasis ; St. Helena's
(or St. George's) and five other chapels ; and a share
in the Altar Tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary — all at
Jerusalem ; St. James, and the Holy Virgin at
Bethlehem ; St. George, Ramleh ; St. Nicholas, Jaffa ;
Holy Cross, Beyrout ; St. Sarkis, Damascus ; St.
Marcus, Nicosia.
When Daniel was Armenian Patriarch in Jeru
salem the Orthodox Greeks renewed an old claim
1 Articles xvii-xxiii of the Armenian National Constitution,
No. 3, regulate the status of this Patriarch.

42 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
for the possession of St. James's Convent. They
petitioned the Grand Vizier, who favoured their
application, but before he was able to act in the
matter, he was superseded. The Armenians then
petitioned the Sultan Mahmoud for justice. He
ordered an accurate investigation of the facts to be
made, and decreed that this Convent was the rightful
property of the Armenians, and that they should be
no more molested.
i The Armenians regularly perform their rites in the
' Church of the Virgin at Gethsemane. A priest goes
every morning about seven o'clock from the House of
Caiaphas, and celebrates on the altar-tomb of the
Virgin. King Leon, of Cilicia, restored the Altar.
They enjoy the same privileges in the following holy
places along with Greeks and Latins. At the Church
of the Anastasis Armenian celebrations take place
daily : in the Chapel of the Second Golgotha at 2.30
a.m. ; on the altar- tomb from 3.30 to 5 a.m. daily, with
the exception of Good Friday ; an evening office in
the chapel of the Second Golgotha, at 2.30 p.m.
daily. There are also occasional celebrations in the
Chapel of St. Helena (or St. Gregory) on such days
as that of the Holy Cross, and the Festival of St.
Gregory the Illuminator, as well as in the Chapel of
the Crowning of JESUS.
At the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, an
Armenian celebration takes place daily, at 3 o'clock
a.m., and again at the Altar in the Cave at 5.30 a.m.
An Evening Office is said daily facing the Armenian
altar on the north side of this church, at 2.30 p.m.
When the Rev. F. E. Brightman travelled in
the Near East in 1894, on behalf of the Eastern
Church Association," he enjoyed favourable opportu
nities of observing the present relations between
Orthodox Greek Eastern Ecclesiastics and those of
the Armenians. After twenty years of constant inter
course with Greeks and Armenians in different parts
qf Turkey, staying from time to time in their convents

THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM 43
as their guest, I can conscientiously confirm the
following statements of Mr. (now Canon) Brightman,
which are printed in the E. C. A. Annual Report for
1894, p. 41: — "The most hopeful possibility of re
union is that between the Orthodox and the
Armenians, and that on three grounds : First, because
there seems to be no serious reason, other than
political, why they should not re-unite. The pam
phlet of Gregory of Chios, late Exarch of all Ionia, (irepl
evcoarem i&v 'ApiJ.evi.oyv) is an examination of the whole
question of the relation of the Armenians to Ortho
doxy ; and reaches the conclusion that there is no
difficulty, except certain points of rite, of which the
most serious is the Armenian use of Azymes, and an
unmixed chalice.
" Secondly, because the present relations between
the two communities in Constantinople are excellent.
We were assured that the Qrthodojcjdo not regard the
Armenians asMonophysites.
"Thirdly, 6ecause such a re-union might have an
influence beyond itself. The Armenians hold a
middle position in the East, on the one hand touching
the Orthodox, and on the other hand the other
Communities which reject the Fourth Council.
" I do not know exactly their attitude towards the
Jacobite Churches, but they appear to be on good
terms with the Syrians at Jerusalem, and I gather
that the Armenian Patriarch in Constantinople is the
representative and protector of the Copts and Abys-
sinians. If therefore the Armenians were re-united
to the Church of Constantinople it might result, sooner
or later, in the reconciliation of the Jacobites."
Mr. Brightman adds :
" I do not understand why Mr. Riley and the report of
the Board of Missions describe the Armenians as Eutychians.
They have often enough anathematized Eutyches, and
indeed Dioscurus and the rest. Whatever their exact
belief may be,- it is impossible in face of their formal
repudiation to describe them even as Monophysite, and

44 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
still less as Eutychian. In his third edition of a Synopsis
of Oriental Christianity, 1910, Mr. Athelstan Riley still
places the Church of Armenia at the head of a list of
Churches 'all in formal heresy.'"
From time to time we hear of disturbances between
Greeks, Armenians, and Franciscans in the Church of
the Anastasis, at Bethlehem, and the Church of the
Virgin at Gethsemane. These conflicts, usually exag
gerated in importance, almost always occur when the
above-mentioned buildings are crowded to excess, at
the Christmas and Easter festivals. The superior
ecclesiastics are generally not present. The slightest
infringement (say) of the washing of a portion of
marble floor, or a mistaken hour of procession, at
once causes trouble among an excitable crowd of
inferior officials, and pilgrims of various nationalities.
Let me describe as an example, a sudden and
unexpected disturbance which occurred at Bethlehem
on the Festival ofthe Epiphany, 1909.
The rights of the Armenians in the north transept
of the Church of the Nativity are occasionally dis
puted by the Greeks. One special point is annually
debated : the right, in preparation of the Christmas
Festivities, to dust a certain picture which, with its
nails, is the property of one body, but hangs upon
the wall of the other.
On January 6, 1909, the various debated questions
were disputed with extra activity, owing to the
excited condition of the Bethlehem clans of the
"Orthodox" Syrians. The state of Jerusalem, and
its surrounding districts, was such that the military
governor was able to spare but a few Turkish soldiers
for the protection of Bethlehem, but he was fortunate
to possess an exceptionally capable Binbashee (sub-
Major). By dint of galloping a mere handful of
soldiers backwards and forwards upon the road in
the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, he contrived to
produce an impression of considerable numbers, and

• THE PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM 45
at length with about a score, he entered the Church,
where he found a dense and violently excited crowd
of Greeks and Armenians, each clamouring for their
rights. He was only just in time to prevent blows,
and manoeuvring his men so as to divide the con
tenders, inquired the cause of the disturbance. He
was a very small man, but of courtly manners, a
native of Anatolia. " Gentlemen," he cried, " Pray
do not allow so small a question of etiquette to dis
turb the harmony of this pleasant festival, give me
the broom," and springing on to a chair, he effectually
dusted the picture, and quelled the uproar !
The present seventy-sixth Armenian Patriarch
of Jerusalem is Haroutioun Vehabddian. He was
born in Egypt 1819, consecrated Bishop in i860, and
elected Patriarch in 1888. In his youth he travelled
in the United States of America and in Europe. He
converses, when necessary, in English. For twenty
years he was Bishop of Erzeroum, and from 1885 to
1888 became Patriarch of Constantinople, when he
was elected to the throne of Jerusalem. He is in
dependent of all but the supreme authority at
Etchmiadzin. His own jurisdiction extends over
Syria, Palestine and Cyprus, with a population of
3,500 to 4,000 souls. His flock at Jerusalem numbers
from about 600 to 700.
In the Liturgy his name is said before that of
his brother Patriarch of Constantinople, for he takes
precedence, ecclesiastically, over the last-mentioned
Patriarch. His dealings with the Porte are direct,
or through his Vicar, (a bishop or monk at Con- ;
stantinople). The Porte recognizes only two Oriental Patriarchs
in Jerusalem : (1) the Orthodox Greek, and (2) the
Armenian. Two Bishops belong to the Convent of St. James,
having no diocesan jurisdiction. At present they
reside in Constantinople.
The Armenian Community in Jerusalem natur-

46 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH ,
ally enough have been quick to take advantage
of those articles in the new Turkish Constitution,
which were likely to apply to their position ; and in
September 1908, they began to agitate for the
representation of the laity in the supervision of
churches, schools, public charities and ecclesiastical
funds, this being in accordance with Article CXI of
the new Ottoman Constitution. They elected a
Council of six to negotiate with the Patriarch and
the local Government, and demanded that the Council
should control the funds received from Armenia, on
behalf of the Community ; that secular schools under
the supervision of the Council be started for their
boys and girls ; and that an Arabic-speaking priest
be ordained to minister to the Community. The
aged and infirm Patriarch was willing to accede to
these demands. His Synod, however, was opposed
to any sudden and complete capitulation to the laity,
but it is not likely that they will be able to hold out
for very long.
The present troubles in the Jerusalem Convent are
of an internal nature among the Brotherhood of St.
James. They arise from financial abuses under the
" old regime." The National Assembly in Constanti
nople that could be convoked again since the
promulgation of the Ottoman Constitution in 1907
has had the case before it, and recently settled the
matter by ordering the removal to Constantinople of
a few Vardabets. and by nominating a Patriarchal
locum tenens to govern the Brotherhood and Convent,
the Patriarch, Mgr. Haroutioun being too weakened
by age to suffice to the wants of administration.
The Greeks have ofttimes during past centuries
tried to curtail the rights and prerogatives of the
Armenians in the Church of the Resurrection and
elsewhere in the Holy Places and Sanctuaries. At
the beginning of the last century, when the Church
of the Resurrection was, to a great extent, destroyed
by fire, the Greeks succeeded in Constantinople in

THE CATHOLICOS OF SIS 47
obtaining a Firman to rebuild the same with the ex
clusion of the Armenians and Latins. The downfall
of Napoleonic France, together with the political
complication in Europe had made Russian influence
predominant with the Turks, who could not refuse
the Greek demands. On that occasion the Greeks
tried again to prevent the Armenians from celebrating
their usual Eucharist every night on the Tomb of the
SAVIOUR, but with no permanent success. When in
the sixties of the last century the renovation of the
old dilapidated dome over the Holy Sepulchre
became inevitable, the political controversy of its
restoration was settled by carrying out the same at
the cost of Russia, France and Turkey, the latter a.s
Suzerain of the Ottoman Greeks and Armenians.
THE CATHOLICOS OF SIS. A.D. 1 447
SlS is in the north-western part of the Turkish
Province of Adana, the ancient Cilicia, adjoining
Syria. The Churches which St. Paul founded in
Cilicia and Cappadocia are represented to-day by the
Armenian Church, and, as far as. known, there has
been no break in the Christianity introduced by this
Apostle. The Patriarchate of Sis includes within its juris*
diction Cilicia, Cappadocia, a part of northern Syria,
and Mesopotamia. It contains thirteen dioceses,
which are presided over by Bishops, viz. Adana,
Malatia on the north, Antioch on the south, Furnuz,
Hadjin, Mandjalek, Sis and Yoskat. In addition to
these, there are many dioceses placed under the charge
of Vardabets, of whom, according to Canon Charles
H. Robinson, Editor of The East and the West, Janu
ary 1909, there are twenty. The number of married
priests within this Patriarchate is 250.
The present Prelate, Sahag Khabayan (formerly
Dean of St. James's Cathedral, Jerusalem), was born
in 1849, consecrated Bishop in 1885, and elected

48 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Head of the Cilician Church in 1903. He is merely
a diocesan bishop with the title of Catholicos.
This Ecclesiastical See, a relic of the last Armenian
Kingdom of Cilicia, which lasted for nearly 300 years
(A.D. 1080-1375), retains the title of Catholicos. He
is independent of the other Patriarchs (and even of
the supreme Catholicos of Etchmiadzin), in all eccle
siastical matters ; J for instance, he consecrates bishops
for his own Province, and supplies the Chrism.
Politically, however, he holds an inferior rank to the
Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Catholicos is elected by the bishops, priests
and laity of Cilicia. He is consecrated by the Arch
bishops and Bishops of the Province, with the sanction
of the Sultan.
The Armenians of Cilicia speak the Turkish
language. At the beginning of the fourteenth century an
important Synod was held in Sis by order of King
Leon I V of Armenia. Forty-one bishops, seven abbots,
ten eminent vardabets, with a large gathering of
clergy, as well as King Leon were present. Here the
Creed drawn up by Gregory VIII, the late Catholicos,
was read, and nine canons enacted thereupon, one of
which related to the acknowledgment of two distinct
natures in Christ.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century Cilicia
was in a dreadful condition. The Egyptian Mame
lukes made continual incursions with the purpose of
destroying not only the Armenian kingdom, but also
Christianity. King Leon VI was carried away captive
to Egypt, A.D. 1375, whence, having been redeemed
by the King of Castille, John I, he wandered about
in exile over Europe, and died in Paris, A.D. 1393.
Thus with King Leon the last royalty among the
Armenians became extinct, and the name of Armenia
was blotted out from the page of history.
1 Lynch, Vol. i, p. 276, remarks that this Catholicos has quite
recently professed his spiritual allegiance to Etchmiadzin.

THE CATHOLICOS OF SIS 49
It must be remembered that Sis was for many
years the seat of the Catholici, and after their return
to Etchmiadzin schismatical Patriarchs were estab
lished there until the middle of the seventeenth
century, and then the last of them tendered his sub
mission to the Catholicos Philip of Etchmiadzin. He
and his successors were allowed to retain the honorary
title of Catholicos, which had for so long a time been
attached to this diocese.
In 1 89 1, a messenger from the Armenian Catholicos
of Sis obtained an interview with the Archbishop of
Canterbury (Dr. Benson), and conveyed an earnest
request that the Anglican Church would endeavour
to undertake for the southern portion of the Armenian
Church what it was then doing for the Assyrian
Church. On January 1, 1892, the Rev. Charles H.
Robinson was sent by the Archbishop of Canterbury
on an official visit to Cilicia, an interesting account
of which appeared in The East and the West, January
1909. The Armenian Convent of Sis is rich, and possesses
valuable lands. The late Sultan Abdul-Hamid de
prived it of much of its property. He also attempted
to seize the private possessions of the late Catholicos
Keifsizian. There is an Armenian school at Sis,
which was formerly a theological seminary. Many of
the Cilician Vardabets, and some of the bishops were
educated there. The present Catholicos is trying to
restore the school to its former position, and several
donations are being contributed with this object in
view. In 1909 the Catholicos Sahag Khabayan, in
Synod, suggested union with the Anglican Church,
and a correspondence with the Archbishop of Canter
bury on the subject followed, and many of the
congregations at Hadjin, Marash, etc., expressed their
approval. The Castle on the hill at Sis was constructed by
Armenian kings. Some of their names are written
upon its walls.
D

So THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
According to Lynch, Vol. i, p. 265, "after the de
struction of the Cilician kingdom, and in the year
1438, the right arm of St. Gregory, a relic which had
become the palladium of the pontifical office, was
transferred from Sis, the capital of that kingdom, to
Etchmiadzin," where the treasury of relics still con
tains the hand and arm ofthe Illuminator, preserved
in a silver-gilt case.
THE CATHOLICOS OF AKHTAMAR
THE Bishop Abbot resides in a monastery on an
island towards the southern extremity of the salt lake
of Van, about one hundred miles south-west of Ararat.
He is Abbot of Akhtamar, and bears the title of
Catholicos. According to Lynch, Vol. ii, p. 131, the
monastery was founded in A.D. 653, by a prince of
the Reshtuni family, named Theodore. It became
dissociated from the Etchmiadzin community during
the religious quarrels of the twelfth century.
Within the single diocese of Khizan under his juris
diction, the Catholicos is mentioned in the liturgy
instead of the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin.
This island was for many years the seat of the
Catholicos, but at the present day the authority of
the late Joseph (with his honorary title) does not
extend beyond the shore of the little island.
In A.D. 1 100 there were four Patriarchs, all pro
fessing themselves Catholici of Armenia. But finally,
when the true Patriarch settled himself at Sis,
A.D. 1 1 13, Akhtamar asserted its rival claims, and an
Anti-Patriarch seated himself there. This island has
been afflicted with several schismatical Patriarchs.
At present it is placed under the charge of Arch
bishop David, son of Thornka, as Vice-Catholicos.
Dr. Adrian Fortescue {The Guardian, November
n, 1908, p. 1890), explains the relationship between
these five " Patriarchates " very happily. " It seems
that ofthe five (Gregorian) Armenian Patriarchs, three
(these of Etchmiadzin, Sis and Akhtamar) now bear

ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR 51
the title Katholikos officially, not the Patriarchs of
Constantinople and Jerusalem. In 1890, the Patri
arch of Etchmiadzin, Makar I, issued an Encyclical
in which he describes himself as ' Makar, servant of
Jesus Christ, and by the Almighty will of God
over-Bishop and Katholikos of all Armenians, High
Patriarch of the National Apostolic See of the
Universal Mother Church of Ararat of Holy
Etchmiadzin.' " He addresses himself to ' the blessed Katholokoi
of the Houses of Cilicia and Akhtamar, the Holy
Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople,
the Reverend Prelates of "all our Dioceses, etc.'"
ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR. A.D. 302-332"
According to Armenian tradition, the light of the
Gospel penetrated very- early into Armenia. The
Apocryphal letters of Abgarus,1 one of the Syrian
Arsacidas, who reigned in Edessa from B.C. 5— A.D. 32,
to our Saviour, and the answer of our Lord to
Abgarus, testify at least to the prevalence of the
belief that Armenia was one of the first lands into
which the knowledge of CHRIST penetrated.
The Apostles Thaddaeus and Bartholomew are said
to have sown the seed of the Word in Armenia, and
to have watered it with their blood. Nevertheless,
the real conversion of all Armenia to Christianity
begins with that of the public ministry of St. Gregory
the Illuminator (Gregor Lusavoritch), the " Illuminator
of Armenia," who expelled from his country the
darkness of idolatry.
Gregory was born A.D. 258, of the royal stem of the
Parthian Arsacidae, in the city of Vagharshabad, the
capital of the Province of Ararat, in Armenia. His
father, Anak, who resided in Persia, tempted by the
bribe which was promised by Sassanid Ardashir,
1 For a copy of the letter of King Abgarus to Jesus and the
answer of Jesus, see Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History. Henry
G. Bohn, London, 185 1, pp. 32, 33.
D 2

52 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
usurper of the crown of Persia, undertook to assassin
ate Khosroes I, the Armenian sovereign, A.D. 232.
The dying King commanded that the whole heathen
family of Anak be slain, but one infant was saved,
and being carried to Cappadocian Caesarea, he was
protected by the Lady Sophia, his foster-mother,
assisted by her brother, Euthalius, both of whom
were Christians and natives of Caesarea, where he was
baptized and named Gregorius. When he attained
the age of twenty years, in order that the succession
of his house should not fail, Sophia pressed him,
against his will, to marry Mary, the daughter of a
prince of high rank, David, a Christian, of whom two
sons were born — Vertanes and Arisdaghes. After they
had been married three years, they parted by mutual
consent, and Mary took her youngest son with her
into a convent, and spent the rest of her life as a nun.
Meanwhile, Tiridates III, the sixteenth King of
the race of the Arsacidae, the son of Khosroes, A.D.
286-342, with the help of the Emperor Diocletian,
A.D. 259, had recovered the kingdom of his father.
Gregory attached himself to this King of Armenia,
and soon so endeared himself to his master that he
was raised to high dignitary rank.
Athangelos, private secretary to this King, is the
earliest authority for the events connected with this
period. Whether this treatise was composed in Greek
or in Armenian is doubtful. Both texts are extant,
interpolated, and in many parts they conflict with one
another. In the town of Eriz, Higher Armenia, there was a
celebrated temple of the goddess Anahid (Diana,
daughter of Jupiter) whom the Armenians worshipped
as the patron of their country. There Tiridates in
vited Gregory to join him in his idolatry. Gregory
refused, saying : " God forbid that I should obey
such an order as this. I came to wait on thee, and
with devotedness to obey thy commands, but not to
worship thy idols, for they are no gods, but the work

ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR 53
of men's hands." When he endeavoured to turn the
King from his idolatry, Tiridates was enraged, and
determined to compel Gregory to join him in his
offerings to the goddess of crowns, branches and
flowers. Then followed what are traditionally known
as " the twelve tortures of St. Gregory." l
At length after two years, discovering that Gregory
was the son of Anak, the murderer of his father,
Khosroes, the King, ordered his cousin to be taken to
the fortress of Ardashat, and to be thrown into a pit,
where it was the custom to cast criminals, his daily food
being supplied by a Christian woman named Anna.
Gregory was thirty years old when he was cast
into this pit, and tradition says that he remained in it
fourteen years alive, " by the grace of Christ."
How, or by what means, Tiridates really became
convinced of the truth of Christianity does not
appear, for we must put aside the ridiculous story
that the King was transformed into a boar, and came
crouching to the feet of Gregory, who restored him
to his original form.
Gregory then preached publicly for sixty days,
instructing the people and preparing them for Holy
Baptism. After sixty-five days he narrated to them
" his great vision " of the descent of One from Heaven,
grave arid majestic, whose presence was of Light.2
Thereupon the King, his Queen Ashkhen, and his
sister Kosrovitoukht, the Nobles, and a majority of
the people helped St. Gregory in the construction of
three chapels, and he called the site Etchmiadzin (the
descent of the only Begotten).
St. Gregory was now sent by the King and nobles
with state honours to Caesarea, in Cappadocia, c. A.D.
1 The extraordinary details of all these tortures are described
at length in the Rev. S. C. Malan's Life and Times of St. Gregory
the Illuminator, chapters vii to xiii. London, Rivingtons,
1868. 2 " The legend of Christ descending with a golden hammer,
and striking the earth," is, according to Mr. F. C. Conybeare,
" a bit of old pagan folklore."

S4 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
302,1 to be consecrated Patriarch of the whole of
Armenia by Leontius, the Archbishop and Metro
politan. Leontius was one of the three hundred and
eighteen "Nicene Fathers," and was ranked by St.
Afhanasius " among bishops faithful to the truth." 2
Armenian bishops took part in several Synods of
the Church, notably in the fifth CEcumenical Council
(the second council of Constantinople), A.D. 553 ; the
sixth CEcumenical Council (the third council of Con
stantinople), A.D. 680-681; and the seventh CEcu
menical Council (the second council of Nice), A.D. 787.
According to Mr. Malan, an uncritical authority,
"the Armenian Church took an active part in the first
three Oecumenical Councils, by means of her chief pastors.
At the First Council were present the Patriarch Arisdaghes
and St. James, Bishop of Nisibis.3 To the Second Council,
held at Constantinople, went in person the Patriarch St.
Nerses the Great, and St. Isaac the Great took part, by
letter, in the Third Council, held at Ephesus.
"Caesarea (Mazaca) became a centre from which the
Christian faith was propagated. So Caesarea had a daughter
Church outside the Empire. Till the middle of the fifth cen
tury, the Armenian Exarch (the Catholicos) was always con
secrated by the Exarch of Caesarea. St. Gregory's successor
assumed the title of Patriarch, and subsequently Catholicos.
" During the first period of the Armenian Church, from
a.d. 34 to St. Gregory the Illuminator, this Church con
tinued in union with the Church of Jerusalem. In spite of
fearful persecutions, the Christian faith was, to a certain
extent, kept alive by bishops who were consecrated either
at Jerusalem or by the Greek Church, with which the
Armenians had liturgies and the New Testament in
common, there being, as yet, no Armenian translation of
these books. During this time the only Orders known
were Bishops, Priests, and Deacons."
1 Dr. Adeney, The Greek and Eastern Churches, pp. 541-2,
thinks that this date may be a little too early.
2 Leontius undertook to transmit the Canons of Nicaea to
Great and Little Armenia.
3 Lynch, Vol. i, p. 301, note, mentions Arisdaghes, but not
the Bishop of Nisibis, as being present at the Council of Nicssa,
for the reason that he was not an Armenian.

ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR 55
When St. Gregory returned to his native land, c.
A.D. 302, he baptized Tiridates (changing his name
to Johannes), his Queen Ashkhen, and his sister
Kosrovitoukht, and the majority of the people in
the river Araxes (at the foot of Mount Ararat).
Thus Tiridates became the first Christian King of
Armenia. It is said that before St. Gregory baptized the
soldiers and others encamped around the King, he
required them to continue in fasting and prayer for
thirty days, as a preparation for the reception of Holy
Baptism ; and the fast of the first-fruits, observed by
Armenians to this day, has come down from this
occurrence. It is also recorded that within the space
of a few months no less than four millions of
Armenians were baptized. This national conversion
occurred several years before Constantine the Great
had established the Church in the Roman Empire.
Armenia was thus the first kingdom in which
Christianity was adopted as the religion of the State.
Consequently, it became henceforward the bulwark of
the Faith in Asia.
At the seat of Government St. Gregory (according
to Armenian traditions) began at once to build the
church at Etchmiadzin, on the very spot where
he had seen his vision. "Besides this sanctuary,
built on the ruins of the temple to the goddess
Anahid, it embraces two more churches ; the one
sacred to HripsimS, the other to Gaiane, two holy
martyr women, who suffered under Tiridates. These
three churches, which constitute the whole of Etch
miadzin, are the only remains of Vagharshabad "
(Malan). Then, in company with the King, St.
Gregory proceeded to the other provinces of the
kingdom, everywhere administering Holy Baptism,
destroying the idolatrous temples, building churches,
consecrating bishops and ordaining clergy. Accord
ing to the national historians, the number of bishops
who were consecrated during this period amounted to
more than four hundred ! St. Gregory also erected

56 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
convents, hospitals, and schools. He practised him
self, and urged upon others, the diligent study of the
Holy Scriptures.
Having put his Church in order, in A.D. 331, he
prepared to return to Mount Sepouh, Upper Armenia,
for the purpose of devotion and fasting, living on the
herbs of the field, having first consecrated, at the
urgent request of the King, his youngest son Aris
daghes, as Patriarch of all Armenia, in his stead.
When Constantine the Great convened the Council
of Nicaea, A.D. 325, Johannes and St. Gregory were
summoned by the Emperor to attend, but as St.
Gregory was far too advanced in age to be able to
undertake such a journey, he sent his son Arisdaghes,
from the Greater Armenia, and it is interesting to
know that the names of Leontius and Arisdaghes are
found in two lists of the bishops present at Nicaea, as
signing the Creed there drawn up. When the decrees
of this First General Council were brought to Vaghars
habad, St. Gregory immediately summoned the
bishops and held the first National Council in which
he read the Nicene Creed, and its twenty canons.
The Council accepted the decisions, and St. Gregory
added to it these beautiful words : —
"But we will glorify Him, Who was before all
worlds, by adoring the Holy Trinity and the One
Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
HOLY Ghost, now and ever, and world without
end, Amen," — words ever after remembered in the
"Divine Liturgy," and recited in conclusion, when
the choir chants this great Symbol of the Faith of the
One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The Council of Nicaea on September 7, like the
following two CEcumenical Councils on February 16
and August 10, are still annually commemorated in
the Armenian Church.
After thirty years of evangelical labours, St. Gregory
once more returned to the Cave of Mani, on Mount
Sepouh. Occasionally he would reappear among his
flock when his council and guidance were required,

THE HOLY VARTANS 57
but he hastened back to his hermitage when his
services were no longer necessary.
Armenians assert that it was probably during
these quiet days that he composed those beautiful
discourses on devotional and theological subjects that
are contained in the book known as The Repertory
of St. Gregory, but no one seriously attributes this
work to St. Gregory, now-a-days.
St. Gregory entered into rest in the wilderness,
A.D. 332, and some shepherds finding his dead body,
without knowing whose it was, erected over it a cairn
of stones. Some years afterwards, after diligent
inquiry, his solitary resting-place was discovered, and
his precious relics were carried to Etchmiadzin.
In honour of her real founder, the Armenian Church
is occasionally known as the Armeno-Gregorian ; and
from respect to his memory became and continued
avTOKt(pa\os. As the conversion of Armenia took place
ten years before the time of Constantine the first,
this country enjoys the proud distinction of being the
first national Church of Christendom.
The following days are revered in the Armenian
Church as celebrating events in the life of St.
Gregory : —
March 23, Imprisonment of St. Gregory.
June 8, Liberation of St. Gregory.
June 22, Invention of the relics of St. Gregory.
October 14, ditto.1
THE HOLY VARTANS. A.D. 451
ONE thousand, four hundred and fifty-nine years
have passed since a great event took place in the
plains of Armenia. Not only the Armenian Church
and nation, but the whole Christian world, owes a
vast debt to the Holy War of A.D. 451, which, under
1 The Orthodox Eastern Church, according to the Byzantine
Kalendar, reveres the memory of " the Holy Martyr, Gregory
of Armenia, the Great," on September 30. The Ethiopic
Kalendar commemorates him on Maskarram 13, September 16.
The silence of all Greek writers about St. Gregory is
remarkable.

58 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
God's providence, was waged for the preservation of
the Christian Faith and civilization from the destruc
tive might of the Persians.
Ever since the commencement of the fifth century,
Armenia was involved in great political troubles that
threatened to deprive her of her Christian Faith, as
well as her national independence. Forsaken by her
principal ally, Theodosius II, Armenia fell a prey
into the hands of the Persians, who succeeded in
gradually turning her into a feudatory province.
Henceforth no effort was spared to alienate the
Armenians from their fellow-Christians in the West.
In A.D. 428 the last king of the Arshakunian
dynasty (Ardashir), was dethroned by King Haskert
of Persia, and the Monarchy was demolished. This
was not all. Haskert was not satisfied with the mere
conquest of Armenia ; he hoped to cut off an import
ant ally of the Roman Empire, and to weaken the
latter. Haskert also sought to separate Armenia
from Constantinople in religious ties. The strict
prohibition of the Greek language was enforced
under severe penalties. In ecclesiastical use Armenian
was substituted for both Greek and Syriac. Al
though the Armenians did not much mind sacrificing
the Greek language, yet they were determined
not to compromise one jot of their Faith. They
were ready to sacrifice all they possessed, and them
selves, too, rather than deny their Divine Master.
Haskert, on his part, left no means untried to con
vert them to fire-worship. Bribery, threats, tortures,
were all applied in turn to win them over, but
all in vain. At length, under false pretences, he.
summoned the Armenian nobles to the Persian Court,
and by imprisonments and threats made them promise
that they would, on their return home, spread the
doctrines of Zoroaster. But when they returned,
they called a Council of all the Nobles and Ecclesi
astics, in A.D. 450, at the town of Shahapivan, and
represented to them Haskert's cruel determination to

THE HOLY VARTANS 59
change their religion and language. All the Princes
and Ecclesiastics bound themselves by an oath to
remain faithful to their religion, and to fight with all
their might in defence of their rights against Haskert ;
they preferred dying in the field of battle, to denying
their Faith and Language. "Victory or death" was
their motto. Fired with enthusiasm, thousands of
Armenians took arms, and gathered themselves round
their leader, St. Vartan. This nobleman was the
grandson of the Catholicos Isaac. St. Vartan was
one of the Princes who were called to the Persian
Court, and it was his noble spirit that exclaimed,
"we must do more than merely earn a martyr's
crown, we must save our beloved nation, and the
Church of God." Hence it was that he feigned
devotion to the sun, when he had to choose between
sun-worship and death, and escaped to Armenia to
gather an army against the tyrants. It must be
borne in mind that it was not personal fear, but a
deep concern for his country and religion, that led
him to take this unfortunate step. However, the sin
was amply purged by his own blood.
The war began in the spring of A.D. 451, just when
the Council of Chalcedon was being held. The odds
were immensely against the Armenians. About
60,000 men, with almost no military training, were
hastily called together to take up arms against a
well-disciplined Persian army of ten times as many
trained soldiers. But the Armenians, roused by the
justice of their cause, and having perfect confidence
in God, looked upon their opponents with disdain,
and contemned death itself. Thousands of Persians
were slain, and the rest were speedily driven out of
the country. The loss on the side of the Armenians
was also considerable. One thousand and thirty-six
noble Christians fell on the field of battle. Their
great leader, St. Vartan, fell, sword in hand. But
the Armenians had the satisfaction of victory ; their
Faith was preserved, heathenism was repelled from

60 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
their Fatherland, and on February 1 1 of each year,
the Armenian Kalendar commemorates "Vartan,
soldier, his companions, and 1036 MM."1
THE ORTHODOXY OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
In the controversy concerning the two Natures in
CHRIST, the Armenian Church has been cruelly
misrepresented by the majority of historians. The
opinion enunciated at the Lambeth Conference of
1908 (in the Report of the Committee on The Separate
Churches of the East), containing the following para
graph, is worthy of careful consideration : — 2
"The Armenian Church, now scattered far and wide,
with the ancient Nation of whose history it is the most
striking and significant part, declares with justice that its
absence from the Council of Chalcedon was due to political
reasons, more than anything else, and has always strenuously
denied, and apparently with no little reason, the charges of
Aphthartodocetic heresy which has been levelled against it."
In order to prove that the Armenians are neither
Monophysites nor Eutychians, it is necessary to state
their view of their own position.3
The following extract, translated from a French
Note, addressed to the Archbishop of Paris, some
years ago, by M. Boghos Dadian, member of the
National Armenian Council, appeared in the Guardian,
May 13, 1885, under the signature of the late Canon
Curtis, Constantinople — '¦
"The Dual Nature of Jesus Christ. . . . The
Armenian Church has invariably acknowledged Jesus
Christ as very God and very Man ; consequently, two
Natures in One Person, i. e. the Person of the Word. Thus,
she has always rejected. the contrary errors of Nestorius and
Eutyches." 1 Adapted from an Address delivered in the Armenian
College, Calcutta, on the occasion of the celebration of "the
Festival of the Holy Vartans," 1893, by Professor Theodore
Isaac, Lit.D.
2 Lambeth Conference, 1908, p. 174. S.P.C.K.
3 Most of the statements on pages 60, 61, and 62 are disputed
by Mr. F. C. Conybeare.

ORTHODOXY OF ARMENIAN CHURCH 61
The chief, and almost the only cause of the occa
sional discussions, occurring betwixt the Greeks and
Armenians, is the ambiguity of the Armenian word
bnoutioun (<£uW, nature). Hence, certain Authors
are incorrect in calling the Armenians Monophysites,
and Eutychians. They have only to read the speech
of Jean Otznetzi, surnamed the Philosopher, an
Armenian patriarch of the eighth century. It was
published in Venice, with a Latin translation, by
P. J. B. Aucher, AD. 1816. The most celebrated
theologian of Rome critically examined this dis
course, and admitted that it was in complete accord
ance with the doctrine of the Universal Church.
In addition to this, St. Nerses Glai^tzi, an Armenian
Patriarch of the twelfth century, clearly stated —
" To say that in Jesus Christ are two natures, by reason
of the reunion of the two in a single Person, is not contrary
to the Truth, provided always the Unity be not divided into
two." St. Nerses Lampronatzi, twelfth century, states
more clearly still —
"To declare that Jesus Christ is God and Man,
and to say that He is of two Natures is to state the same
thing." The author of an article in the Christian Remem
brancer, April 1857, says that the obstinate rejection
by the Armenians of the Fourth Council was due to
the following facts —
(1) That the Letter of Leo was sent to the Armenians as
giving a complete exposition of the Faith of the Council ; 1
(2) That this letter was so badly translated into Armenian
that they conclude that the Council had committed itself to
the heresy of Nestorius, in repudiating that of Eutyches;
(3) That in all discussions with the Greeks, this letter was
1 The English translation of the Tome of St. Leo, by Dr.
Bright, is printed at length in A Select Library of Nicene and
Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second series, Vol.
xiv, 190D, pp. 254-258.

62 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
appealed to, the latter admitting that it was a true exponent
of the Faith of the Council ; (4) That the mistranslation
never having been amended, the Armenians are to this day
under the impression that the Council was heretical. That
which they reject is not the Faith of the Council, but its
decrees represented to them, by a mistranslation, in a
heretical form."
To this may be added, as from the Ultramontane
side, the testimony of Professor Felix NeVe, of
Louvain —
"The heresy of the Monophysites never prevailed, in
fact, in the theology of the Armenians, and has no defender
among their well-instructed writers."
The following questions and answers from the
Authorized Catechism of Christian Instruction, accord
ing to the Doctrine of the Holy Apostolic Church of
Armenia, throw additional light upon the orthodoxy
of the Armenian Church —
" Why is the Son of God called also the Son of Man ?
"Because, for us men and for our salvation He came
down from heaven, was incarnate and was made man, and
perfectly begotten by the Holy Ghost of the most Holy
Virgin Mary. He assumed from her, flesh, soul, and mind
and all things that are in man, truly and not figuratively.
''Did the Son of God suffer any change in His Divinity by
His Incarnation 1
" Never ; He without change and without diminution of
His Godhead became Man and was called Christ.
" What does became Man or incarnated mean ?
" It means that the Son of God, who from all Eternity
had the Divine Nature, in time assumed our human Nature
for our salvation. Therefore Jesus Christ has both
Perfect Godhead and perfect Manhood, being God and perfect
Man. " How are the Godhead and Manhood united in Christ 1
"Without confusion, without change, and indivisibly they
are united in one Person, that is in one Person of the Son
of God. (From Chapter X, p. 27.)
" How is the holiness of the Church of Armenia proved 7
"The holiness of the Church of Armenia is proved (1)

ORTHODOXY OF ARMENIAN CHURCH 63
By her holy and orthodox Creed, as has been acknowledged
by the Popes of Rome, and by the Greek Church at different
times, and subsequently to these acknowledgments, no
change whatever has been introduced into her doctrine ;
(2) By her moral teachings and by her well-organized church
regulations which are pure, and in accordance with the
teaching of the Holy Scriptures ; (3) By the multitude of
her saints and martyrs, who . . . have by the profuse
shedding of their blood anointed the cross upon which the
Holy and Orthodox Armenian Church is ever suffering
martyrdom." (From Chapter XXV, p. 104.)
The following (from the same Chapter, p. 105) gives
us an insight into the political and racial reasons
which seem to be the chief difficulties in accepting the
Council —
" What was the cause of the persecution made by the Greek"
Church against our Church ?
"The Greek Church, making pretext of the fact that
Armenians do not recognize the Council of Chalcedon
(which in a.d. 451 was held in the city of Chalcedon, now
called Kadikeuy, for refuting the heresy of Eutyches), for a
long-time endeavoured to bring the Armenians into subjec
tion to the Council. But Armenians, while repudiating the
heresy of Eutyches, did not undertake to recognize the •
Council of Chalcedon, in which they had no part, and which I
had decreed the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople to be J
supreme over Eastern Churches. Had the Armenian '
Church recognized the Council of Chalcedon, her free (
Apostolical Patriarchal See would have been lost, and her j
independence would have been subjected to the authority of |
the Greek Church." j
To this last answer the following foot-note is
appended —
" That the Armenian Church entirely repudiates Eutychianism
is evident from the fact that in the Ordination Service according
to the canons and rites of our Holy Church, the candidate for
Priests' Orders, the evening previpus to the laying-on of hands
by the Bishop, is required solemnly and publicly in the church
to anathematize in the presence of the consecrating Bishop,
and of the congregation, all the heresiarchs of the Christian
Church, one by one, of whom one is Eutyches, and particular

64 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
mention is made of him together with all the heresiarchs of
Christianity. (See our Church Book called Great Mashtotz,
containing rules, canons and rites of the Holy Armenian
Church.)" " The differences between the Armenian and the Greek
Churches are well summarized in a note by the Mekhitarists
to the famous address delivered by Nerses of Lambron in the
twelfth century to the Council assembled at Romkla. The Greek
Church demanded that the Armenian Church should: (i)
Anathematize all those who assert that Christ has one nature ;
(2) Confess Jesus Christ in two natures ; (3) Not address the
Trisagion to the Second Person ofthe Trinity ; (4) Celebrate the
Oecumenical feasts in conformity with the Greek Church ; (5)
Prepare the Chrism or Holy Oil with oil alone ; (6) Celebrate
the Holy Communion with leavened bread and with water in
the wine ; (7) Receive the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh
Oecumenical Councils ; (8) Receive the nomination of the
Armenian Patriarch from the Greek Emperor. . . . Apart from
dogma and ritual, the traveller notices a conspicuous difference
between the Greek and Armenian Church at the present day.
You will not find eikons in Armenian houses, while no Russian
house is without them. As regards the Church of Rome, the
dogmatic breach is even wider than with the Greek Church." —
Lynch, Vol. i, pp. 314, 315, note.

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE ARMENIAN
CHURCH
This Confession is always placed at the beginning
of the Common Prayer Book {Jamakirk). The
following version is quoted from an unpublished
pamphlet by the late Rev. S. C. Malan, in 1872, from
the original Armenian —
" We confess and with our whole (most perfect) heart
believe in the Father God (Who is) not created, not begot
ten, but without beginning, (Who) also is begetter of the
Son, and Breather forth of the Holy Ghost.
"We believe in the Word God, (Who is) not created,
(but) begotten and (Who has His) beginning from the
Father, before the Worlds. Who is neither posterior nor
less ; but as the Father is Father, so is the Son also Son.
"We believe also in the Holy Ghost (Who) is not
created (and) not of time ; not begotten but breathed forth

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH 65
from the Father, of the same essence with the Father,
and of the same glory with the Son.
"We believe in the Holy Trinity, One Nature, One
Godhead— not three Gods, but One God, One Will, One
Kingdom, One Sovereignty, Maker of things visible and
invisible. " We believe in a Holy Church, a Remission of sins, a
Communion of Saints.
" We believe (that) one of the three Persons, the Word
God, begotten of the Father before the worlds, in time
came down into the Mother of God, (Deipara) the Virgin
Mary, took of her blood, and united it with His Godhead
(Divinity), patiently carried nine months in the womb of
that pure Virgin, and was made (or became) perfect Man in
spirit, (or soul), and mind and body; one person, one
figure (or appearance), and united in one nature.
"God was made (or became) Man, without change,
without alteration, conception without seed, and generation
without corruption.
" So that as there is no beginning to His Godhead
(Divinity), so also there is no end to His Humanity, for
Jesus Christ, yesterday and to-day, is the same and for
ever. " We believe (that) our Lord Jesus Christ having gone
about in the Earth, after thirty years came to Baptism;
(that) the Father bare witness : ' This is my Beloved Son,'
and the Holy Ghost like a dove came down, (that) He was
tempted of Satan and overcame him ; preached the salva
tion of men, laboured in the body, hungered and thirsted,
after that, of His own free will, came into sufferings; was
crucified, dead in the body, but alive in His Godhead
(Divinity) ; His body was laid in the grave, united with His
Godhead (Divinity) ; and in spirit He went down into hell,
in His undivided Godhead (Divinity), preached to the
spirits, spoiled hell, and set free the spirits. After three
days He rose again from the dead, and appeared to the
disciples. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ went
up into heaven in that same body, and sat at the right hand
of God ; and that He is to come in the same body, and in
the glory of the Father, to judge the quick and dead ; that
is also the resurrection of all men.
" We believe also in the retribution for works (done in
E

66 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
the body) ; to the righteous, life everlasting ; and to sinners
everlasting torments." 1

POPE LEO XIII, AND BISHOP MELCHIZEDECK
MOURADIANTZ. 1 888
In 1867, Pope Pius IX, made an attempt by his
bull Reversurus to abolish with, one blow the most
important of the privileges granted to the so-called
United Armenians. The Uniat Patriarch (Hassoun)
spared no pains to carry out the dictates of this bull.
But the majority of the Roman Armenians, headed
by the Mekhitarists of Venice resisted these efforts to
rob them of their national freedom, and the result
was a schism, among this already schismatical body,
one party acknowledging Hassoun as their Patriarch,
and willing to conform to the Reversurus, while the
other, protesting against any curtailment of their
national privileges, deposed Hassoun, and elected a
new patriarch (Kupelian).
Hassoun, however, went to Rome and died there
as Cardinal, and Kupelian, finding himself the party
of the minority, at length submitted to Rome, but
the schism continued, till in the commencement of
1888, through the efforts of Leo XIII, and their
Patriarch Azarian, a reconciliation was brought about,
for the most part in favour of the National Party.
1 The Armenian Church possesses three Symbols of faith,
i. e. the Nicene, the Apostles, and the Athanasian Creeds, the
two last having been probably received from the Latin Church.
There are also six other (personal) Confessions of Faith, e. g.
the Confession of St. Nareg, c.a.d, 951 ; the three Confessions
of the Catholicos St. Nerses V, c a.d. i 170 ; the fifth Confession
of faith is by St. Nerses of Lambron as delivered by him in the
Council of Tarsus, a.d. 1177. These six Confessions of faith
cast light upon the short Confession of faith which is of great
antiquity as printed above : " Armenians, like all other Chris
tians who believe in a Church, believe that Church to be Holy
and call it so, as they do in" this their special Confession of Faith.
But the term Holy before ' Catholic Church ' is not found in the
Nicene Creed as said in the Armenian Church." — Malan.

LEO XIII AND BISHOP MOURADIANTZ 67
It was on this occasion that the Pope addressed his
Encyclical to his Armenian followers.
George, Catholicos (a.d. 1868), ably replied to the
invitation of the Pope to attend the Council of the
Latin Church at Rome, stating that " we consider our
duty is, of our independent authority, to prescribe to
you, our Venerable Brother, both to refuse this invita
tion to the Council, which has not a legitimate basis." 1
The Latin original of the Encyclical was translated
into Armenian and Turkish, and after being read
solemnly in the Armenian Roman Catholic Churches
of Constantinople, it was distributed freely in thou
sands of copies among Uniats and Gregorians. Leo
tries to show " from numerous historical evidences "
that the Armenian Church was in fact established by
Rome, and that, in ancient times, the Armenian
Church was under the jurisdiction of the Roman See,
and that the most celebrated of Armenian Bishops
have acknowledged his supremacy.
Leo XIII tells us that " St. Gregory the Illumina
tor, went to Rome to give an account of his faith, and
to present tokens of his obedience to the Supreme
Pontiff, St. Silvester. Moreover, it is well known
that he (St. Gregory), was received by the Pope with
great benevolence, and various special powers were
conferred upon him ! "
This fable of St. Gregory's visit to Rome is founded
on a document not older than the seventeenth century,
although it is found in some manuscripts of the His
tory of Agathangelos, a writer of the fourth century,
No great learning is required to detect the impdsture,
The language of Agathangelos is that of a time
known as the " golden era " of Armenian literature.
It would be strange that Agathangelos, or, what is
worse, St. Gregory, should sign a document written in
the vulgar jargon of the seventeenth century. The
writer of the document, if he really lived in the fourth
1 Occasional Paper of the Eastern Church Association, No. X,
Rivingtons, 1869.
E 2

68 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
century, must have been a very learned man indeed,
for he seems to have been acquainted with languages
which came into existence many centuries after. He
appears to have known Italian, French, Turkish and
Persian, and constantly uses words and phrases taken
from these languages.
In this document it is related that (after the con
version of Armenia by St. Gregory) " Tiridates, King
of Armenia, hearing that his former friend, Constan
tine, had now become his brother in CHRIST, made a
journey to Rome, accompanied by St. Gregory, to
congratulate his friend, and to renew their old friend
ship on Christian principles.1
" St. Gregory also took this opportunity to present
himself before the Pope, to be consecrated Patriarch
of all Armenia." Now Tiridates was converted c.
A.p. 302, and the Edict of Milan was issued A.D. 313, so
that Tiridates and St. Gregory could not possibly have
gone to Rome before the latter date, for the object
of their journey was the conversion of Constantine.
During the period, however, beween 302 and 313,
St. Gregory had preached, consecrated bishops, and
had done everything that a patriarch could do. What,
then, were these special powers which Pope Silvester
conferred upon him ?
Leo XIII once more calls upon the Armenians to
make haste and join the Holy Fold, and set a good
example to other nations.
The immediate result of this publication was to
rouse the just indignation of the Armenian community
in Constantinople. Their Ecclesiastical Synod issued
a circular of its own which was read in all the
Armenian churches in Constantinople, and thus shat-
1 The same story is related by the Rev. James Dr. Issaverdenz
in his Uniat History of the Armenian Church, Vol. ii. Venice,
1875, p. 41. "That Tiridates received Christianity from the
Bishop of Rome, is plainly a story with a purpose, and must
therefore be viewed with suspicion." — Lynch, Vol. i, p. 295,
note.

ANSWER OF BISHOP MOURADIANTZ 69
tered the Pope's very curious mixture of misrepre
sentations, flatteries, threats and promises.1
In addition to this synodical action, Anglican
church-folk became acquainted the same year (1888),
with the answer of Bishop Melchizedeck Mouradiantz
to the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, which was pub
lished by the S.P.C.K., (price 2d.), and is reproduced
below, with the kind permission of their Tract Com
mittee.THE ANSWER OF BISHOP MELCHIZEDECK MOURA
DIANTZ TO THE ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII2
To our Noble and Gracious Brother Pope
Leo XIII
Gracious Brother in Jesus Christ,
We have read your Encyclical addressed through
Lord Stepannos-Bedros X, Patriarch of Cilicia, to that
portion of the Clergy and Laity of the Armenian nation
who are under his pastorate and subject to your spiritual
jurisdiction. By the said Encyclical, you, amongst other things, also
admonish and advise them to invite the sons of the Holy
Apostolic Church of Armenia in your name and in your
words to "examine and elect to affirm that union from
which their ancestors have departed." For this end you
likewise declare that you are " ready to meet and embrace
with open arms those who should return," that the Armenians
are already " inclined to receive the truth on perceiving it,
and intend to unite when they shall have apprehended their
departure from it," and this you say " is established by a
great many historical proofs."
You also enumerate in your Encyclical these so-called
numerous proofs, which, to quote your words, are " St.
Gregory the Illuminator's journey to Rome, his presentation
of the articles of his belief to Silvester the Supreme Pontiff,
and his doing homage to him. The Synods which were
convoked at Sis in 1307, and at Adana in 1313. The
1 The Church Times, Sept. 28, 1888, p. 836.
2 Translated from the original in Armenian by Garabet
Hagopian of London.

7o THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
offering of their respects to Eugenius IV the Pontiff, as to
the Vicar of Christ, by the representatives of Constantine
V, the then Catholicos, at the Florentine Council, and the
communication to them of the Synodal Orders, and their
acceptance of the same with submission and willingness.
The letter written by Azaria, Cathoficos of Cilicia, dated
ioth April, 1585." In short.even "from letters and pil
grimages " you infer that " as Gregory the Illuminator did
to Silvester," so also "many Armenian Patriarchs have
shown obedience" to the Patriarch of Rome, and the
Patriarchs of Rome have in return " never abstained from
giving the evident proofs of their paternal love towards the
Armenians, have provided for them places of refuge, have
meditated means for their education," etc., etc.
This is, Gracious Brother, the summary of your Encyclical,
and should we summarize it further we shall find that you
openly invite the sons of the Church of the Armenians " to
unite with the Church of Rome," and by this union "to
obey the Pontiff of Rome."
What is the motive of your invitation " to acknowledge
the truth and to accept it?" What is that truth? The
supremacy of the Pontiffs of Rome, and humble obedience to
that supremacy. Yet the Armenians must naturally in the
first place weigh what it is that they shall have to abandon,
and what it is that they shall have to accept. Is it worth
while that they should abandon the one and receive the
other ?
This investigation could simplify everything, and we hope
that you will also acknowledge the importance of the
inquiry. Gracious Brother, in order that the Armenians may accept
the invitation contained in your Encyclical, they will have
to abandon the Christian foundation of their Church and
her Apostolic Institution ; they will have to abandon their
spiritual independence and freedom ; they will have to
abandon the popular spirit of their Church, which is the
type of the Christianity of the early ages ; they will have to
abandon their most holy confession that " One is the
FOUNDATION AND HEAD OF THE CHURCH, EVEN JESUS
Christ." They will have to deny the writings of their
Patriarchs and doctors, who have taught and indoctrinated
then! so; they will have to deny their Champions and

ANSWER OF BISHOP MOURADIANTZ 71
Martyrs, who suffered and were martyred for their refusal
to renounce the only life-giving Head of the Church. They
will have to anathematize their noble and self-sacrificing
Pastors, who, in order to keep their Church free and in
dependent, have as its valiant champions resisted the
oppositions and seductions of the Greek and Roman
Churches. In one word, they will have to deny a Church
which has existed now for 1854 years, which in the East has
in the bitterest times preserved Christianity, preserved the
Armenian name and language, Armenian memories and
memorials, and throughout all persecutions and terrors has
been their local refuge, the home of their consolation, the
Sanctuary of their Faith, Hope, and Love — both of their
temporal and their spiritual love.
The Armenians will have to abandon all this and more ;
and what are they to receive ? The unity of the Roman
Church, or what is the same thing, the supremacy of the
Roman Pontiff.
Now let us examine this supremacy, Gracious Brother,
and let us see whether there is in the Gospels any mention
of such supremacy, whether there is any expression by
which it will be possible to infer, as you do in your En^
cyclical, that "to the Church of Rome is given by Divine
promise, to establish her tents and to stretch her cords to
all parts of the world."
We have often read, Noble Brother, and know that you
base this doctrine of supremacy upon the appellation by
which Jesus called Simon Rock or Petros, and after this
the thrice-repeated questions and commands, when, having
ascertained the firmness of Peter's love, He commanded
him to feed His flock. This naming and command can
never have the meaning of an autocratic pastorate or head
ship of the Apostles, and we believe with all our heart that
Peter himself did not even dream of such supremacy —
much less that he received and performed such an office.
Because it was the same Simon who in the same Gospel
was called both Petros and Satan by his Teacher. It was
the selfsame Simon Peter who felt exceeding sorrow at the
thrice-repeated question of Christ, for he deeply felt that
the memory of his three mournful denials was being
repeated, and with his thrice-repeated promise of love
alone he was to commence to be the equal of the other

72 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
disciples in the Apostolic calling, and not that he would be
ordained prince or head of the Apostles.
As regards the office of the Apostles, the whole of the
New Testament is permeated with the spirit of equality.
The commandment of Jesus is universal, it applies equally
to the Apostles and to their disciples and successors from
age to age. "Go ye therefore," said Jesus, "and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teach
them to observe all things whatsoever I have" commanded
you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the. world." Jesus is always with those who believe in Him,
and there is no necessity whatever that He should set up in
His place a Vicar or Deputy. Jesus is never absent from
His flock. He is the eternal Emmanuel, which is Gon
with us.
Indeed, not Peter alone, but all the Apostles, Prophets,
and even Illuminators, Pastors, Overseers, Bishops and
Priests, in the degree of their spiritual stewardship, are
called the corner-stone of the edifice of the Church and the
Head of the flock, but never an immovable corner-stone of
foundation upon which the edifice of the Church is raised,
and never the Head of the entire body of the Church,
because that Single Corner-Stone, that Single Head, is
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the Foundation.
He is the Rock Who keeps and preserves the whole edifice,
and the members of the Church are the materials of this
edifice. Because Peter himself exclaims, " Ye also, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ. Ye are a chosen generation," etc. — i Pet. ii. 5-9.
He is the head with Whom the members are united with a
strong tie, and are full of life. " From whom the whole
body fitly joined together and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in
the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto
the edifying of itself in love." — Eph. iv. 16.
Let us go more into details, Gracious Brother, in order
that we may not leave room for doubts.
Since the Church is the assembly of believers in all times
and in all lands, commencing from Adam unto the end of
the world, it is impossible that a mortal, and one born in

ANSWER OF BISHOP MOURADIANTZ 73
after times, should be the rock or head of the eternal.
Because you doubtless know that all the Patriarchs and
Prophets who had put the hope of their salvation on the
Messiah are members of the Church, just as we Christians
are through the Gospel.
Since the Church is the Kingdom of God, a moral King
dom, a Kingdom of Grace, hence Christ alone is King,
Dispenser, and Head.
Since the Church is not only the assembly of the saved,
but also the body of those who have the hope of inheriting
salvation, Christ is the only Head and Leader of salvation.
Since the Church is a spiritual soldiership, a spiritual
armour against the wickedness and darkness of the world,
against all error and falsehood, therefore Christ alone is the
only Chief Commander in this spiritual warfare, and not a
mortal. This Commander's presence gives courage to all
believers. " Be ye of good cheer, for I have overcome the
world." — John xvi. 33.
And since this is so, Gracious Brother, what then is your
invitation and whom do you invite ? Is it from Christ to
Christ, or from Christ to Peter ? If you are inviting us to
Christ, the children of the Church of Armenia already
acknowledge and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the Living God : He is the Rock of the foundation
of the Church and life-giving Head. He is the Anointed
of God, as also the King of all mankind, the Supreme
Prophet and the eternal High Priest who sacrificed Himself
for the salvation of all men. He manifested Himself to
mankind, mingled His own history with the history of men,
bore in Himself the fulness of the Godhead and the fulness
of sinless humanity. He became a living bond between
God and man, the Mediator between the Creator and His
creature. The Armenians believe that without this true
confession there is no Christianity, there is no Christian
Church, neither in Rome nor in any other part of the world,
but only dust mixed with tears. " Neither is there salvation
in any other : for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved." — Acts iv. 1 2.
Is not this, Gracious Brother, the Christ whom you con
fess, and why then do you invite people from Christ to
Christ ? What is the use of such invitations except the
spreading of doubt and hesitation among the faithful, the

74 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
raising of strife and contention among Christian brethren,
and the giving of opportunities for the daily increase of
scepticism, which if we mistake not, and you will pardon us
the mention of it, arose from the day when for the motto of
the Society of Christians " without Christ no Salvation,"
"no salvation out ofthe Roman Church," was preached?
But perhaps you invite people from Christ to Peter or
from Bartholomew to Peter ? If you are inviting from Christ
to Peter, it is manifest that you invite from the Lord to His
servant, from the Teacher to His disciple, from the Saviour
to the saved, from the service of God to the service of man.
If you invite people from Bartholomew to Peter, it is evident
that you are inviting from like to like, from the disciple to
his fellow disciple, from the Apostle to the Apostle, both of
whom were taught by the same teaching, received the same
Holy Spirit, received the same apostolic command, and
were encouraged with the promise of the same reward. But
as regards the question of primacy or supremacy, it was
from the very first uprooted by decision of their heavenly
Teacher and Lawgiver. "And whosoever will be chief
among you, let him be your servant." — Matt. xx. 27.
Therefore why should the Armenians go from the Lord
to the servant, or from the Apostle to the Apostle, and be
come deniers of God and worshippers of men? For we
have shown that Peter is not Christ, but what Peter is, the
same is also Tbaddseus.
But, Gracious Brother, you are not the first author of
that invitation, nor the only one. That invitation has been
repeated for centuries past, and unhappily repeated since
the unhappy day when the Eastern and Western, that is the
Greek and Roman Churches, seceded from each other.
The Church of Armenia has remained in its primitive state,
and has not wished to adhere either to this or that division,
in order that she may not lose her independence and be
come a handmaid, but remain a free Bride to her heavenly
liberty-giving Bridegroom. There is no doubt that on this
matter she has not only received invitations and allure
ments, but has also undergone indignities, persecution and
threats — with this difference, that now it is not so much the
Greek Church as it is Russian policy which presses upon
the conscience and freedom of the Armenian Church.
The Vatican apprehends the spiritual Patriarchate of the

ANSWER OF BISHOP MOURADIANTZ 75
Church as a temporal autocracy. You are inviting us, but
Russia has entered the sanctum of the Armenian Catholi-
cosate. You only invite, but Russia decides, saying, This
is my^ will. Although the methods are different, the aim of
both is the same, viz. to take away the independence of the
Church of Armenia, not to say her very existence.
Alas, was it not possible, Noble Brother, for you to
renounce your invitation to accept your supremacy, and for
Russia to sacrifice her autocratic will in religious matters,-
and that both of you together for the love of the heaven
sent Founder and Head of the Christian Church should
leave the Church of Armenia free and intact in her primi
tive condition, as a priceless antiquity, as the type of the
Church of the early Christians? Could you not leave her
time and leisure to occupy herself with her interior life, to
provide spiritually for her children, and to keep her life
spotless ? It was even your duty to admonish and advise
those who have seceded from the Church of Armenia to
return again to the bosom of their much-afflicted mother,
who with an infinite longing love awaits the return of her
children with outstretched arms.
Believe me, Gracious Brother, whether in ancient or in
modern times, if any Armenian has left his Church and
gone over to a different one, he has either not known his
Church fully or has been deceived by worldly considera
tions, or has been forced to it, or religion and proselytism
have been of no importance to him. Consequently such an
one has dissented and never united : he has separated him
self from his brothers in race and blood, separated himself
from the name, glory, boast, sorrow and joy of his
Apostolic Church. But we do not know to what he has
united himself by seceding, because Christ is not divided ;
but this we know, that such an one has changed his name
and form and become estranged from his mother. Behold
this is the entirety of the orthodoxy embraced by him.
We do not think it necessary to refer to the supposed his
torical proofs brought forward in your Encyclical. These
have been often confuted, and have no importance what
ever so long as the Holy Church of Armenia, in accordance
with her Christian and Apostolic rights, does not accept
the undertaking or work of any individual, were it of the
Catholicos himself, which does not bear the seal of the con-

76 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
sent of the entire nation, and this is alien to its confession
of ages past. But we shall ever regard that hand wicked
which has dared with mythical treaty to attribute to Silvester
the function of a Nebuchadnezzar, and to Gregory the
Illuminator that of a worshipper of a human being.
Let us leave all this, Gracious Brother ; do you not your
self confess that before the Council of Chalcedon, there was
neither question of Chief Apostleship nor of supremacy?
Do you not know that all the Pastors and Doctors of the
Church were imbued with the infinite depth of the Divine
Love, and beyond the Cross saw no other eminence ? They
saw neither Thrones nor Seats, neither Primacies nor Head
ships. Take the Apostles, take the Disciples, take the
Illuminators, take the Chrysostoms and Augustines, what is
their boast ? The Cross, before which they humble them
selves prostrate. What is their sign ? Love, which for all
Christians is the centre of union.
Now, Noble Brother, the name of the God we worship is
Love, the true name of our blessedness Grace, and the
name of our sorrows Temptation. Like every other true
Christian, Peter is neither the Head of the Church nor the
Head of the Apostles, but a son of Grace. But you doubt
less know that Temptation often comes when we forget that
we are the sons of Grace, when we forget that our calling is
to worship and not to be worshipped, when we forget that
we are liable to error, and we forget that we are the minis
ters for the promotion of love, and not of division and
sovereignty. Let us therefore cast away wrong interpretations,
Gracious Brother, let us adhere to the Gospel and en
treat, saying, " O Lord, fire every living heart with love,
and every true mind with wisdom, that all may acknowledge
Thy Name, which is Love. Let not men seek Thy Name
in the laws of their own thoughts only, but in the speech of
Thy saving Cross, wherein are to be found hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Let Thy admirable
and comforting Name, with which Thou didst name Thy
self in the humble manger at Bethlehem, in the Garden of
Gethsemane, and on the hillock of Golgotha, be for ever
sealed on our consciences and hearts. We entreat and
supplicate Thee to give us strength, so that we enthrone
Thy love upon the earth and make it eternal in heaven."

THE HOLY ORDERS 77
Behold, Happy Brother, our reply to the Encyclical, in
which, as you will observe, our sole object has been to
pourtray the truth in its own colours, in order that it may
be most clearly seen that the Holy Apostolic Church of
Armenia is neither in error nor has strayed from the truth,
nor in need of invitations to return to the truth.
Only, please excuse us if in our answers we have not
used high-sounding adjectives and titles, because we have
taken care lest in future times, even from honourable appel
lations we may be found to have given, arguments for
acknowledging your supremacy should be deduced — as the
correspondence of some has already been subjected to
such inferences — more especially, as we have no doubt you
yourself by your wise demeanour, have obtained even the
respect of Emperors, Kings and Princes ; but you will of
course appreciate the simple Christian modes of address of
the early ages.
We salute you in the Lord, Happy Brother, and rely
upon our fraternal love, in which we remain a servant of
Jesus Christ, and by His will a minister of the Holy
Apostolic Church of Armenia.
Bishop Melchizedeck Mouradiantz.
23rd August, 1888,
at KlZlL TOPRAG,
Constantinople.

THE HOLY ORDERS
IN the Instruction in the Christian Faith, according
to the Orthodox Armenian Church of St. Gregory the
Illuminator, published as an " Occasional Paper of
the Eastern Church Association," No. VIII, Riving-
tons, 1869, the following questions and answers
occur —
Q. How many degrees of Orders are there ?
A. Seven : (i) Doorkeeping. (2) Lecturing, or Reading.
(3) Exorcism. (4) Acolytism. (5) Sub-Deaconship. (6)
Deaconship. (7) Priesthood.
Q. Are not the office of Bishop and that of Catholicos
also orders ?
A. According to some, the office of " Bishop " is

78 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
reckoned the eighth degree of Orders, far above the
seventh, and embracing all the rest; but the office and
rank of " Catholicos " differs from that of Bishop, only by
greater superiority of office, and by a wider sphere of
power and authority, whence a Catholicos is also called
Archbishop. Holy Orders (Four Minor and Three Major Orders)
are conferred with great solemnity, and the day
chosen for the ceremony is usually Sunday.
Before the conferring of any Order, the Bishop
examines the candidates, whether they possess all
the conditions required, which are ten, viz. —
(i) Necessary knowledge. (2) Catholic and Ortho
dox Faith. (3) Good conduct and virtuous life. (4)
Competent age, which according to the Canons is
thirty years. (5) Legitimate birth. (6) Favourable
testimony of Preceptors. (7) An intimate persuasion
of the sublimity of the Christian Priesthood. .. (8)
Assurance that the aspirant is not moved, in his wish
for the sacred Orders, by any dishonest interest,
either for vanity of command, or for any human
object. (9) A true disposition to be subject to all
rigour, watchings, fastings and other penalties proper
to a life of mortification. (10) Constancy to persevere
in that regulated, sober and exemplary system of life,
which is necessary to such persons as wish to be a
light to the world, salt to the earth, a guide to the
people, and a stone of the sanctuary.
All these being examined, the day previous to the
Ordination, the Bishop, vested, accompanied by the
Clergy, goes to the door of the church, where the
candidates kneel. The Bishop inquires to which of
the different Orders they aspire. The senior priest
answers on their behalf. The Bishop, admonishing
them and explaining the gravity of their aspiration,
asks the congregation if they know anything which
may make them unfit for such a holy Ministry.
On the following day, usually a Sunday, the Divine
Liturgy commences the Service. Then according to

THE HOLY ORDERS 79
the Order to be conferred, the candidates advance
beginning with the Minor Orders.
Psalmist and Cleaner.
The candidate kneels before the Bishop in his
throne. After an exhortation from the Deacon, and
two prayers offered by the Bishop, the latter cuts the
hair from the head of the candidate in the shape of a
cross, and presenting him with a psalter, says : " Take
heed and endeavour with all your heart that that
which you sing with your mouth you believe in your
heart, and that which you believe in your heart you
practise in your works ; and with the cutting off of
your hair may you be cut off from all the desires of
the world, in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Likewise he presents him with a broom, and says :
" Be ye henceforth authorized to sweep the House of
the LORD, and to cleanse His Temple, and may the
LORD cleanse you from your besetting sins ; in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, of the Holy
Ghost. Amen."
The Choir then sing an appropriate hymn ; mean
while the Cleaner is clothed by the Bishop in a
Clerk's habit.
By this ceremony, which is the first step to the
Minor Orders, the Cleaner is introduced to the
Church Service. First Order— The Doorkeeper.
The Bishop, proceeding to the Ordination of the
Doorkeeper, after the usual exhortation by the
Deacon, recites a prayer, then placing the Key of
the Church in the Aspirant's hands, says : " Let the
rememhrance that you have to answer to God for
this office, and for everything that is locked up by
these keys which I now give to you, pervade and
influence all your actions. Be watchful, and always
pray when you open or close the doors of the

80 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Church." Then turning to the Deacon, he says:
" Instruct him in the duties he has to perform in the
House of God."
The Deacon conducts the Doorkeeper to the prin
cipal door of the church, and makes him put the
key into the lock, while the Choir sing a hymn.
Second Order — The Reader.
The Bishop, after praying, presents the candidate
with the Book of the Epistles, saying : " Take this
Book, and be a preacher of God's Word, instructing
thyself in it, and if thou fulfillest thy duties with a
pure mind and heart, thou shalt have thy portion
among the Saints, and those who loved GOD.
Brother, thou hast become a Reader in the House
of the Lord. This dignity implies duties which
thou art bound to fulfil ; may God, who is liberal,
grant thee His Mercy, through our LORD Jesus
Christ, His Son, and through the power of the
Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen."
Third Order— The Exorcist.
After the prayer, the Bishop presents him with the
Book of the Ritual, in which is transcribed the exor
cisms used at Holy Baptism, and says : " Take this,
and treasure the words written there in your mind.
I now give you authority to place your hands upon
the possessed, and cause these about to be baptized
to renounce the evil one, so that they may thankfully
offer praise to the FATHER, to the SON, and to the
Holy Ghost, both now and ever. Amen."
Fourth Order — The Acolyte.
After the exhortation of the Deacon, and two
prayers recited by the Bishop, the latter presents the
candidate with a candle and candlestick, and says :
" Take this candle and candlestick, and with it receive
authority to light the candles and lights and lamps of
the Holy Church." He then delivers into his hands
an empty flagon, and says : " Take this flagon in

THE HOLY ORDERS 81
order to pour the wine into the Chalice for the Blood
of Christ, in the Name of the Father, and of the
SON, and of the HOLY Ghost. Amen."
A hymn is sung by the Choir, and an exhortation
is made by the Deacon, a short prayer is offered by
the Bishop, then the Divine Liturgy continues to the
end. The newly-ordained communicates, and remains
seven days in the church to perform the duties of his
Order. The Ritual contains the following rubric : —
Clerks in Minor Orders are alone permitted to marry.
Marriage of the Clergy
If any unmarried man is promoted to the higher
Holy Orders he is bound to celibacy.
If a secular priest lose his wife, he cannot take
another. Only an unmarried man can become a monk.
No married priest can become a Bishop, unless his
wife dies. In the Armenian Church, therefore, all
the high Ecclesiastical posts are bestowed upon the
regular clergy, or upon such among the secular clergy
who are widowers.
The earliest rule in the Undivided Church, of
which there is any trace, was that married men might
be ordained, and continue after ordination to live
with their wives, but that priests might not marry
after ordination, and this was referred to at the
Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, as the ancient tradition
of the Church.
The present rule is that Holy Matrimony is
obligatory only on parish priests.
Fifth Order — Sub-Diaconate.
The Order of Sub-Deacon is a superior Order.
The Bishop, having begun the Divine Liturgy, sits
upon his throne, and the Deacon presents the Candi
date, imploring his ordination. The Bishop makes
the sign of the Cross upon him, and the choir
having recited Psalm cxxii, lections are read from
F

82 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Isaiah, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and from St.
Mark. Then the Deacon repeats some exhortations,
and the Bishop, having placed his hands upon the
head of the Candidate, robes him according to his
rank, and placing the maniple on his left arm, says :
" Accept the maniple for the preservation of thy soul,
that thou mayest serve with pure hands in the House
of our Lord Jesus Christ." He then gives him
an empty chalice with the paten, and says : " Take
this holy chalice, and be authorized to carry it to the
holy Altar of the LORD, for the great and precious
mystery of Christ our God, to Whom belong glory,
power and honour, now and evermore."
A hymn is sung by the choir, some exhortations
are made by the Deacon, and after the Lord's
Prayer, the Divine Liturgy proceeds to the end.
The newly-ordained Sub-Deacon communicates,
and remains fifteen days in the church to learn his
duties.
Sixth Order — The Diaconate.
The Order of the Diaconate is conferred with
additional solemnity. Several hymns and psalms
are sung, with many exhortations from the Prophets,
Epistles, Gospels and Prayers.
After the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, the
Bishop seating himself on his Throne, the Deacon
presents the Candidate and says : " Holy father,
our Mother Church presents unto you the sub-
deacon N  and She requires of you to confer
on him the Order of Deacon." The Bishop then
asks : " Do you know if he is worthy, who he is, what
his character and conduct, whether he is born in
lawful matrimony, and if his life is one of purity
and wisdom ? " To this demand the Deacon replies :
"As far as our human fragility allows us to judge,
we know and bear witness that he has led a life
of wisdom and purity, and that he is worthy to
wear the yoke of this Order."

THE HOLY ORDERS 83
The Candidate then approaches the Altar, and
kneels before the Bishop, who after some exhorta
tions by the Deacon, places his right hand upon the
Sub-Deacon's head, and prays. The choir then recite
the 119th psalm, and the Bishop again, placing his
right hand upon the Candidate's head, recites another
prayer, when the assistant Deacons make the new
Deacon turn and kneel westwards before the people,
holding up his hands in a supplicating form, while
standing behind him they repeat three times —
"The Divine and Heavenly Gift that ever fulfils
the holy necessities of the Apostolic Church, now
calls N  from the Sub-Diaconate to the Diaconate,
for the service of the Holy Church, according to his
own and to all this people's testimony."
And the people say three times : " He is worthy."
The people having borne testimony, the new
Deacon turns again towards the Bishop, and kneels
before him. An attendant priest, behind, places his
hands upon his shoulders, when the Bishop, placing
his right hand upon his head, repeats the following
formula of Ordination : " The Divine and Heavenly
Gift that ever fulfils the holy necessities of the
Apostolic Church, now calls N  from the Sub-
Diaconate to the Diaconate for the service of the
Holy Church, according to his own and to all this
people's testimony.
" I place my hands upon him ; let every one pray
that he may worthily and holily perform the duties of
the Diaconate before this Holy Altar of God."
The Bishop then implores GOD to grant that the
new Deacon may be steadfast in his vocation, and
through the Holy SPIRIT may worthily perform the
duties of his Order. Lections from the Psalter,
Prophecies, Epistles and Gospels follow, and the
Divine Liturgy continues. The Nicene Creed having
been repeated, and the Sacred Gifts carried to the
Altar, the Bishop again seats himself on his Throne,
and places a fourth time his right hand upon the
F 2

84 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
head of the new Deacon, repeating prayers ; then he
places the long stole, put on obliquely, making it pass
from the left shoulder under the right arm, saying an
appropriate prayer.1
Immediately after he delivers to him the Book of
the Holy Gospels, saying : " With this I give thee
authority to read the Holy Gospel in the Church of
God, in the hearing of the living, and for the com
memoration of the dead, in the name of our LORD,
Amen." The new Deacon then censes the Altar three
times, saying : " Let us again make our supplications
unto the LORD for peace ; receive, O LORD, save, and
have mercy upon us.
" Lord Bishop give the Blessing."
And each time, the Bishop replies : " Blessing and
glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the
HOLY GHOST, now and ever, Amen. Peace be with
all." The Lord's Prayer is repeated by the Bishop, and
the Ordination being completed, the new Deacon
takes his rank among the assistant deacons (generally
six in number), the Bishop resumes the Liturgy, at the
end of which the new Deacon communicates, remain
ing twenty days in the church, and performing his
duties. Seventh Order— The Priesthood.
In the Instruction in the Christian Faith, according
to the Orthodox Armenian Church of St. Gregory the
Illuminator, the following questions and answers
occur —
Q. How does the Bishop confer Orders, or the several
degrees of Orders ?
A. By praying and laying his hands on the candidate for
Orders, and also anointing, if the candidate is to receive the
Order of Priest or of Bishop.
Q. On whom is it meet to confer Holy Orders ?
1 The deacon's stole is called ossorah.

THE HOLY ORDERS 85
A. On those alone who have sufficient learning, and are
able to teach others also ; and who have a good report of
the congregation for their good works, and pure conversation.
A candidate for Priest's Orders must pray and fast
forty days before his ordination in a church appointed
by the Bishop.
The evening previous to the day arranged for
Ordination, the Bishop, arrayed in his episcopal robes,
and followed by his Clergy, seats himself upon his
Throne. Some of the chief priests enter the church,
bringing with them the candidate, and kneeling down
three times, and at different distances from the Bishop,
receive permission to speak. One of them presenting
the candidate begs him in the name of the Church and
of all the Clergy to confer upon him the Order of
Priesthood. The Bishop examines minutely, inquiring about the
legitimacy of" birth, his behaviour, knowledge, purity
of life, and all particulars necessary to the pure minis
try of so holy an Order.
A parish priest must be married. Only if he is a
widower, or unmarried, he is capable to receive higher
Orders. A priest is not ordained, as the general rule,
before the age of twenty-five years. All priests are
required daily to recite the Offices, which are nine
in number. Custom, however, allows them to be said
in two parts, six at daybreak, and the rest at sunset.
The ordinary Clergy are elected by the laity — a
custom to which the people jealously cling.
The priest having produced testimony in his favour,
the Bishop requires him to repeat his Confession of
Faith} 1 " In connection with the ordination of candidates for the
Priesthood, it is interesting to notice in view of the suspicion of
Monophysitism, under which the Armenian Church has been
supposed to labour, that all candidates, prior to ordination, are
required to abjure Eutyches and all his -works." —Report of a visit
to the Armenian Church in the Patriarchate of Sis in Cilicia,
January 16 to April 19, 1892, to the Right Reverend Bishop of
Salisbury, by the Rev. Charles H. Robinson.

86 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
The Bishop having signified his approval, and
implored the Holy Ghost to diffuse his gifts upon
the candidate, blesses him, and retires.
Ceremony of the Ordination
The day after, usually a Sunday, the Bishop vested,
preceded by his Clergy, with hymns and psalms, ad
vances to the Altar, and begins the Divine Liturgy.
He censes the Altar and the congregation, repeats
the prayers for the day, and then takes his seat on the
Throne. Two of the senior priests take the candidate, and
present him to the Bishop, to whom he kneels, kissing
his feet. One of the priests says : " Holy Father, our
Mother the Church presents this deacon N  and
She requires of you to confer on him the Order of the
Priesthood." After the Bishop is satisfied with the
answers to his questions, he makes the sign of the
cross upon him and says : " Through the grace of
God, the Father, and the Son and the Holy
Ghost, I call this deacon N  to the Priesthood.
Therefore let us make our supplications unto the
Merciful God, that He may illuminate him with the
gifts of His sanctity, through our LORD Jesus Christ,
to Whom belong glory, power and honour, now and
evermore. Amen."
The service now follows that appointed for the
Ordination of a deacon (see pages 82-84), wir-h the
necessary alterations.
The Bishop having been requested by the deacon to
give the Blessing, he places his right hand upon the
candidate's head, repeats a prayer, and placing the
ourar or stole round his neck, says : " Take the yoke
of our Lord Jesus Christ, for His yoke is easy, and
His burden is light." x
1 This Armenian and Orthodox Greek stole, instead of being
thrown round the neck and hanging down on each side, the head
is put through a hole in the upper extremity, and it simply hangs
down in front. It is embroidered with crosses.

THE HOLY ORDERS 87
Psalm cxxxii is then repeated by the choir,
several lections taken from the Prophets, Epistles and
Gospels are read, the Nicene Creed is repeated, the
Divine Liturgy continues, and the offerings are
brought to the Altar, when the Bishop returns again to
his Throne, places his right hand upon the head of the
new priest, and repeats two long prayers, beseeching
God to pour down upon him the sevenfold gifts of
the HOLY GHOST, that he may perform holily the
duties of his Order, preach the right doctrine, live
spotless, and through his virtuous life may honour the
Church and the holy Order of Priesthood.
The deacons bring the vestments and ornaments,
and the Bishop blessing them, recites a prayer, im
ploring GOD to fill them with such blessings as filled
the robe and diadem of Aaron, the tunic of Joseph,
the mouth of Elijah, and the seamless coat of our
Lord. The Bishop now begins to robe the newly-ordained
priest, putting on each of his arms the pasbans, or
sleeves. Then placing round his neck the ourar, or
Eastern stole, he says : " Receive authority from the
Holy GHOST, for thou art able to bear the yoke of
our Lord Jesus Christ." Then placing on his head
the sagavard, or sacerdotal crown, says : " Take thou
the helmet of salvation from the hand of our LORD
Jesus Christ."
After this he places behind the neck the varkass 1 (a
large collar of precious stuff to which is attached the
amice), and says : " Take thou the breastplate of
righteousness from our LORD JESUS CHRIST."
Then he puts round his body the shoochar, or cope,
and says : " Our LORD JESUS CHRIST clothes thee
with the garment of salvation, and with the newly-made
vesture of gladness, in conformity with a new and
spiritual life."
He then girds him with the girdle, kodi (worn over
the stole), and placing his two hands upon his head,
1 The varkass is peculiar to the Armenian Church.

88 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
says : " Take thou authority from the HOLY GHOST to
loose and bind men as our LORD gave authority to
the Holy Apostles, saying, Whosoever sins ye shall
retain on earth, are retained in heaven, and whose sins
ye shall forgive on earth, shall be forgiven in heaven.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Immediately after, he anoints with the holy Chrism
the inside of both hands, which he holds joined to
gether, palms uppermost. The Bishop takes some of
the holy Chrism, and beginning from the thumb of
the right hand, to the tip of the fore-finger on the left
hand, and from the thumb of the left hand to the tip
of the fore-finger on the right hand, makes the form
of a cross, and says : " May the unction of the gifts
of the Holy Ghost sanctify thy soul and body, in
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen."
Likewise he anoints him on the forehead, and says :
" May the seal of this unction strengthen thee to fight
against the enemy. Amen."
The Bishop then adds a prayer, and while the choir
sing a devout hymn, the Bishop having washed his
hands, takes a chalice and paten with unconsecrated
oblations, and delivers them into the hands of the
newly-made priest, saying : " Receive these, because
thou hast received power through the grace of God
to consecrate and to complete the Holy sacrifice in
the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the living
and for the dead."
Having said this, he censes him thrice with the
censer, and commands him to give the benediction.
Accordingly, bowing before the Altar and the Bishop,
he blesses the people in the Name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, adding " Peace
be with you all."
At the reception of the consecrated elements the
newly-ordained takes with his own hands both kinds,
and communicates. The Clergy salute the newly-

THE HOLY ORDERS 89
ordained priest with the kiss of peace, after which the
congregation respectfully advance and kiss his hands.
He remains forty days in the precincts of the church,
to learn his duties.1
Canon xxxiii of the Council of Trullo (otherwise
called the Quinisext Council, A.D. 692, convoked
by the Emperor Justinian II, almost exclusively a
Greek Council) decrees " That in the region of
Armenia only those are appointed to the Clerical
Orders who are of priestly descent (following in this
Jewish customs) ; and some of those who are even un-
tonsured are appointed to succeed cantors and readers
of the Divine Law. We decree that henceforth it
shall not be lawful for those who wish to bring any
one into the Clergy, to pay regard to the descent of
him who is to be ordained."
Canon lvi, referring likewise to the regions of
Armenia, prohibits certain people from eating eggs
and cheese on the Sabbaths and LORD'S Days of the
Holy Lent. Canon xcix also enjoins the restriction
of another most improbable, so called, Armenian
custom in the Sanctuary.
Consecration of Bishops
Q. Are not the office of "Bishop" and that of "Catho
licos " also Orders ?
A. According to some, the office of " Bishop " is reckoned
the eighth degree of Orders, far above the seventh, and
embracing all the rest ; but the office and rank of " Catho
licos " differs from that of " Bishop " only by greater
superiority of office, and by a wider sphere of power and
authority. Hence a Catholicos is also called Archbishop.2
The greatest possible care is taken as to the certifi
cates of merit, the proper age (about fifty years), and
of the firm, pure, and Orthodox Faith of the Bishop-
1 Ten illustrations of Armenian vestments appear in the
Sacred Rites and Ceremonies of the Armenian Church, Venice,
1876, pp. 413-417.
2 Instruction in the Christian Faith, according to the Orthodox
Armenian Church.

90 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Elect before the consecration at Etchmiadzin by the
Catholicos. There are some Bishops whose age is
under forty years. Occasionally there have been
instances of an Ecclesiastic being made Deacon,
Priest, Bishop and Catholicos on the same day. A
Bishop must be unmarried, or a widower, and is
supposed to be married to his diocese.
All the inferior and superior Orders of Clergy take
part in the service. Several questions and answers
pass between the Catholicos and Bishop-Elect. After
the Introit, and the usual prayers, two Bishops take
the Bishop-Elect by the hands, conduct him to the
Altar, and make him kneel down. The Catholicos
meanwhile places the open book of the Holy Gospels
— held by one of the Bishops — on his shoulders,
putting his right hand upon his head.
Psalm lxxxix having been recited, the proto-
deacon repeats some exhortations relative to the
consecration, and then the other Bishop reads aloud
the certificate of the canonical election, examination
and confirmation of the Bishop-Elect, when the
Catholicos says : " The Divine grace which always
cures the sick, and provides for all necessities, now
calls this pious priest N  to the episcopate of
N  , the city protected by God ; pray ye all that
the grace of the HOLY Ghost may descend upon
him." He then makes the sign of the cross thrice
upon him, and in a low voice invokes the Holy
GHOST to descend upon him, and to fill him with
grace, in order that he may worthily bear the yoke
ofthe Gospel, and sanctify the people entrusted to him.
The assistant Bishops with special prayers exhort
the people to pray, first for the Catholicos, that GOD
may strengthen him in the exercise of his ministry ;
then for the Bishop-Elect, that he may receive the
fulness of the gifts of the Holy Ghost ; then for
the vacant See, that it may be worthy to receive a
holy pastor ; and then for themselves, for the people,
and for any person afflicted or distressed.

THE HOLY ORDERS 91
Meanwhile the Catholicos again places his hands
upon the Elect, imploring the All Merciful GOD on
his behalf. The Clergy then say aloud : " The Divine
and Heavenly grace, which ever provides for the holy
necessities of the Apostolic Church, now calls N 
from the Priesthood to the Episcopate, for the service
of the Holy Church ; according to his own testimony,
and to that of this Congregation."
The people reply three times : " He is worthy." The
Catholicos then says : " The Divine and Heavenly
gift that ever provides for the holy necessities of the
Apostolic Church, now calls N  from the Priest
hood to the Episcopate, for the service of the Holy
Church ; according to his own testimony, and that
of the people. I lay my hands upon him ; pray
ye all that he may be worthy to perform holily his
Episcopal office in God's Sanctuary."
Here he addresses a long prayer to the SAVIOUR
on behalf of the new Bishop. The choir then repeat
Psalm cxxxii ; three lections and a Gospel are read,
and one of the Bishops reads a long exhortation.
The Catholicos anoints the head of the new Bishop
with the Holy Chrism, in the form of a cross, saying :
" May thy head be anointed and blessed through the
holy unction, that thou mayest be worthy of the
Episcopate; In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
While he anoints with the Holy Chrism the two
thumbs of the new Bishop, he says : " GOD the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according
to His will has exalted thee to the Episcopate,
through His power seals thee with this Holy Unction,
and fills thee abundantly with spiritual blessings, so
that those who are blessed by thee may be blessed,
and what is consecrated by thee may be consecrated ;
and all that is sealed by thee with hand and thumb
may be sealed ; and may they upon whom thy hand
be placed find mercy and be saved." The people
answer : " So be it."

92 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
He then presents him with the Episcopal staff,
saying : " Take this staff and Episcopal crosier, that
thou mayest correct and punish the wicked, and govern
and lead the obedient, according to the laws and
precepts of God."
Then he places a ring on his finger, and says:
" Accept the ring, pledge of fidelity, and continue
diligently with true and right faith in thy divine state
of bridegroom of the holy Church." 1
Then he delivers into his hands the Book of the
holy Gospels, and says : " Take the Gospels of the
Heavenly Kingdom, and go and preach to the people
what has been committed to thee by God ; and may
Almighty God increase thy people, and reign over
them for ever."
The Catholicos kisses him, as do the other Bishops,
while the priests and all the other clergy kiss his
hands. He then places on his head the mitre.
Episcopal gloves are unknown among all Eastern
ecclesiastical vestments. The Episcopal vestments
being given, the Divine Liturgy continues, and when
the time for Communion arrives, the new Bishop
approaches the Altar, and communicates with his own
hands, in both kinds, consecrated by the Catholicos,
with whose permission he communicates also the other
Bishops, the rest of the Clergy and those of the laity
who are prepared to receive the Holy Communion.
After the Catholicos, accompanied by all the Bishops
and Clergy, leave the Church, the newly-ordained
Bishop remains forty days constantly in the church,
and exercises himself in the duties of his rank.2
1 The ring,, mitre and Episcopal pastoral staff are of a
variety peculiar to Armenians among Eastern Churches. They
were probably introduced in the eleventh century from Latin
Christendom. 2 Some alterations in the ceremony of the consecration of
Bishops have been necessary, the printed Order followed being
adapted by an Armenian Roman Catholic. A Table of the
Apostolic Succession of the Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia
is printed at length in " A Catechism of Christian Instruction,"
pp. 111-127, Calcutta, 1900.

THE VARDABETS 93
For a brief account of the consecration of the
Catholicos, see p. 36 in re Matteos Izmirlian.

THE VARDABETS
The Armenian Church, not having a sufficient
number of Bishops to preside over their dioceses, has
invested Vardabets (who are doctors in Theology)
with some of the Episcopal functions, when sent to
take charge of a diocese. In order also to make a
distinction between their secular and regular Clergy,
they give this title to some of their Regulars.
The black Clergy are Monks, and are alone eligible
for the Higher Clerical Offices. The white Clergy
include the Parish Priests and Lower Clergy.
In all controversies of religious rites and eccle
siastical discipline, the Vardabets are the first to be
consulted, so that in National Synods their opinions
were highly esteemed.
The Vardabets combined their efforts under the
Catholicos Moses II (A.D. 551-594) to establish, in
Armenia a new system of chronology, and their
Kalendar, which is still in use.
Armenia has always been honourably distinguished
for the interest the Church has taken in Education.
Hence a distinct Order of the hierarchy has been
set apart with this object in view. This Order is
conferred with great solemnity. An ornate ritual
is observed at the various stages of a Vardabets
Ordination. The Bishop, or the chief of their number, repeats
psalms and lections from the Epistles and Gospels,
and presents the candidates with the Doctoral Staff.
The Vardabet staff (Gavazan) is formed of two
serpents intertwined at the end of a long stick, headed
by a cross. The serpent is the emblem of prudence,
a virtue necessary to those who preach the word of
GOD. There is a resemblance between the irarepricro-a
or Pastoral Staff of a Greek Bishop in the Orthodox

94 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Eastern Church, and the " Priestly Staff" (Hovrakan
gavazan) granted to the Vardabets, with a distinct
reference to the Good Shepherd and the Royal Sceptre.
This Vardabet Staff is also symbolical of the power
of rescuing sinners from the snares of the Evil One,
and turning them to repentance, as well as recalling
the pastoral office of comforting the mournful and
afflicted. It also represents the symbol of our salva
tion triumphing over two hissing serpents which are
raising their heads in fury against it.
The Order of the Vardabets is divided into two
classes. The one is called "Minor Vardabets"
( Abegha), and the other " Major Vardabets " (Tsaira-
goin). The first bear, as distinctive of their rank, a
staff which, at the upper end, terminates with the
head of a serpent. The second carry the same staff,
but instead of one serpent there are two serpents,
whose heads are turned towards each other at some
distance. These staves are richly worked and inlaid
with mother-of-pearl, gold, silver, etc.
On the Minor Vardabets only four degrees are
conferred. The doctoral staff is not, however, conferred on
Vardabets with as much ceremony as it is on those
of Episcopal rank. Loaded with ornament, it is placed
on the Altar, and, all the Clergy being vested, the
candidate is presented to the Bishop, who questions
him about his doctrine, and inquires into his conduct.
After being assured by the surrounding congregation
that no obstacle prevents his promotion, he is required
to accept the doctrine of the Holy Fathers, and
solemnly pronounce his Confession of faith. The
Doctoral Staff is then presented to each candidate
ten different times, repeating ten different formulas
according to the virtues intended to be conferred on
each occasion.
All candidates are invariably unmarried priests.
Their duties are preaching, combating the incredulous,
convincing heretics, instructing the ignorant, advising

THE KALENDAR 95
the doubtful. They do not, however, usually hear con
fessions, being unmarried priests. Bishops are always
chosen from Major Vardabets. Vardabets are per
mitted to wear dark purple like Bishops, as well as the
crown-shaped mitre ofthe Orthodox Eastern Churches,
which was also worn by Armenian Prelates until the
eleventh century, when unfortunately they adopted
the Latin mitre of the West.
Vardabets follow the Rule of St. Basil of Caesarea.
They do not practise the tonsure. They display long
beards, and wear the pectoral cross, which hangs by a
gold chain round the neck. Their pointed conical
cowls over long black robes are noticeable.
Mr. Lynch, Vol. i, p. 252, has a striking illustration
of an Armenian Nun from Tiflis, vested in mag
nificent robes, with stole. Nunneries, however, are
not popular with Armenians. They are only three
in number, viz. (1) at Tiflis, about 20 nuns; (2) at
Schousha, about 6 ; (3) at Julfa, about 12 to 18.
THE KALENDAR
1. Fasts. 2. Feasts.
The Armenian Kalendar was corrected by the
Catholicos Moses II, A.D. 551, a prelate of profound
knowledge, in the first year of his appointment. In
order to rectify the Kalendar, immediately after his
election, he summoned his synod of Bishops and laity
in the city of Tovin, at which, after much discussion,
it was remodelled.
The Armenians have a clerical date of their own,
according to which they count their Church years,
which commences A.D. of the Dionysian Era. They
also have a National date beginning from Haig. The
present year (A.D. 1910), corresponds to the Armenian
National date, 4402.
In the year 552, completing the paschal period or
cycle of 200 years, there ensued a dislocation in the
Kalendar of Easter Day, as well as of all the Festival

96 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Days depending upon it. The name and order of the
Old Style, however, remained, and according to it they
continue to date their Church Events.
Fasts.
Neale [H. E. Church, pp. 795-6) draws attention to
the following fasts —
1. "Wednesdays and Fridays in the year —
(1) Except those in the week after Epiphany.
(2) Except those between Easter and Pentecost.
(3) Except those in the week after Pentecost.
(4) Except those in the week after Assumption Sunday.
2. Seven days before the Nativity and Epiphany.
3. The week of Aradjaroratz.1
4. Lent, — except Sundays, which is according to the
Constantinople Kalendar.
5. Three days before Whitsunday.
6. Seven days before Transfiguration.
7. Seven days before Assumption.
8. Seven days before Exaltation.
9. Seven days before the first Sunday of the Second
Pentecost. On- days of fasting, when according to the strict rule only
one meal at sunset is allowed in the twenty-four hours, flesh,
meat, milk, butter, and eggs are forbidden."
Feasts.
The Festivals are divided into five classes, thus —
1. Easter.
2. Other feasts that always occur on Sundays.
3. Feasts that are always observed on the day on
which they fall, and which are not transferable to the
following Sunday. These are —
The Nativity, Epiphany, and Baptism of our Blessed
Lord, which are observed on the same day.
The Circumcision.
The Presentation in the Temple.
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1 In commemoration ofthe Fast ofthe Ninevites.

THE KALENDAR 97
4. Feasts that are always transferred to the follow
ing Sunday. These are—
The Transfiguration of our Blessed Lord.
The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Finding of the zone of the Blessed Virgin Mary.1
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Dedication of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Only-
begotten at Etchmiadzin.
Holy Cross Day.
All Feasts of Apostles.
St. John Baptist's Day — a popular festival in some
districts. St. Stephen's Day.
St. Gregory the Illuminator's Day.
5. Other Holy Days which are not observed if they
occur on Sundays, Wednesdays or Fridays. This
class of days Is again subdivided into those that are
transferable to the following Saturday, and those that
are not. Some peculiarities of the Kalendar.
The Bishop of Salisbury in his Ministry of Grace
(I901), page 404, remarks that "the Armenians, who
do not keep the festival of Christmas on December 25,
celebrate the memory of David the Geonar^p, and
Jamtes the abe\<p6&eos on that day." The observance of
the Epiphany and Nativity as one festival is celebrated
on January 6, O.S., i.e. January 19, N.S.
Some of the great festivals, e.g. the Assumption,
Transfiguration and Exaltation are celebrated on the
days of the following Sunday.
The commemorations of the departed faithful are
celebrated on four' Mondays in the year ; that after
Easter Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, Assumption
Sunday, and Holy Cross Sunday.
1 The date in the Kalendar of the Armenian (Menology) and
Byzantine Churches for "the discovery and depositing of the
honourable girdle ofthe Theotokos " is August 31.
G

98 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
The Armenians keep Saturday as a day in honour
of Almighty GOD, the Creator of all things. Saturday
is viewed in the light of a second Sunday. The Divine
Liturgy is then celebrated, even when on other week
days it is not. A Saturday in Lent may be observed
as usual, provided it is not already occupied by the
transference to it of some Saint's Day occurring
earlier in the week, or by some especial commemora
tion of the date upon which it falls.
" In the fourth century, the West, with the exception of
Milan, generally treated Saturday as a fast and non-liturgical
day ; the East, as represented by the Council of Laodicea,
the ' Apostolic Constitutions,' Epiphanius and Basil, treat it
as a feast and liturgical day." — The Ministry of Grace, Bp.
John Wordsworth, Longmans, Green and Co., 1901, p. 330.

Fourth Century Armenian Saint in the
English Kalendar
On February 3rd, the Kalendar in the Book of
Common Prayer commemorates Blasius, Bishop and
Martyr. In the Armenian Kalendar his name occurs
on January 15. St. Blasius was Bishop of Sebaste,
in Armenia Major during the early portion of the
fourth century. He is a popular saint in England.
The Council of Oxford, A.D. 1222, prohibited servile
labour on this Armenian saint's festival. Four
churches are named after St. Blasius in England :
(1) St. Blaise, Milton, Berks; (2) St. Blazey, Corn
wall ; (3) St. Blase, Haccombe, Devon ; (4) SS. Mary
and Blaise, Boxgrove, Sussex.
St. Blasius was driven by the persecution under
Diocletian to flee to a lonely mountain for safety.
Having been captured, he was brought to Sebaste,
where Agricolaus, the Governor of Cappadocia, ordered
him to be first scourged, and then to have his flesh torn
with an iron comb. But nothing shook the constancy
ofthe Martyr, and after enduring many other tortures,
he was finally beheaded. Some historians refer this
event to c. A.D. 316, under the reign of Licinius.

FRIENDLY RELATIONS 99
St. Blasius is the patron saint of weavers and wool-
combers, because of the resemblance of the iron combs
they use to one of the instruments of torture associated
with him, and he is specially honoured in Yorkshire
where he is credited with having invented wool-comb
ing ! Guilds were formerly dedicated in his name at
Norwich, and elsewhere.
FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE CHURCH OF
ENGLAND AND THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
In addition to several instances of friendly dealings
between the American and Armenian Churches, as
described on pages 137-140, there are instances of a
similar kind between the Church of England and the
Armenian Church.
Captain Fortescue mentions the case of Mr. Mac-
donald, an English Envoy at the court of Persia,
being buried in the Cathedral at Etchmiadzin, where
a handsome monument has been erected to his
memory within its walls. He also states that Henry
Martyn was buried at Tocat in 181 2, " by the express
order of the Catholicos Ephraim, with all the honours
of an Armenian Archbishop."
It is curious that I fail to find any reference to the
Reverend Henry Martyn's burial in his Memoir,
p. 474, 8th edition, London, J. Hatchard and Son,
1825, where his death is incorrectly mentioned as
taking place on October 16, 1819.
Captain Fortescue also mentions that the Catholicos
Nerses, when at Baghdad, in 18 14, finding that no
English priests were in the country, attended several
Englishmen on their death-beds, and administered the
Holy Communion to them, requiring them only to
confess their belief in the Holy Trinity, and in the
Real Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the
Holy Eucharist.
At the Bishop in Jerusalem's Ordination on Trinity
Sunday, 1889, the Armenian Patriarch and three of
his Bishops were present at the Service. On one
occasion the Patriarch informed the Bishop that he
g 2

ioo THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
knew the Anglican Liturgy well, and possessed a
Book of Common Prayer which was becoming dilapi
dated. The Bishop mentioned this to the Reverend
A. R. Bramley, then Fellow of Magdalen College,
Oxon, who sent out to the Patriarch a very beautifully
bound black-letter edition, of which only fifty copies
were originally printed.1
The Patriarch invited the Bishop to be present on
the Armenian Feast of the Transfiguration— a high
Festival, In 1891. The whole service was rendered
with extreme devotion, and was a magnificent act of
praise and thanksgiving, most heartily responded to
throughout on the part of choir and congregation.
The. Rev. Canon Drew, Rector of St. Deiniol's,
Hawarden, informed me nine days before his decease,
that the Church possesses " a Chalice given by Arme
nians, as a thankoffering for Mr. Gladstone's services,
and also a window (by Frampton), with the figures of
two Armenian Patriarchs. This was also given by
Armenians for the same reason." Mr. W. B. Jones,
of Hawarden, has since informed me that the two
figures in this window are St. Bartholomew and St.
Gregory the Illuminator. The coffin, containing the
body of Canon Drew, at Hawarden, on April 4, 1910,
was covered with a beautiful pall, presented by Ar
menians, and used at the burial service for the late
Mr. Gladstone.
When we consider the many generations of oppres
sion through which this Church has been the witness
of CHRIST, and the genuine purity of its Liturgy, and
its magnificent rendering, it is impossible to say that
it is a " dead Church," and its light extinguished. It
may have been less ready than we have been to obey
the summons to trim the lamp of Faith, and to pre
pare for the coming of the Bridegroom ; but we may
well feel thankful that its lamp has not been extin-
1 Bishop Cosin's Treatise on the History of Transubstantiation
and the Doctrine of the Eucharist was published in Armenian by
the " Anglo-continental Society," in i860.

CHURCHES 101
guished, and that it is yet destined to witness in its
independence, and with a renovated purity, amongst
the sisters of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church. CHURCHES1
The Architecture of the Armenian Churches is
unlike that ofthe Churches ofthe Orthodox Eastern
or Latin Rites. They are generally built eastward,
with the Altar facing east They are divided into four
parts, viz. : The Sanctuary, Choir, Nave, Porch. The
Sanctuary is raised above the general level ofthe church
by seven steps, although a less number is allowed.
As a rule the Iconostasis, which is usual in Oriental
Churches, is not found among the Armenians to-day.
The Altar is consequently exposed to view, as is the
general custom in Western Churches. There is, how
ever, a notable exception at the Cathedral, Metro
politan, and Primatial Church of the Descent of the
Only Begotten at Etchmiadzin. This is a late addition.
In churches there is a screen, which is placed before
the entrance of the Sanctuary, and hides the Officiants
from view.
Two curtains are hung before the Sanctuary. A large
curtain is suspended before its entrance, concealing, at
certain points ofthe Liturgy, Altar, Priest and Deacons.
During Lent, this curtain is kept drawn for forty days
continually, when the Service is performed behind it.
This typifies the expulsion of our first Parents from
Paradise. On all Sundays in Lent, except the Seventh
Sunday of the Fast, or Palm Sunday, the Holy Eucha
rist is celebrated with the great curtain drawn.
The introduction of these two curtains is an ancient
custom. They are prescribed by Macarius, in the
early portion of the Fourth Century, to the Patriarch
Vertanes : — " Canon 8th : The Altar shall be fur-
1 It was St. Gregory's policy and constant practice to erect
Churches, Monasteries, and Shrines in honour of the saints and
martyrs on the site of the heathen temples which he had razed
to the ground. — Rev, W. St. Clair-Tisdale.

102 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
nished with a curtain; a curtain shall likewise hang
before the Sanctuary, within which only the Ministers
present shall take their station, each according to his
rank." Upon the Altar is placed a cross, upon which a
picture of our LORD is wrought in enamel. Candle
sticks are placed on each side of it.
Occasionally two small side-altars stand before the
Sanctuary, or in some other place, usually in a line,
on the north and south sides of the great Altar, and
behind a screen.
The chalice is left covered upon a niche, with a light
veil, embroidered in gold, and is surrounded by two
candles. Before it is placed a richly bound copy of the
Holy Gospels, silver-cased, often encrusted with jewels.
Another is also kept covered with an embroidered
veil, resting upon the Altar. The Gospeller handles
the Holy Gospels with an embroidered veil.
The Book of the Divine Liturgy is laid on the south
side of the Altar.
The Holy Sacrament is always kept in a tabernacle
upon the Altar, before which lights are continually
burning. The Episcopal Throne, covered with an
embroidered canopy, is placed on the north side of
the Sanctuary.
During service no one is allowed to enter the
Sanctuary, except the officiating Clergy, who wear
sandals or slippers, used exclusively in church.
During the celebration of the Holy Eucharist
(Patarak), in the Choir, the cantors, consisting mostly
of boys and choir-master, stand in the centre of the
choir below, drawn up in a semi-circle, accompanying
the celebrant with chants and melodies.1
There are no stalls in the choir. Mats and carpets
are spread, on which they sit cross-legged, facing the
Altar. Bishops and dignitaries, however, have seats
of honour provided for them.
The custom in some churches of suspending ostrich
eggs in the churches, as symbols of the Resurrection,
1 See Appendix II, Melodies.

CHURCHES 103
has been handed down among Armenians from very
early times. There are other interpretations. One
explanation common among the Egyptian Copts is
that they are symbols of Faith, as the ostrich is said
to hatch her eggs by expectantly gazing at them.
The Nave is reserved for the congregation, and is
sometimes divided into separate parts for men and
women. In the cathedral at Aintab, Asia Minor, and
elsewhere, the whole of the vast Nave is appropriated
by men, the western screened galleries having been
constructed exclusively for women, who enter by a
separate door outside the building.
The floor of the Nave is covered with mats, and the
men, on entering, remove their shoes (Exod. iii. 5),
leaving them in the Nakhagarit (porch). Seats or
chairs are usually not provided in the Nave, and the
men sit cross-legged on the floor.
No pulpit is to be seen, for sermons are preached,
staff in hand (Gavazan), without any manuscript, from
the altar. The lessons are read from movable lecterns
in the choir.
The churches are mostly dedicated to the Holy
Trinity, the Blessed SAVIOUR, the Holy Cross, the
Blessed Virgin, the Apostles, St. John Baptist, St.
Gregory the Illuminator, and other early saints of
the Christian Era.
The Armenians venerate sacred pictures, but allow
no images, except the Crucifix, which was probably
introduced through Western influence. They beg for
the Intercession of the Saints, and of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, whom they regard as the first of
created beings. In Palmer's Treatise of the Church,
Vol. ii, 3rd edit, p. 158, it is stated that "when the
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, after the year 11 90,
entered Philippopolis on the Crusade, the Armenians
remained alone there, because they agreed in the
principal points of religion with the Germans, and the
adoration of images was forbidden in the two nations."
Neale {Holy Eastern Church, Vol. i, p. 173) states
that "as all Byzantine churches may be referred to

io4 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
the church of St. Sophia, as to their prototype, so
may all Armenian churches be derived from that of
St. Hripsime, the Virgin-protomartyr of Armenia,
A.D. 301, who refused to wed Tiridates till he should
profess Christianity." This national saint is com
memorated on June 3 (according to the Menology).1
The church in question is near Etchmiadzin, and is
probably a fourth-century edifice, restored by the
Catholicos Komitos in the sixth century.
Curzon remarks on the diminutive proportions of
the churches, and the small size of the monastic build
ings, as well as their massive strength, and the great
squared stones of which they are built. Their massive
strength alone has saved them from being pulled down
and utterly destroyed by the various infidels.
" As the Greek cross made all its four arms equal, and
the Latin cross only bisected those of the bar, so the
Armenian cross, adopting a middle course, bisected both
bar and upright, but did not make the two sets of arms
equal, a form which so often occurs on Armenian tombs." 2
The Armenian cross is generally based on the plan
of the church of St. Hripsime. We must not expect
to find in Armenia those beautiful works of art and
piety so familiar in the churchyard crosses of western
Christendom. "In Armenian churchyards a very curious kind of monu
ment is found. It is a coped high tomb, of which the west
end projects to some distance in the fashion of a ram's
head. This signifies that the person commemorated was a
sheep-owner, for Armenian tombs almost always bear some
reference to the occupation of the deceased."— Neale, p. 223.
Perhaps these monuments are designs of prer
Christian tombs — possibly Hittite.
THE ARMENIAN BIBLE
THE ancient Armenian language, no longer verna
cular, is somewhat harsh to the ear, and overloaded
1 Concerning St. Hripsime, see Malan's Life and Times of St
Gregory the Illuminator, chapters xiv-xvi.
2 Neale's History ofthe Holy Eastern Church, Vol. i, p. 295

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ARMENIAN CBOSS : NEAR ANI.

Page 104.

THE ARMENIAN BIBLE 105
with consonants, but it possesses strength and flexi
bility.1 Before the fifth century A.D. the Armenians appear
to have had no alphabet of their own, but to have
used Persian, Greek or Syriac characters, all of them
quite insufficient to render correctly the Armenian
pronunciation. The Holy Scriptures were for the
same reason, read in the churches, in the Greek or
Syriac languages — unintelligible to the majority of
the people.
Mr. F, C. Conybeare states that "the Armenian
alphabet was imposed on Sahak (Isaac the Great)
by the Persian Government as a political device to
estrange the Armenians both from Greeks and from
Syrians." St. Mesrob, surnamed Mashdotz, a learned Arme
nian, introduced an alphabet of thirty-six characters,
adapted to the language of his nation. He was
assisted by two of his pupils, Hohan Ekegatzi and
Joseph Pagnatzi. This elaborate style of writing
was .adopted in A.D. 406. Two more characters
were added in the twelfth century, increasing the
number to thirty-eight, of which thirty are consonants,
and eight are vowels. The two last characters, O
and F, were added after the twelfth century. The
order of writing is from left to right.
The ancient Armenian language possesses the
treasure of an old and faithful version of Holy
Writ, which, on account of its accuracy of render
ing, clearness of expression, and beauty of diction,
has been called by M. de la Croze the " Queen of
Versions." The origin of this version is contem
poraneous with the introduction of the Armenian
alphabet. St. Isaac (Sahak the Great), the last Catholicos of
the family of St. Gregory the Illuminator, assisted by
St. Mesrob, the real founder of Armenian literature
1 " The language which you most often hear is the some
what harsh ^Armenian tongue,"— -Lynch, Armenia, Vol. i, p.
450,

106 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
translated the Holy Scriptures from Syriac into
Armenian, c. A.D. 410.1
No Greek Holy Scriptures were then available in
Armenia. It is said that representatives of the Ar
menian Church at the Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431,
returned with a copy of the Septuagint, and the
Greek New Testament, for the use of the translators.
Soon the work of re-translation was re-commenced,
this time from the Greek. The coadjutors of St.
Isaac and St. Mesrob appear to have been four of
their pupils. The work of translating the Scriptures
into Armenian was going on from A.D. 400 to 450,
" the golden period " for the enlightenment of Ancient
Armenia. The Armenian Old Testament is a version made
from the Hexaplaric revision of the lxx, and not
from the Hebrew; and the Syriac elements, which
the Armenian version contains, are to be accounted
for by the fact that up to c. A.D. 400, the ecclesiastical
language of the country was Syriac, and that the
earliest attempts at translation were based on Syriac
codices. The Armenian Version draws no hard and fast
lines between Canonical and Apocryphal books. The
Old Testament contains the Book of The Alexandrian
Greek Bible. "The Testaments ofthe Twelve Patri
archs,"2 and the "History of Joseph and Asenath,"
which are added to some Armenian Manuscripts of
1 The successors of St. Gregory the Illuminator were his sons
and grandsons, who are commemorated by the Armenians
among the Saints. They still remained subject to the parent
See of Cssarea, till the time of St. Isaac I, surnamed "the
Great." This Prelate had a long Primacy of fifty years (a.d.
390-440), after which period the Persian sovereigns forbade
their prelates to repair to Caesarea for consecration.
2 The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is the name of a
Jewish Apocalyptic writing of a mainly hortatory character.
Its date may be the close of the first century A.D., but it has
come down to us with extensive Christian interpolations, be
longing to the second and third centuries. — The Cambridge
Companion to the Bible, p. 22.

THE NEW TESTAMENT ¦ 107
the Old Testament, have not formed part of the
printed Scriptures, nor are they found in all codices.1
Each book of the Old Testament is prefaced by a
brief introduction and summary of contents of un
known authorship but coeval with the version.
THE NEW TESTAMENT2
In the Armenian New Testament we find traces of
a translation from the old Syriac, for which probably
the work of St. Isaac is responsible. The labours of
St. Mesrob and his helpers, who worked at a Greek
text, are of course evident, and the revision of the
whole translation after the Council of Ephesus, when
more manuscripts were available, appears in the
Pauline Epistles, where we have readings represent
ing a Caesarean Greek text of an early type.
The Armenian New Testament contained an
Apocryphal correspondence of St. Paul with the
Corinthian Church which passed over into the
Armenian Church from the Syriac Church.
After the second Epistle to the Corinthians, there
stood in the Armenian Version two short letters —
one from the Corinthians to St. Paul, and another
from St. Paul to the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor. ver. 9,
and 2 Cor. x. 10 to 11).
The first critical 4to edition ofthe ancient Armenian
1 The History of Joseph and Asenath is a work known from
very early times, attributed to St. Ephraim the Syrian. It is
looked upon as an addition to the Book Genesis. Curzon
{Armenia, John Murray, 1854, page 225), states that "this
curious book was translated into Italian from an ancient
Armenian Manuscript of the Bible in my possession, by an
Armenian friend, and translated from the Italian into English by
myself." Another Apocryphal book The Hymns of Asenath also
appears in some manuscripts, after Genesis, and before Exodus.
2 Mr. F. C. Conybeare has kindly added the following note : —
"The Gospels and Paulines may, to begin with, have been
rendered from the older (pre-peshito) Syriac text, but the whole
was radically corrected and re-modelled from Antiochene Greek
texts in the fifth century. I doubt if much ofthe Old Testament
was ever rendered from Syriac."

ro8 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Version was printed and published at Venice, in 1805,
under the editorship of the learned Armenian divine,
Dr. J. Zohrab. This is still the best edition. It was
printed at the expense of the monks of the Roman
Catholic Convent on the island of St. Lazarus, two
miles south of Venice, where Lord Byron studied
Armenian in 18 16. He had determined on publish
ing a translation of the Armenian Bible, but want of
time prevented him from completing more than an
apocryphal Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians,
which is found only in the Armenian Bible.
Curzon {Armenia, p. 226), states that Lord Byron
took a few lessons in Armenian from Father Pasquale
Aucher, a monk ofthe Convent of St. Lazarus, Venice,
a man of extraordinary learning, who translated this
Apocryphal correspondence into English, with the
assistance of Lord Byron.
The various published editions of the Armenian
Bible differ considerably in their contents. One of
them has been printed under Latin influence, edited
by Vardabet Oskan, which, if it has not affected the
text, has certainly affected their contents.
The first printed edition was issued in Amsterdam, in
1666 ; another was issued in Constantinople in 1705 ;
and subsequent editions have proceeded from Venice in
1733,1805, etc., where the printing office is well stocked
with Armenian types, formerly cast at Amsterdam.
Versions of the Armenian Bible, omitting the
Deutero-Canonical books, have been printed and
circulated in modern dialects of the Armenians,
e.g., by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the
American Bible Society}
The ancient language of the fourth century still
survives in the Church Services, and is essentially
1 The British and Foreign Bible Society publish an Armenian
Bible (modern) demy 4to in roan and cloth ; also New Testa
ments (ancient and modern) in roan and cloth, as well as
separate copies of the Holy Gospels and Psalter. The Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge has also published the Book
of Common Prayer in Armenian, and portions of the same in
Armeno-Turkish.

THE NEW TESTAMENT 109
and exclusively Christian. In popular use, however,
it has been replaced by several dialects, the chief
being that of Constantinople (the Western or modern
dialect), and the Eastern dialect which adheres more
closely to the ancient language. In the Old Testa
ment, this last-mentioned version follows the lxx,
supplementing it, however, and adjusting it to the
Massoretic text. In the Book of Daniel it has
followed the version of Theodotion. Its most striking
characteristic is that it does not follow any known
recension of the text. The version of the New Testa
ment is close to the Greek original.
The Old Testament is rarely found apart from the
New. The Apocalypse is never read in Church. Similarly
the last twelve verses of St. Mark's Gospel do not
appear to have been read publicly before the tenth
century. They hardly appear in some manuscripts
before the thirteenth century, and then not as an
integral part of the second Gospel.1 The episode of
the woman taken in adultery (St. John, chap, viii) is
likewise absent from the oldest manuscripts, though
it is cited as early as A.D. 950, but not in the form of
the English authorized version.
The Catholicos Sion, A.D. 767, distinguished for his
wisdom and piety, held a national Synod in the city
of Bardav, in which twenty-four Canons for the regula
tion of the Clergy and Church were enacted. The 24th
Canon gives the Order of the Books of the Old Testa
ment. 1, Genesis ; 2, Exodus ; 3, Leviticus ; 4, Numbers ;
5, Deuteronomy ; 6, Joshua ; 7, Judges ; 8, Ruth ; 9,
First Kings (Samuel) ; ro, Second Kings (Samuel) ;
11, Third Kings; 12, Fourth Kings; 13, First
Chronicles; 14, Second Chronicles; 15, First Ezra;
16, Second Ezra ; 2 17, Nehemiah, or Third Ezra; 18,
1 Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, Armenian version, Vol. i,
pp. 1 5 1-4.
2 First Ezra and Second Ezra correspond to the First Ezra for
the Latin Bible.

no THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Esther ; 19, Judith ; 20, Tobias ; 21, First Maccabees ;
22, Second Maccabees ; 23, Third Maccabees ; 24,
The Psalms of David ; 25, The Proverbs ; 26, Ecclesi-
astes ; 27, The Song of Solomon ; 28, The Wisdom
of Solomon;1 29, Sirach;2 30, Job ; 31, Isaiah; 32,
Hosea ; 33, Amos ; 34, Micah ; 3.5, Joel ; 36, Obadiah ;
37, Jonah ; 38, Nahum ; 39, Habakkuk ; 40, Zeph-
aniah ; 41, Haggai ; 42, Zechariah ; 43, Malachi ; 44,
Jeremiah ; 45, Baruch ; 46, Lamentations ; 3 47, Daniel ;
48, Ezekiel. NEW TESTAMENT
The following books are accepted as Canonical : 1,
St. Matthew ; 4 2, St. Mark ; 5 3, St. Luke ; 4, St.
John ; a 5, The Acts ; 6, The Epistle of St. James ;
7, First St. Peter ; 8, Second St. Peter ; 9, First St.
John ; 7 10, Second St. John ; 1 1, Third St. John ; 12,
St. Jude ; 13, Epistle to the Romans; 14, First
Corinthians ; 15, Second Corinthians ; 16, Galatians ;
17, Ephesians ; 18, Philippians; 19, Colossians ; 20,
First Thessalonians ; 21, Second Thessalonians; 22,
1 In the twelfth century this book was accepted as a supposed
sacred work, but it is now honoured like the other sacred
Scriptures. 2 The Fathers of the Armenian Church quote from the
Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach, which in the English Bible
retains the Latin name Ecclesiastes, as a sacred book of the
Holy Scriptures.
3 In the Armenian MSS. Nos. 44, 45, and 46 follow each other
without division, as if forming one book only.
4 In St. Matthew xxviii. 18, the Armenian version reads
after in earth, "as My Father has sent Me, so I also sent
ye." 6 In the last chapter of St. Mark, beginning from the ninth
verse to the end, some MSS. give a new inscription : " The
Gospel according to St. Mark."
0 The story of the woman taken in adultery (as already stated),
chap, viii., is found with variations at the end of this Gospel,
written separately with this inscription : "The episode of the
adulteress." 7 The seventh verse of chap. v. is not inserted in ancient
nor in modern Armenian MSS.

THE DEUTERO-CANONICAL BOOKS m
Hebrews ; 23, First Timothy ; 24, Second Timothy ;
25, Titus ; 26, Philemon ; 27, Revelation.1

THE DEUTERO-CANONICAL BOOKS
SOME other books found in the Armenian Bible,
and published at the end of it, but considered as
Apocryphal, are the following —
1, Prayer of Manasses ; 2 2, The Letter of Jeremiah ; 3
3, The Epistle of the Corinthians to St. Paul, and his
reply ; 4 4, Prayer of Evthagee ; 5 and 5, The Colo
phons of Euthalius.
The fourth Book of Ezra, and the Fourth Book of
Maccabees were not translated by the Armenian
Fathers.

DIVISION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES BY SERGIUS
THE GRACEFUL
SERGIUS the Graceful, a doctor of the Armenian
Church in the twelfth century, in the preface of his
commentaries on the Second Epistle General of St.
Peter, divided the books of the Holy Scriptures into
three classes —
1. Those which are undoubtedly authentic.
2. Those which the old Fathers held as doubtful.
3. Those which are spurious.
From the Old Testament there are two which he

1 The first translation of this book was made by some
unknown disciple of the earliest translators, who did not add
it at the end of St. John's Gospel, its authenticity and authorship
being disputed ; in the twelfth century it was again corrected
from the Greek, and inserted in the Canon.
2 Inserted in the Armenian Breviary, and forming part of
the service of Matins, Vespers and Fast-days during Lent.
3 Not found in some ancient Armenian MSS.
* Translated into English by Lord Byron during his Armenian
studies at St. Lazzaro, printed and published at the monastery.
6 A disciple of St. John the Divine. The account of his
death is found in Armenian MSS. after the Epistles of St. Paul.

ii2 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
places in the second division, viz. : i, The Wisdom
of Sirach ; 2, The Fourth Book of 'Ezra.1
From the New Testament he places in the Second
Class —
1, The Second Epistle of St. Peter ; 2, The Second
and Third Epistles of St. John ; 3, The Epistle of
St. Jude ; 4, The Revelation of St. John the Divine.
He says :
" These too, concerning whose authenticity some doubts
were raised, having been diligently examined and compared,
and found to contain nothing but Scriptural truths, were
accepted by the Church, inserted among the Canonical
Books, and must, therefore, be accepted by us.
" The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews is one of these
which are called doubtful, some saying that it was written
by Clement, and others by Luke the Evangelist. How
ever, the author of the Epistle is none other than St. Paul
himself. "The same may be said of the Second Epistle of St.
Peter, which some think was not written by that Apostle.
I, however, having read and compared it attentively, find
nothing to support such an opinion, therefore believe if to
be really his."
THE SEVEN MYSTERIES (SACRAMENTS) OF THE
CHURCH
Q. How many Sacraments are there ?
A. Seven. 1. Baptism. 2. Chrism. 3. Penitence
(penance or repentance). 4. Communion. 5. Mar
riage. 6. Orders. 7, Anointing of the Sick.
Q. Are all these Sacraments necessary to every
believer ?
A. The first four are, no doubt, necessary to all
believers ; but the last three are not necessary to all,
but only to those who desire to partake of them, or
who judge of them worthily.2
1 Under the name of Ezra the Armenian fathers include the
three Canonical Books, together with Nehemiah.
2 Instruction in the Christian Faith, according to the Orthodox
Armenian Church, Occasional Paper ofthe E. C. A., No. 8, 1896.

10. ARMENIAN (Ancient). (EccL Lang.)
O^ tujhuft.-u ufiptrtug \\uuint-Uib- autpfuutp^ Jfibsb.
VIm'VA P*~P vpus&fits bin, n[i uidkljtti jb tin \oji.usuiuj i 'A
*hut dp *£nl13'» > "///_ P"tu,JSIi ffybu/bub j iu i- h ui l/b tu u ujuu

11. ARMENIAN (Ararat). (Trans-
\stx2icasia.j
"fuiutaaiiib np |*uinni_u<&' tfbiut^u uhphg «l#^/l7II»n<£ptt,,
Jpb^h. tip fipuiu Jfiiubfib \)piffib mni-uiL.. ap uiJiu nil
np ^uit-uimiuf %rfpmV >c4n/,>A i "ill Jft-pintibwhifih
tiauihpnb ptiiLni.'hh :
„_ .„„„,„.-_ ,„ , . (Asia Minor,
12. ARMENIAN (Modern). Constantinople, 8(0
|&>/ii- np \ ruutnt-uiO- whttihb uhpbg utyfatvp^p , dltbyh.
np ftp lip tub- fib \\llr}fits tnnt-wt- . np tudl^b tit/ np tnbnn
^tuuasuituj fjfnpunub t ^ujujuj tuit-hwb'builiuih bbmbpp
pbitnubfi •
13. ARMENO-TTJRKI. (Turkish Empire.)
(Turkish in Armenian characters.)
O finiu \* i[Ul^ tnht^bauijp ujnu U-tuinuip ut;Uuifi afi
B^buifl Uffipplltftp ( ^qlpJunL. if^pinfi , Jftul J>[l %£/• °^""
pbu/buiV '/"£/' opTwjui , ['[UP kuf^uifi ^u-jiuptiu ilui^jtji ,
Qp" • St. John iii. 16.
BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY SPECIMENS OF FOUR
ARMENIAN VERSIONS. Page 112.

THE SEVEN MYSTERIES 113
The priests fast, not only before celebrating the
Holy Eucharist* but also when they are to administer
any other Sacramefttj except in cases of unforeseen
necessity.
I. The Holy Sacrament of Baptism, accord
ing TO THE AMENIAN RlTE 1
Holy Baptism is usually administered with great
pomp and solemnity; On the eighth day after birth, ,
the midwife takes the child in her arms, and accom- 1
panied by the godfather, and some of the relations,
goes to the church. Outside the entrance of the
porch, after the Clergy have recited the 21st and
1 3 ist Psalms, and during the singing of a hymn, the
priest takes two strings, one white, the other red,
known as the twisted thread (emblems of the water and
the blood that flowed from the side of the Saviour
ofthe world) — plaits them together, and fastens them
to the cross, and lays them upon the catechumen of
child to be baptized. This is evidently a last trace of
former white baptismal robes with red embroidery.
Many curious and interesting details follow, e.g.,
the porch being reached, the midwife kneels down,
and gives the infant to the priest. Then the child
is placed upon the threshold of the Church, and
"The Means of Grace" are fully described in the Calcutta
edition (1900) of The Catechism of Christian Instructidn, pp.
201-250* and reflect modern usage, the older forms, etc.
1 The Order of Holy Baptism of Catechumens is printed in
full at the end of Captain Fortescue's Armenian Church, London,
J. T. Hayes ; 1872, pp. 291-321. This version has been trans
lated from the Armenian of the Medz Mashdotz, by the Rev.
S. C. Malanj Constantinople, 1867. It varies from Dr. James
Issaverdenz Uniat Divine Ordinahce according to the Armenian
RitualjVemce, 1867, from which only nine pages in his Sacred
Rites and Ceremonies of the Armenian Church have been
curtailed in the above section. It will be noticed that the
full title of this rite is the Order of Holy Baptism of Cate
chumens. Mr. Malan explains that the same word in Armenia
is used both for "child or boy," and "catechumen." Here
throughout, by Catechumen is understood the person who is to
be baptized, whether infant or adult.
H

n4 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
during the recitation of anthems and psalms, the
godfather goes aside and makes his sacramental con
fession. The water for the Baptism, which is warm,
being ready, the priest proceeds to bless it, and after
invoking the virtue ofthe HOLY GHOST, he then pours
it into the font, in the form of a cross. Then follows
a form of renunciation, questions about articles of
faith, the recitation of St. Matthew, chapter xxviii.
16-20, and the Armenian version of the Nicene
Creed, etc. After additional prayers, preparatory to
the solemn pouring of the Holy Chrism into the
water, the priest orders the infant to be unclothed by
the midwife, who presents him to the godfather, and
the Officiant after questioning him, asks the name to be
given to the child, and, with his left hand holding him
carefully by the neck, he takes him with his right
hand by the feet, and then dips him into the font, in
such a manner that the top of his head be turned
towards the west, the feet towards the east, and the
face towards heaven. Then placing his feet at the
bottom of the font, and holding his head out of the
water, he says, " N  , Servant of God, coming by
his own will to the state of a Catechumen and thence
to that of Baptism, is now baptized by me in the
Name of the Father " (at which Name he pours a
handful of water upon the head of the child), " and
of the Son " (he again pours a handful of water upon
the child's head), adding " and of the Holy Ghost,"
pouring a handful of water a third time upon the
infant's head.1
1 Armenian authorities strongly advocate turning the bap
tismal formula into the third person. So Vartan, "therefore we
ought not to say in Baptism, N  , / baptize thee, etc., but as
our illuminator St. Gregory taught us, N-. — , the servant of
Christ is baptized, etc., for hereby we show that the person who
came to be baptized does so willingly, and not by compulsion.
But they who use the other form show only that the baptizer,
and not the baptized, acts of his own free will, as if he said, ' I
baptize thee, whether thou wilt or not.' Whence it follows that
any person whether he believes or not, whether he wishes or

THE SEVEN MYSTERIES 115
After this, the priest thrice dips him under the Holy
Water, and at each time he says : " Redeemed by the
Blood of Christ from the servitude of sin, receiving
the liberty which arises from affiliation with Thee,
Heavenly Father, he becomes co-heir with Christ,
and a temple of the Holy Spirit." These three
immersions in the holy water signify the three days'
burial of Christ.
The Nativity, Epiphany and Baptism of our LORD
are observed on the same day which corresponds with
the festival of the Epiphany in the Anglican Church.
It is the principal day for the baptism of children
who, if considered strong and healthy, often remain
unbaptized nearly a year, in order that they may
receive this Holy Sacrament on this day.
The font is a far less conspicuous ornament than it is
in the West. It seldom, or never, possesses any beauty.
Converts from other Churches are seldom re-bap
tized.1 They are dealt with, as are their own people,
as regards Chrism, etc. As a matter of fact, prosely-
tism is practically unknown among Armenians. I am
aware of one — only one — most interesting case of a
non-Christian being received into the Armenian fold
in Turkey, but as it has come to my knowledge in
strict confidence, I am unable, at least during the
lifetime of the aged convert, to enter into any of the
most extraordinary details.
not, can be baptized, which is impossible." — Neale's History of
the Holy Eastern Church, general introduction, Vol. ii, p. 951.
In the West, with very rare exceptions only, the personal office
of the Ministrant, has been made prominent by the formula,
" I baptize thee, etc." It is certain that no real difference exists
between the mode of employing the " Evangelical words "
which is characteristic of Eastern and Western Churches
respectively. 1 " Cases, however, have occurred where the Armenian Clergy
have re-baptized converts from the American Congregational-
ists. When the attention of a learned Armenian Professor was
drawn to this footnote, he wrote the following comment :
" This is extraordinary, and against the Canons" / /
H 2

ii6 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
II. The DiviNe Liturgy of the Holy
Apostolic Church of Armenia
St. Gregory the Illuminator had been instructed
at Caesarea in Cappadocia, and was consecrated by
Leontius, Archbishop of that city, c. A.D. 302.
Armenia was included in the Exarchate of Caesarea.
The Catholicos of Etchmiadzin was originally procur
ator of Caesarea in Armenia Major. It would be very
likely, therefore, that the Armenian Liturgy should
resemble that of Caesarea. Consequently the chief
characteristics of the Armenian Rite tally closely
with corresponding parts of St. Basil's Liturgy,
A.D. 367.
From the Greek Liturgy of St. James (Jerusalem)
are derived, among others, the Csesarean Office, a
Liturgy of St. Basil, with its offshoots, that of St.
Chrysostom and the Armenian (Gregorian). This
Liturgy of St. James is said to be of earlier date as
to its main fabric than A.D. 200.
St. Basil's Liturgy is a recast of St. James's, as St.
Chrysostom's is an abbreviation and new edition of
St. Basil's, From St. Basil's sprang the Armeno-
(Gregorian) Rite, as at present used.1 It may be
ranked amongst the most ancient and bdautiful of
all the Liturgies in the Oriental Churches.
Though there is only one Liturgy used in the Ar
menian Church, it has several significant variations.2
It is written in the ancient Armenian language, and
has been in use since about the beginning of the fourth
century. With the exception of a few unimportant
alterations and additions, the Liturgy of the present
day is probably like that performed by the Illuminator
himself Mr. Malan states that St. Isaac and St.
1 " The whole groundwork and order of the Armenian Liturgy
coincides with the Csesarean as used in the time Of St. Basil."
— Palmer's Origines Liturgicce, Vol. i, p. 194.
2 A beautifully rubricated 4to edition, translated into English,
by two Armenian priests, was published by Messrs. Cope and
Fenwick, London, in 1908.

THE DIVJNE LITURGY u7
Mesrob revised the Liturgy first translated from the
Greek by St. Gregory, and added several prayers
from the Fathers.
^ This Liturgy has made free use of that of St.
Chrysostom. Like most primitive Liturgies, it is
divided into four principal parts, viz. : i, The Prepar
ation ; 2, The Instruction ; 3, The Consecration ; 4,
The Communion.
The Liturgy is celebrated as a rule on Sundays,
alsq Saturdays, and on great festivals. The Superior
of St. Sarkis' Church, Damascus, informs me that
owing to the smallness of his congregation the Liturgy
is not celebrated in his church on Saturdays, During
Lent there are with a few exceptions, no celebrations
except on Saturdays and Sundays.
The " Holy Sacrifice " may not be offered after
noon, except on the evening of Christmas Eve,
January 5 (Old Style), and Easter Eve. On these
occasions, the celebrations begin with the curtain
drawn, while outside, ;the prophecies of Daniel and
others are read, according to the " Mystery " of the
Day. At the moment the Feast is announced, after
the Introit, the curtain is withdrawn, and the Altar
appears illuminated.
The priest who celebrates, and the faithful who
communicate, may not break their fast after sunset of
the evening before.
The Divine Liturgy lasts on days of solemnity
usually one and a half hours. As it is always
chanted, the congregation do not necessarily remain
to the end, and so give place to others whom the
limits of the church might have kept outside. Only
one Celebration, and on the same Altar, is permitted
on the same day.1
The Altar, like the Communicant, must be " fasting,"
1 " In the earlier times it was the custom, at any rate in many
places, that the Eucharist should not be celebrated more than
once in any day in the same church." — Reverend Darwell
Stone.

n8 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
and the same expression is applied to vestments and
holy vessels which are used in the ceremonial.
The Armenian Roman Catholics celebrate Low
Mass, but this is a Latin invention unknown to the
Armenian Church.
The Altar, or Throne, as it is called, is made of
stone. Small side Altars can be used on the festivals.
An Armenian Altar is exceptional in form, being
oblong, like the Western, and recessed in the screen
across the apse, and has gradines at the back. There
are many lights on the gradines. There is no screen
before the high Altar. A curtain is drawn across the
whole chancel during the oblation.
There is no strict rule about colours. In fact,
all colours except black on Great Friday are used,
and there is no distinction of colours for the
festivals. The fan, Keshotz, is constantly carried in procession.
It is now a metal flabellum — generally silver, having a
circular disk, surrounded with a number of little bells.
These bells call attention to the special part of the
Celebration which is being performed.
Chants are also accompanied by a metallic instru
ment (in Turkey) called Zindrgha, composed of two
plates of bronze, like .the cymbals in military bands.
There are other instruments, but the harmonium is
played only in Constantinople.
A "regular" priest, according to a very ancient
Canon, must prepare himself to celebrate the Holy
Eucharist by passing the whole week, day and night,
in church. He must not go home at all for a week
before the celebration. Also he must pass the
nights of the following week in church, although he
may go home during the day-time, in prayer and
fasting. Married priests are required to separate them
selves from their wives eight days before each
celebration. The preparation of the sacred bread for the Holy

A TYPICAL ARMENIAN ALTAR.

Page 118.

THE DIVINE LITURGY Iig
Eucharist is the priest's special duty. The best corn
is prepared, and reduced into flour. The bread used
is generally made into small flat round cakes, about
3 by i£ inches across, and bear impressed on one side
a crucifix, or the Lamb of God. It is called Neshkhar
(wafer) and Soorp hatz (holy bread). The wafer is
baked in an oven, attached to the church, on the
morning before the celebration.
The Celebrant also gathers the best grapes for the
Wine, and while reciting prayers, presses from them
the juice, which is exclusively reserved for this Holy
Sacrament. During the Service, the Celebrant breaks four
particles of the consecrated bread from the unmixed
chalice, and adminsters from them with his fingers
upon the tonguesoi the lay communicants. The deacons
are communicated at the altar. The priests, if there
be any to communicate, take a particle from the chalice
with their own hands, and likewise drink some drops
of the "Holy Blood."
The Catholicos, John IV, A.D. 719, convened a
Synod at Duin, which in order to draw a more marked
line between his people and the Greeks, decreed the
use of the unmixed chalice, and of unleavened bread
for the Holy Eucharist.1
In 1892, a Canadian clergyman from Toronto
wished to obtain official information about the wine
used by Armenians in the Holy Eucharist, and I
obtained from the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem
the following statement, which was translated by Prof.
Theodore Isaac (now in charge of the Armenian
Congregation at Boston, U.S.A.).
1 The Armenians differ from the Orthodox Eastern Churches
only in the use of unleavened bread, and in rejecting the mixed
chalice. In other respects there is scarcely any serious dis
tinction. Their administration of Confirmation is the same as
that amongst the Orthodox, i. e. any priest is capable of anointing,
provided that the holy oil is consecrated by the Catholicos.

i3o THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Apostolic Throne of St. James, Jerusalem
Certificate.
" By this our Certificate, we do make known unto
you diligent inquirers, that the Holy Apostolic and
Catholic Church of Armenia, since the beginning, and
in conformity with the traditions and rules of the
Apostles and of the Holy Fathers of the Church, has
used fermented wine in the Sacrament of our Lord's
Blessed Body and Blood, and prescribes that the
priest shall prepare the wine for the Holy and Living
Communion of the cleaned grapes, strained through
clean linen, filled into bottles, and kept in the church
to be used unmixed, and without any water.
" As to the bread of offering, it is to be of cleaned
flour of wheat, and the officiating priest to prepare
himself the unleavened bread with prayers and psalm
sayings. " That this is the law of the Holy Apostolic
Armenian Church, we do hereby certify by apposing
our hand and seal.
" The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem-
"(Signed) HAROUTIOUN,
"(L. S.) Archbishop.
" On April 8th, 1892, in the Holy City of Jerusalem."
When Mesrob II was Catholicos, a.d. 1359, rouch
contention arose on account of some of the clergy
adding water to the wine in the Holy Eucharist,
while the national custom was to use wine only.
Being unable to calm the excitement, Mesrob. held
an Assembly in the royal city of Sis, composed of
Bishops and priests, where after many discussions,
seeing that it was impossible to unite the disputants,
he ordered all the clergy thenceforward to conform
themselves to the old custom, consecrating the Holy
Sacrament with pure wine, Thus the usage of adding
water, which was admitted by some of the Clergy after
the Councils of Sis and Adana, a.d. 1307, was abolished.

THE DIVINE LITURGY ,a,
The Armenian Church knows no other means of
defining the elements, of the Holy Eucharist after
consecration than by identifying them with the
actual and real, though invisible, and mysterious
Presence of Christ.
Among the publications of " the Anglican and
and Foreign Church Society " is an Armenian edition
of Bishop Cosin's Treatise on the History of
Transubstantiation and the Doctrine of the Eucharist.
The most important difference between Eastern
and Western Liturgies is in the act of consecration.
Western Liturgies regard the repetition of the words
of institution as the moment of consecration. This
is not sq with the Armenian Liturgy. There the
words of Institution are, indeed, absolutely necessary
for valid consecration. But the consecration is not
considered complete until the HOLY SPIRIT is in
voked. Fasting Communion is the rule, with the exception
of the sick, or aged, or for any other cause of grave
necessity. This rule is also relaxed in the case of
very young children — children as young as four and
five years being brought tp Communion.
As has already been stated, a priest must fast
before a Celebration, without any exception.
The reserved Sacrament is only for the sick, and
for the newly-baptized, which is called " Communion
by the lips." The practice of adoring the Sacrament
out of the Eucharistic Service is hardly known. But
when the priest approaches the reserved Sacrament
he does so with the greatest reverence and awe.
The following Notes on portions of the " Divine
Liturgy," may be of interest to Anglican readers —
I. The Hymn of the Trisagion}
This hymn, " Holy GOD, Holy and Mighty, Holy
and Immortal " (thrice repeated), with additions on
1 The Trisagion was introduced into the Eastern Liturgies in
the fifth century.

122 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
several feasts, occurs in almost all Oriental Liturgies,
but not always in the same place. It follows the
little Entrance in the Armenian Ritual.
On the Feast of the Holy Cross the interpolation
of " Who wast crucified for us," by Peter the Fuller of
Antioch (ob. 477) has given rise to great troubles.
It was supposed by some that the original hymn had
usually, and most naturally, been taken as applying
to the whole Trinity, but as the second part may be
applied to our Blessed LORD, the addition is harmless.
2. The Prophecy, the Epistles, the Holy Gospel.
A similarity between the Armenian and Anglican
Rites may be noted in the sequence of Epistle, Gospel
and Creed following together directly after the reading
of the Law.1
The really primitive part of the Liturgy begins
with a psalm, and lessons from the Prophets, Epistles
and Gospels.
3. The Nicene Creed.
The Armenian Liturgy is unique among Eastern
Liturgies in allowing this Creed (with its own ad
ditions) to be heard by the catechumens before the
ectene. It is said immediately after the Holy Gospel.
The Catechumens are not now required to leave the
church before the consecration.
Dean Stanley {Eastern Church), reminds us that
this is "the only Church in the East which, while
adopting the Constantinopolitan Creed, retains the
anathemas of the Nicene symbol."
1 " The Armenian variety of the Eastern Offices appears in
several respects to have furnished the type of the Benedictine ;
having two sets' of Psalms sung continually at nocturns, and
followed by four homilies with responsory hymns. And that
St. Benedict had The Armenian Rite before his eyes, we have
this curious indication, that in his rule he speaks of it as the
practice of monks in former days, which he would fain have
imitated, to go through the whole Psalter every day. Now this
was precisely the practice of the Armenian monasteries, while
the Churches distributed it over the weeki" — Freeman's Prin
ciples of Divine Service, Vol. i, chap, iii, section 2, p. 24^
Oxford, J. H. and J. Parker, 1855.

THE DIVINE LITURGY 123
It will be noticed (pp. 124-5) that the Creed is
recited in the plural form, and that, as in all the
Eastern Churches, the1 Filioque clause is omitted.
The following rendering of the Creed is taken from
Hammond's Liturgies, Eastern and Western, pp. 145-7,
Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1878. It varies slightly
from four other versions in my possession.1
Correspondences will be noticed between the Angli
can and the Armenian forms : both of them omitting
the word "Holy" before "Catholic and Apostolic
Church " ; and both inserting " GOD of GOD " — the
result not of accident, but of some early connection
between these two branches of the Church Catholic.
The Armenian offices have (as has been already
hinted) manifestly influenced, in other instances be
sides these, the forms now possessed by the Western
Church, and by the Anglican branch of it in particular.
Thus we must go to Armenia for the use of the
Magnificat as a feature of Evensong ; the orthodox
Eastern Churches singing it at Lauds. If it be asked
how the Anglican Church has features which synchro
nize with the Armenian Church, while they differ from
the ordinary Western use, the probability is that she
received them through monastic offices. The Bene
dictine offices, e.g., carry in them strong internal evi
dence of having been formed on the Armenian model,
e.g., as regards the number of their lessons. Now
when Cassian passed (c. A.D. 420) from the East to
France, bearing with him the seeds of our Western
usages, he notably, as is generally admitted, modified
the existing Church offices, but also founded monas
teries. These, then, like St. Benedict's, a century
later, might well be indebted to Armenia for their
usages, and St. Augustine, on his passage through
France to England, may have carried with him some
of the monastic peculiarities. An instance of the
influence of Benedictine usage on our present offices,
1 There being no public library at Haifa, I have been unable
to make use of Brightman's Liturgies, Vol. i.

i24 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
is that the order adopted in our Litany, by which the
Sovereign is placed before the bishops and clergy, was
manifestly adopted from the monastic Litanies of the
Reformation period, which had this order, while the
Church Litany observed the contrary one.
Then the Deacon shall read the Holy Gospel, at the
end of which all shall say : Glory be to Thee, 0 Lord
our God.
Then shall the Nicene Creed be said in full.
" We believe in one God the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth, of things visible and
invisible. " And in one LORD Jesus CHRIST, the SON of GOD
(born or) begotten of God the Father, that is, only
SON of the essence of the Fa ther.1
" Gop of God, Light of Light, true (very) God of
true (very) God ; (a thing begotten or) an offspring,
and not a thing made. Himself of the nature of the
Father, by Whom, all things came into existence, in
Heaven and upon Earth, things visible and invisible.
Who for us men and our salvatipn, having come down
from Heaven, was made flesh (or was made body),
was made Man, was born perfectly of the Holy Virgin
Mary by the HOLY GHOST.
"Of whom He took body, soul (spirit) and mind,
and everything that is in man, truly and not by
semblance. (After having) suffered, (and being)
crucified, buried, the third day risen again, (and)
gone up into Heaven in the same body,2 sat down at
the right hand of the Father,
" (He) is to come in the same body and in the glory
of the Father, to judge the quick and dead ; to Whose
kingdom there is no end.
" We also believe in the Holy Ghost, uncreated and
perfect,3 Who spake in the Law, and in the Prophets,
1 This addition was against the Arians.
2 Against the Gnostics.
3 Tf> 4k too TlaTpbs 4k Uopaso/ievvv is omitted.

THE DIVINE LITURGY 125
and itt the Gospels. Who came down upon the
Jordan, preached (or proclaimed) the Apostle (or the
One sent, Shiloh, Christ) and dwelt in the Saints.
" We also believe in one only Universal and Apos
tolic Church.1 In one Baptism, in Repentance, in the
expiation and forgiveness of sins ; in the Resurrection
ofthe Dead; In the Everlasting Judgment (sentence,
or condemnation) of souls and bodies ; in the kingdom
of Heaven, and in the Life Everlasting/'
" But those who say there was (a time) when the
SON was not ; or that there was (a time) when;there
was no Holy Ghost; or that they came into being of
things that were not ; or whq say that the Son of Gqd
and the Holy Ghost be of different natures, and that
they be changeable and alterable, such does the Holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematize." 2 (To
which St. Gregory the Illuminator added) —
" But we will glorify Him Who was before the
worlds by worshipping the Holy Trinity and one
Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the
HOLY GHOST; now and ever, world without end;
Amen."
4. The Cherubic Hymn.
The choir sing the Cherubic Hymn, but only on
very high occasions. It is unknown in Western
Christendom. It is so called from its reference to
the Cherubim which it contains. It appears to have
been composed about the time of Justinian. Its
object is described as being to excite the minds of
the Faithful to the mysteries about to be celebrated.
While it is being sung the priests say secretly a
prayer called " the prayer of the Cherubic Hymn."
There are about eight proper hymns substituted as a
rule for the Cherubic Hymn. In the Divine Liturgy,
1 "The Creed ofthe Council of Toledo, a.d. 589, did not con
tain sanctam as an epithet of ecclesiamt"—The Church Quarterly
Review, July 1879, p. 382. ,
2 Against the Ariaris, who denied the Godhead of the third
Person of the Holy Trinity.

126 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
published by Cope and Fenwick, p. 63, there is no
allusion to it. The translation by Hammond in
Liturgies, Eastern and Western, p. 149, is as follows —
" We who mystically represent the Cherubim, and
who sing the Thrice Holy Hymn to the Holy Trinity,
let us lay aside all worldly care, that we may welcome
the King of Heaven and Earth, Whom legions of
Angels exhort unseen."
Both Bishops and priests remove their head-dress
from the Cherubic Hymn to the end of the service.
5. The Great Entrance.
The Armenian Liturgy differs from that of Con
stantinople in that the priest does not himself make
the Great Entrance, or Offertory. He is adoring at
the Altar, while the Deacons " carry the Sacred Bread
and the cup of Immortality to the Altar."
6. The Prayer of the (second) Oblation, after the
Divine Gif ts are placed upon the Holy Table.
" The priest, lifting up his hands, saith secretly the
prayer of St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria."
7. The Kiss of Peace comes next. This in the East
always precedes consecration.
8. Sursum Corda.
The Deacon : " (To) the doors ! (to) the doors ! !
Give ear with understanding and caution."
" Let those who are unable to communicate go
outside the doors and pray there." The order to guard
the doors, referring to the early days of heathen
persecution, attests the extreme antiquity of this
Liturgy. There are no prayers for Catechumens, penitents,
etc., these having become obsolete, but the dismissal
of these classes still remains.
9. The Great Intercession.
The Deacon, standing on the right hand of the
Holy Table, with clasped hands, distinctly mentions
by name " those who' first preached the Gospel, and
of our first Illuminators, of the Holy Apostles,
Thaddaeus and Bartholomew," etc. The prayers of

THE DIVINE LITURGY 127
Sarapion, c. the middle of the fourth century, are
witnesses that prayers for the departed were usual at
that date.
10. The Blessed Bread.
It is the custom, as in all Eastern Churches, to
distribute Blessed Bread to the people, while the psalms
are sung at the close of the service. This Blessed
Bread is always prepared by the officiating priest. It
is a remnant of the Agape or Love Feast that the
primitive Christians partook of together after com
municating. During the Divine Liturgy the Celebrant makes the
Sign of the Cross on twenty occasions. Unlike the
other Churches of the East the Armenians follow the
Latin custom of beginning at the left shoulder.
There is no Rubric in the Divine Liturgy concerning
Almsgiving. Every one is free to contribute according
to his means, praying that the Celebrant may make
remembrance of him in the holy service.
Prayer of St. Chrysostom.
It is interesting to note that the " Prayer of the
Third Antiphon " at the commencement of the Divine
Liturgy corresponds with our closing prayer of St.
Chrysostom, at Matins and Evensong. It is as
follows —
The Priest aloud : " O Thou Who didst teach us to
pray, both in common as we do now, and in secret,
and Who didst promise to grant the supplications of
two or three gathered together in Thy Name ; Do
Thou now fulfil the requests of Thy servants according
to their wants ; Granting us in this world the knowledge
of Thy Truth, and in the world to come Life Ever
lasting. For Thou, O GOD, artbeneficient and loving ;
and unto Thee belong glory, dominion and honour ;
now and ever. Amen."
When the Communion is given to the people the
choir sing the following hymn : " (O Church) Mother
of the Faith, asylum of holy marriage ! Splendid

128 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
nuptial Chamber ! Dwelling of the immortal Spouse,
Who has adorned Thee with Eternal Ornaments !
Thou art another admirable heaven, Elevated from
Glory to Glory, Who regeneratest us by means of
Holy Baptism, And makest us softs shining as the
light Who distributest to us this purifying bread,
and givest us to drink this awe-inspiring blood ; Who
raisest us to the highest degree, even to share the
destiny of the celestial Intelligences.
" Come then, O sons of the new Zion, Approach the
LORD with purity, Taste and see how our LORD is
good and powerful.
" The Ark of the Covenant was a type representing
Thee; But Thou art the type of the Supreme
Tabernacle. It has broken the adamantine gates;1
Thou hast shaken from their foundations the gates of
hell. " It triumphed over the Jordan. Thou over the sea of
universal wickedness. Its leader was Joshua : Thine
is JESUS, the Only SON of the Eternal Father.
" This Bread is the Body of JESUS Christ, This cup
is the Blood of the New Testament ; The greatest of
mysteries is revealed to Us, GOD manifests Himself to
us. " Here is CHRIST Himself, the Divine Word, Who
sitteth at the right hand of the FATHER, Who,
sacrificed here amongst us, effaceth the sins of the
world; " He is blessed in all Eternity with the FATHER and
the Holy Spirit, Now, for ever and ever, Throughout
all ages."
III. The Sacrament of the Holy Chrism
The Eastern Church, with its characteristic reverence
for antiquity, refused to separate what the primitive
Church had joined, and Infant Baptism, Infant Con
firmation, Infant Communion follow, in its practice,
1 The Gates of Jericho.

THE HOLY CHRISM 129
in immediate sequence. " To whatever extent Infant
Baptism can claim CEcumenical authority in the first
six centuries, to the same extent Infant Confirmation
can claim it too."
Tertullian, c. 160-230 (De Baptismo, Chap. VII),
says : " Next, coming forth from the Baptismal font,
we are anointed with oil, blessed according to the
primitive ordinances." [I am aware that Tertullian
expressed his own private opinion that Baptism had
better be deferred till after the time of infancy.]
An interesting case of Infant Confirmation is quoted
by Canon Mason from St. Augustine (A.D. 396-430).1
In all Eastern Churches the Chrismation, and the
form of words accompanying it, is the essential of
Confirmation. It is always given by the priest, imme
diately after Baptism. The Holy Oil is consecrated
by the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, with the revered
relic (the right arm) of St. Gregory the Illuminator.
The Holy Oil is made of different herbs as stated
and described in Exod. xxx. 23-26.
Maundy Thursday every seven years is the day
recognized by East and West as the Day for the
Consecration of the Holy Chrism (jmpov). The
preparation is elaborate, and there is a resemblance
between the Armenian, and the Greek, and Coptic
usage of some thirty-six aromatics.
In the Orthodox Greek Church onlythe CEcumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople (assisted by twelve
Bishops), consecrates the p.vpov every seven years, on
the Thursday morning before Easter Day, at the
Cathedral, Phanar, Constantinople, in connection with
a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. After Easter,
the pfipov is sent to the three Patriarchs (Alexandria,
Antioeh, Jerusalem), and the other Orthodox Eastern
Authorities. The Metropolitan of Ptolemais informs
me that 19 10 is a year appointed for this Orthodox
Greek Consecration.
11 The Relation of Confirmation to Baptism, pp. 82, 83.
Longmans, 1891.
1

130 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
The Armenian Use varies only slightly from that
of the Greek.
Immediately after Baptism, the same priest admin
isters to the child the Holy Sacrament of Confirm
ation. At first the hymn is chanted, called the Hymn
of the Holy Chrism, which being finished, the priest
dips his right thumb in the holy oil, and in the form
of a cross, he anoints the body of the newly-baptized
in nine different parts as follows : First on the fore
head, saying : " N  , May this sweet oil which is
poured upon thee in the name of Christ, be a seal
of the celestial gifts."
And this, says the rubric, is properly the confirm
ation, or Sacrament of the Chrism ; all the other
unctions are merely ceremonial and sacramental acts.
After the unction of the forehead, succeeds that of
the eyes, at which the priest says : " N  , May this
seal, which is offered to thee in the name ofjESUS
Christ, illuminate thine eyes, lest thou sleep the
sleep of death."
Thirdly the priest anoints the ears, saying : " N  ,
May this ointment of sanctification make thee
obedient to the commandments of GOD."
Fourthly the nostrils, saying : " N  , May this
seal, in the name of JESUS CHRIST, be unto thee a
sweet savour of life unto life."
Fifthly the mouth, saying : " N  , May this seal,
in the name of Jesus Christ be unto thee as a guard
and as a solid door to thy lips."
Sixthly both the palms, saying: " N  , May this
seal, in the name of JESUS Christ, be to thee the
cause of good works, of virtuous deeds, and of life."
Seventhly, the heart, saying : " N  , May this
divine seal, in the name of Jesus Christ, create in
thee a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within
thee." Eighthly, the spine, saying : " N  , May this seal,
in the name of Jesus Christ, be to thee a shield of

THE HOLY CHRISM 131
safety, wherewith thou mayest be able to quench all
the fiery darts of the devil."
Ninthly, thefeet, saying : " N  , May this divine
seal, in the name of Jesus Christ direct thy steps
to Eternal Life, and keep thy feet from erring.
"N  , Peace be to thee, the delivered of God.
N  , peace be to thee, the anointed of God."
This being done, the priest blesses the garments of
the child, who is then clothed. Then he binds his
neck with the red and white string, which was twisted
in the beginning of the ceremony of Baptism, and at
the end of which is usually fastened a small cross.
Then, covering him with a white coat, he places in
his hand a wax candle, and says : " N  , Receive
the lamp of faith, and of good works, so that when
the bridegroom shall come, thou mayest be worthy
to enter unto the Wedding of Light, and enjoy
eternal life."
The priest then takes the child in his arms, and
brings him up the steps of the Altar, makes him adore
before the Holy Cross, and says : " N  , the servant
of Jesus Christ, coming by his own will from the
state of a Catechumen to that of Baptism, and from
that of Baptism to adoration, worships before this holy
Altar ; he strips iniquity from his person, and clothes
himself with the light of the knowledge of God ; In
the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the
Holy Ghost."
He then gives the child into the arms of the
god-father, and, opening the tabernacle where the
Sacrament is kept, he administers the Communion
to the child, and with this, the Holy Rite is finished.
Baptism is usually administered after the cele
bration of the Divine Liturgy. The infant is now
brought to the Altar, and the priest communicates,
and, after dipping his finger into the holy Chalice,
puts it into the mouth of the babe, saying : " N  ,
(receive) the Plenitude of the Holy Ghost."
i 2

132 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
If, however, the ceremony of Baptism is performed
at a time when no celebration takes place, then the
priest takes the Holy Sacrament reserved in the
Tabernacle, and signs with it the mouth of the babe,
in the form of a cross, saying the above-named words,
and then replaces the Holy Sacrament in the Taber
nacle. This is called " Communion by the lips."
A procession afterwards accompanies the child to
the door of the church reciting alternately Psalm
xxxii and a prayer, at the end of which a hymn is
chanted in honour of the Holy Trinity. The child is
then conveyed home, where, eight days after, the priest
repairs and take off the string, with which the neck of
tiie child had been bound at the end of the Con
firmation. And in doing this he recites prayers
adapted to the occasion, and presents the infant to
the mother.
When the child attains his fortieth day, he is
carried to the door of the church accompanied by
his mother, and the priest then pronounces upon both
of them special prayers. They are then brought into
the church, and the priest, taking the child in his arms,
places him upon the steps of the Altar, as if in order
to make him adore, and then returns him to his mother.
They then chant a hymn in honour of the Virgin Mary,
which being finished, the priest then blesses them, and
the ceremony is oyer.
IV. The Sacrament of Penance
This Sacrament is administered nearly in the same
way as in the Latin Church. It is auricular, and
has always been so since the days of St. Gregory
the Illuminator.*
1 " In the Early Church, great sins excluded from Communion
until the sinner had been reconciled by Penance. Ordinarily, the
confession of sins in such cases, and the undergoing of Penance
were public."— The Rev. Darwell Stone.

THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 133
The Armenian Church is very vigorous in exacting
auricular confession, and in the Penance enjoined.
All Armenians are at least expected to approach the
Sacrament of Penance five times a year, i. e. on the
Epiphany, at Easter, the Transfiguration, the Assump
tion of the Virgin Mary, and the Exaltation of the
Cross. The two first festivals are obligatory.
My friend, the Rev. Theodore Isaac, the Arme
nian priest in Boston, U.S.A., however, stated at a
meeting ofthe English Church Union in December
1900, that Confession was not necessarily required
before Communion. "A communicant must give
notice to the priest, and confess if he had any special
sin to confess, but this was left to his conscience."
The Guardian, December 12, 1900, p. 1758.
The penitent, having finished the examination of
his conscience, kneels down before the Confessor and
says : " I have sinned before the All-Holy Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I have sinned
before GOD, I confess before God, and before you,
Holy Father, all my sins; for I have sinned before
GOD, in thought, words and deeds, willingly and
unwillingly, consciously and unconsciously."
Then he confesses distinctly, one after another, all
the sins he has committed, after which he adds :
" Holy Father, I have you for conciliator and inter
cessor with the Only-Begotten SON ; I pray you, that
through the power which is given you, you loose me
from the bands of my sina"
The priest then, according to the rubric, shall
counsel the penitent, and inflict some penance, if
necessary, after which he shall pronounce the
authorized absolution. He then recites the LORD'S
Prayer, and the penitent departs in peace.
A few additional remarks seem necessary. Con
fession is so far compulsory that every communicant
must previously present himself to the priest, and
receive absolution individually, whether he makes a

134 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
special confession of his sins, or repeats the general
confession only. Sometimes even this is not possible,
in consequence of tlie communicant's ignorance. If
ignorant, he repeats the usual formula after the priest.
In the case of small children, it is left with the parents
to bring them to confession, or not. But no priest
would refuse Holy Communion to a child under seven
years for not having gone to confession previously.
However, as a rule, a general absolution is pro
nounced by the priest over all the communicants just
before the administration ofthe Blessed Sacrament to
the people.
V. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony
The function of Holy Matrimony, called the
" Imposition ofthe Crown," is of considerable length,
and the ceremony takes place in the Church, but in
exceptional cases first in the house.
It is usual for the parents to act for the bride.
The bands of consanguinity reach to the seventh
degree, and those of affinity until the fourth.
Until lately the betrothed, from the time of their
consent, to their marriage, used to have no intercourse
with each other, neither could see each other.
On the day of the marriage, a little before the hour
appointed, the priest, accompanied by his deacon,
proceeds' to the house of the bride, and blesses the
nuptial-pledge, or ring and robes, repeating prayers,
and imploring God to make the betrothed happy.
The bridegroom comes to the same house with pomp,
when a short office is said.
Then the betrothed, accompanied by all their party,
proceed to the church, where they make their
profession of faith, and confess their sins, in order to
partake afterwards of the Holy Communion. They
then twist two garlands, repeating, while twisting that
for the bridegroom, Psalm xxi, and that for the bride
Psalm xiv.

HOLY MATRIMONY 135
After an address by the priest, the usual interroga
tions, repeated thrice, and prayers, the officiant places
the crowns upon the heads of the newly-married
couple, invoking for them all spiritual and terrestrial
blessings, and makes upon them the sign of the cross.1
The newly- married couple receive the Holy Com
munion, and the Divine Liturgy being finished, the
whole party proceed to the husband's house, chanting
hymns and other sacred songs.
In former days the crowns were worn for eight, or at
least for three days, and during this period the pair
live separate.
The ceremony for the marriage of widows is shorter,
and a special licence from the Diocesan is necessary.
Marriages are never celebrated on Fast Days, nor
on Feasts called Dominical, nor during the seven weeks
after Easter. Monday is the day generally chosen
for this ceremony.2 The indissolubility of Holy
Matrimony is insisted upon, so that divorces or
separations are exceedingly rare, the permission of
the Catholicos being necessary.
VI. Holy Orders. (See The Priesthood, page 84.)
VII. The Anointing of the Sick3
It is important to quote the actual language of the
Armenian Church in her Instruction in the Christian
Faith, under the heading of " The Anointing the Sick."
1 The placing of the marriage wreath is held to he null and
void if it takes place without the consent of the bride and
bridegroom. " Let no priest place the wreath on (marry) a man
or woman by constraint or violence. For such a marriage is not
binding but may be loosened ; and the priests who marry such
persons are not free from censure or chastisement."— Instruction
in the Christian Faith, p. 26.
2 In many places marriages take place on Thursdays.
3 Mr. F. C. Conybeare states that " no such rite is found in
any ancient Euchologian, or Mashtotz, that I ever saw. See my
Rituale Armenorum, where I have used all or almost all the
most ancient MSS. in existence.'1

1 36 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Q. How does the Sacrament of Anointing the sick avail ?
A. To strengthen the sick in the hope of receiving
healing of their bodily disease, and also the forgiveness of
their lighter sins.
Q. In what way were the Apostles wont to administer
this Sacrament ?
A. Sometimes by merely laying their hands on the sick,
and praying ; and sometimes also by anointing their body
in the name of the Lord.
Q. May this Sacrament be administered without the
anointing with oil ?
A. Yes, as it is the custom in the Armenian Church.
" Prayer gives efficiency to the oil, and completes the remedy
given for healing the sickness ; therefore it is igood to use
both ; but if through inability, neglect or some other cause,
the anointing is omitted, prayer must at all events always be
made." (Chosrov, in comment on P. Book.)
As a matter of fact anointing the sick is now
dropped, prayers for the sick being substituted.
The Armenian Rite of the Anointing of the sick
closely resembles the Coptic in its use of a seven-
wicked lamp,1 but differs in allowing the service to be
held at the bedside, in cases where the sick person is
unable to go to the church.
This practice of anointing the sick with oil from a
church lamp is extremely ancient, St.' Chrysostom dis
tinctly speaks of persons who had been anointed with
oil from such a lamp, and had been cured of divers
diseases. Unction is practised, not so much the viaticum,
known as " Extreme Unction " (as in ' use arhong the
Armenian Roman Catholics), but for the benefit of
the sick who may be restored.
The earliest instance of the view of Unction as a
Rite to be administered as a preparation for death, is
at the end of the eighth century, or at the beginning
1 An illustration of this seven-wicked lamp ©f Iron for the
Anointing of the sick is given in Butler's Ancient Coptic
Churches, Vol. ii, page 76.

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA 137
of the ninth. There is no clear record of the use of
Unction for the sick until the fourth century, but
after that date there is ample evidence of its regular
use, and in the sixth century, both in the Eastern and
Western Churches Holy Unction was universally
practised with a view to bodily healing. (See the
Report of the Lambeth Conference, 1908, Committee
appointed to consider and report upon the subject of
(a) The Unction of the Sick, S.P.C.K., pp. 137-8,
section 5.)
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
THE Armenian Church of the Holy SAVIOUR at
Worcester, Massachusetts, was nearly destroyed by
fire on Feb. 7, 1904, but was restored for Divine
Worship on Sunday, May 2, " Second Palm Sunday,"
according to the Armenian Kalendar.
Bishop Hovsep Saradjian was the Officiant, and
was assisted by the following Vardabets : The
Reverends Mashtotz Pa.paziantz, Rector of the Mission;
Arsen Verhouni, Rector of the Providence Mission ;
Levon Mortaugesian, Rector of the New York
Mission ; and Theodore Isaac, (married) rector of the
Boston Mission. About 500 Armenians were present
at the Morning Services, including a dozen delegates
from the other Missions.
Bishop Saradjian was sent to the United States in
1889, and was the first Armenian Ecclesiastic to
establish a local mission. He had his headquarters in
Worcester from the beginning, but in 1892 he
resigned, and went to Etchmiadzin for consecration,
returning in 1898*
In 1 893. the Catholicos of All Armenia gave him the
title of Archbishop, because ofthe many services he had
rendered his people, by whom he was greatly beloved.
The formal opening accomplished, Archbishop
Saradjian, assisted by the other clergy, proceeded to

138 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
the blessing of the four sides of the earth. Moving
slowly to the east side of the church he blessed that
with prayers and psalms for the welfare of Armenia,
and the Patriarchal Throne of that country. At the
west side of the church the clergy halted, while the
Christian Kings and Rulers ofthe forces of the earth
were blessed. On the north there were prayers and
blessings for the convents, and cities and villages of
the world, and on the south, the cornfields, the labour
and fertility of the earth and of mankind were
blessed. On Easter Eve, 1905, "the Rest of CHRIST," ac
cording to the Armenian Kalendar, the Rev.
Theodore Isaac held services in a hall (837, Wash
ington Street, Boston) at 7.30 o'clock, and celebrated
the Holy Eucharist on the following morning, Zatick
(Easter). Mr. Isaac has been pastor of the Boston Armenian
Mission since 1904. He is one of the most learned
married clergy. He is a graduate of Bonn University,
and has been a welcome guest at Cowley (the Society
of St. John the Evangelist). After acting as a teacher
in St. James's Convent, Jerusalem, and at Calcutta,
he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop
Lukias of Erevan in 1895, at the Cathedral of
Etchmiadzin. In 1907, Yeznik Abahoony was appointed Armenian
Archbishop in America, in succession to the Most
Reverend Hovsep Saradjian, who resigned in
September 1906. He was duly elected by the
Clerical and Lay Delegates of the Armeno-American
community, who met at the church of the Holy
Saviour, Worcester, Massachusetts. The election
was ratified by his Holiness MeguerditchT Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenia.
Yeznik Abahoony was a native of the Turkish
Armenia, and a graduate of the Armenian Church
University at Constantinople, and had command of

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA 139
six languages, including English. His zeal for his
Church in Turkey and his pronounced patriotism
inflamed the hatred ofthe Turks, and the late Sultan
(Abdul-Hamid II) had him thrown into prison, where
he remained many months. At length he managed
to make his escape, and fled into Egypt. But his life
was not safe even there, the Sultan having vainly
endeavoured to persuade the officials ofthe Armenian
Church in Egypt to send him back to Turkey.
The Armenians of America were much pleased
when he was appointed to advance the cause of their
Church in the United States. After ministering in
their midst for a few months he returned to Turkey in
very poor health.
While in Constantinople, he was stricken with
apoplexy and expired. Consequently the Armenians
in America are again without a head. The learned
Bishop of Adana (Musegh) has been invited from
Boston to fill this post, since the massacres of 1909,
when a British captain secured his passage from .
Mersina to Alexandria. It is doubtful whether he
will accept any appointment in the United States of
America. Among the Armenians there is a wide field for the
American Church. The situation is simplified by the
kindly interchange between the Clergy of both
Churches, the readiness of the Armenians to receive
the Sacraments in our churches, and their grateful
acknowledgment of all aid and sympathy from
churches of the Anglican Rite.
The American Cohgregationalists have exceeded
all other Christians in contributing men, women, and
means for religious work among Armenians in Asia
Minor. For this they deserve great praise. But
under their instruction many Armenians have, alas,
severed their connection with their Apostolic Church !
and lost the blessing of the Episcopate which we
agree with them in holding to be essential.

Mo THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
It would seem that the American Church, whose
policy, like the Church of England, is to give aid to
enlighten and strengthen, but not to proselytize, their
fellow-Christians of the East, has a GOD-given
opportunity. It must not be supposed that interest in the
Armenian Church is an entirely novel feature with the
American Church, for a report of the Bishop of Ohio,
Dr. Bedell, as chairman of the sub-committee on
" Ecclesiastical Reform and Toleration in the East " —
Armenian Papers, Document V — was presented to the
Joint Committee of the General Convention of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in 1879, and later on,
the Committee for Closer Relations with Oriental
Churches, in the Diocese of Albany have been active
and helpful.
The Armenians have various societies in the
United States for the aid of their schools and
orphanages in Armenia. The initiative fee is one
dollar, and each member contributes five cents a
week, or as much more as he cares to give. In a poor
Armenian Community at Nashau, consisting of about
five hundred of their countrymen, at one meeting, they
raised the magnificent sum (for them) of 715 dollars.
And what the Armenians are doing in Nashau, they
are doing all over the country.
THE PRESENT ARMENIAN POPULATION IN THE
UNITED STATES
The Avedaper, No. 20, 1909, an Armenian weekly
publication, issued from the American Bible House,
Stamboul, gives the following statistics of Armenian
emigration from Turkey to the United States —
" The first emigration for the purposes of study and busi
ness took place in 1850, on a small scale. The second
emigration occurred between 1885-1895, consisting of
15,000, owing to Turkish persecutions.

ARMENIAN ROMAN CATHOLICS 141
"From 1905-1909 owing to the massacres in Adana, and
elsewhere, many went as fruit-growers with their families to
California. Since the last massacres in 1909, about a hun
dred have been leaving every week for the United States.
Armenians in America, through one of their societies, find
employment for Turkish immigrants.
"There are already 75,000 Armenians in the United
States, of which number 35,000 have become American
citizens. Their occupations include 75 medical men, 30
dentists, artists, architects, professors, musicians, photo
graphers, merchants, tailors, shoe-makers, stone-cutters,
barbers, grocers, carpet-repairers, rug-importers, factory-
hands. The farmers are found only in California."
ARMENIAN ROMAN CATHOLICS1
THE Roman Catholic's began to disturb the peace
of the Armenians as early as the eleventh century.
This influence dates from the period of the Crusades.
In A.D. 1 198, Leon, who founded the Armenian
Kingdom under Latin auspices, was crowned King of
all the Armenians at Tarsus, by the Catholicos
Gregory VI. Under his influence the ceremonial
worship of the Church became much latinized,
especially in Eastern Armenia.
The Popes at various times, particularly in the
years 1 145, 1341, and 1440, when the Armenians
sought the help of the Western Powers against the
Mohammedans, made attempts to procure their
union with Rome, but, in these cases, it was only the
political rulers who parleyed with the Papacy. The
great mass of the people retained their ancient
ecclesiastical opinions.
A.D. 1 341. It seems almost too absurd to state
that Pope Benedict XII complained of no fewer
than one hundred and seventeen heresies held by the
1 " Was it not rather the case that the Armenians of Cilicia
coquetted with Rome of their own accord, by way of escaping
from Byzantine pressure?" — Mr. F. C. Conybeare.

142 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
Armenian Church. In the fourteenth century the
Dominicans had a mission in Armenia.
A.D. 1440. Union with Rome was at this date
accepted by the scattered Armenians outside of their
country, only in the West and Persia, but not in India
or China.
When Constantine V was Catholicos, the Council
of Florence was held. His attendance was invited
by Pope Eugenius IV. The Catholicos deputed
four Vardabets to represent him at this Council. The
Catholicos, led by political reasons, and without con
sulting his Synod and dignitaries, and therefore
without full authority of the Armenian Church, failed
to accomplish the wishes of the Pope. The decrees
of this Council have never been communicated to,
nor accepted by, the Armenian Church. In fact
these Armenian Legates did not arrive at Florence
until the Byzantines .had gone.
A.D. 1742. Benedict XIV instituted the Latin
Patriarchate of Cilicia.
A.D. 1830. Pius VIII created the Armenian
Roman Catholic Primacy at Constantinople.
A.D. 1867. Pius IX united Cilicia with the Primacy
at Constantinople, so that this Latin Patriarch now
bears the title of Cilicia, and has his residence in
Constantinople. The incessant labours of the Church of Rome
during the last five and more centuries have had the
result that, according to Roman reckoning some
thing over 50,000 Armenians have united themselves
with Rome. No doubt the Latin Church awaits a
great harvest from among the Armenians in the
future, and their appointment of Bishops in places
where, in ordinary circumstances, a parish priest
would suffice clearly shows this expectation. At
present, they have no less than twenty Bishops, with
their Patriarch, over them.
There are Armenian Roman Catholics in Turkey,

ARMENIAN ROMAN CATHOLICS 143
Armenia (Greater and Lesser), Mesopotamia, Persia,
Syria, Egypt, Italy, Poland, Galicia, Tiflis, Zarnar,
and Aretaber (Caucasus), at Ekaterinislau (Southern
Russia), Marseilles, England, and the United States of
America. They also possess Religious Orders : the Mek-
hitarists at Venice, and at Vienna, and they have a
college at Rome, and a seminary at Deir Ezoumar in
Mount Lebanon. There is an Institution of Sisters
at the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in
Constantinople for the education of young girls —
especially those newly converted.
The Society of Mekhitarists was founded by
Mekhitar Vardabet, an Armenian, who was born at
Sebaste, Minor Armenia, A.D. 1676.1
Outside of Austria, the Armeno-Roman-Catholics
are organized under the Patriarch of Cilicia. Within
Austria, they are under the Archbishop of Leopol,
who is independent of this Patriarch.
All these Uniats acknowledge the Papal Supremacy,
and agree in doctrine with the Latin Church, though
they have been allowed to preserve, with alterations,
their National Liturgy in Armenian.
The Avedaper (the Armenian newspaper above
mentioned) states that since the Adana Massacres
of April 1909, the Latins and Armenian Roman
Catholics have imported several of their priests and
monks into the Adana districts and villages. They
are assisting the poverty-stricken Armenian peasants
with alms.
The Armenian Roman Catholics have an immense
church at Marash with a congregation of over 8,000.
1 An account of the Monastery of St. Lazarus is given in
Curzon's Armenia, chap. xv.

144 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

Appeals from the late Archbishop Meguer-
ditch's Congregations in Aintab and Marash
to the Bishop in Jerusalem and the East
(Dr. Blyth)
The Rev. J. T. Parfit, B.A., Church of England
Chaplain at Beyrout, Syria, has lately issued the
following statement and appeal —
[Note. — Mr. Parfit is not responsible for the ac
companying footnotes.]
"Nearly forty years ago, Archbishop Meguerditch (a
Prelate of the Ancient Armenian Church) was received into
communion with the Church of England by Bishop Gobat
of Jerusalem.1
" A very extensive movement of reform was at that time
sweeping over the Armenian Congregations of Asia Minor,
and with so many movements- of this kind, it was partly
religious and partly inspired by political hopes and aspira
tions. Archbishop Meguerditch placed himself at the head
of the movement, and in a very short time as many as forty-
three congregations were formed in the towns and villages
around Aintab.2 The late Canon Tristram visited this
district, and subsequently collected funds for the erection
of a church in Aintab for the headquarters of the Arch
bishop. Besides an episcopal residence, a school-house, a
few class-rooms, and the skeleton of a fine large church
were erected, but unfortunately never completedi
" No English missionary was near enough to give oversight
to the work, and the Archbishop did not prove equal to the
1 See a published letter confirming this statement signed
S. Angl. Hieros to the Bishop of Ohio, October 4, 1875, in
Document V, Oriental Churches. General Convention of the
American Church, 1879. Archbishop Meguerditch seceded
from the Armenian Church in 1865.
2 Aintab, the mediaeval Hamtab, is a large garrison city, 65
miles N.N. E. of Aleppo, in the Aleppo ViMyet, with a population
of about 80,000 (Moslems 55,000, Armenians 20,000, Protestants
5,000).

MEGUERDITCH'S CONGREGATIONS 145
Work of organizing so large arid delicate a movement. The
political element was a hindrance, arid in 1895 the work of
all the Churches was thrown into confusion by the well-
kn'own Armenian massacres. The church property suffered
sortie damage, the "congregations were demoralized, for
communications were practically cut off, and the Arch
bishop never seemed to recover from this great shock.
The work begari to languish, he passed away in 1903, x and
was buried in the unfinished vestry of his church at Aintab.
"The Roman Catholic relatives of the Archbishop
1 The Archbishop entered into rest in January 1904, and was
buried by the Rev. M. G. Papazian, senior pastor of the Haik
Evangelical Church, Aintab. In the Life of Archibald Campbell
Tail, .Archbishop of Canterbury, pp. 521-2, Vol. ii, Third Edition
(London: Macmillan & Co., 1891), a curious footnote is attached
to the amusing text : " This ex-Armenian Archbishop had been
long in correspondence with Archbishop Tait, and had come
to England, November 16, 1879, in great poverty and distress,
on purpose to consult him. The difficulty was how to encourage
the old man's reforming zeal without allowing hiiri to become a
mere imitator of Anglicanism. The advice which had been
given him by Bishop Gobat of Jerusalem did not altogether
commend itself to Archbishop Tait."
I have in my possession a copy of the licence given by Arch
bishop Meguerditch "to the Deacon Yegiha Coujegelian, after
his ordination kt Aintab on September 13, 1895. This extra
ordinary document proves how unfit the Archbishop was to
represent Anglican interests in Asia Minor.
.In 1880 the Archbishop published in London an Armeno-
Turkish foolscap 8vo edition of the Book of Common Prayer,
which was in use at Aintab on Easter Day 1907. The parts
imperfectly translated are : Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer,
the Creed of St. Athanasius, the Litany, the prayer for All
Conditions of Men, A General Thanksgiving, Holy Communion,
Public Baptism of Infants, Churching of Women, the Catechism,
the Order of Confirmation, the Solemnization of Matrimony, the
Burial of the Dead.
The parts omitted are : the Preface, the Kalendar, Prayers
and Thanksgivings upon several occasions; The Collect, Epistles
arid Gospels, Order of Private Baptism, The Order of Baptism
for Those of Riper Years, The Order for the Visitation of the
Sick, A Commination, The Psalter, Forms of Prayer to be used
at Sea, The Form and Manner of Ordaining and Consecration
of Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
K

1 46 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
took possession of the episcopal residence 1 and other
property ; an ignorant deacon usurped authority, secured
the Archbishop's official papers, with the title deeds, and
attempted to hand over the church and property to the
Ancient Armenian Church. The congregation resisted, a
riot ensued, and the Turkish police authorities took pos
session of the keys of the church. The church remained
closed for eighteen months, during which time many
petitions and deputations were sent to the Anglican Bishop
in Jerusalem, begging of him to take charge of these
distressed congregations. At length his lordship authorized
me to go and examine into their difficulties, and advise
how best to relieve them. As a result of my visit in August
1906, the key and the official papers were recovered,
the church was re-opened, and the congregation was re
organized under the temporary charge of the Rev. M: G.
Papazian, B.D. About ^30 were at once collected in
the city, and a few necessary repairs were immediately
taken in hand.
" In April 1907, the Ven. Archdeacon Dowling accom
panied me on a second visit,2 and on this occasion I extended
my journey to Marash, where I found a very earnest and
warmhearted congregation which had been kept together by
the faithful exertions of a priest and deacon, who were
ordained by Archbishop Meguerditch. Important arrange
ments were made with a view to their official recognition
as Native Episcopal congregations under the jurisdiction
of the Bishop in Jerusalem, in accordance with the laws
that govern the recognized Episcopal congregations in
Palestine and other partsof the Ottoman Empire.
" A very able professor of the Central Turkish College
(Prof. Levonian, Ph.B.)3 has. undertaken the duties of
1 It is still occupied by the late Archbishop's Roman Catholic
relations. 2 On Easter Day I was invited to preach in the new
unfinished Armenian Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin in
Aintab, to a congregation of 4,000, holding a Gavazan (Vartabet
stick) in my right hand, the Rev. Vahan K. Guldalian kindly
interpreting' each sentence into Turkish.
3 Burnt alive by Turks, with nine other ministers within a
church at Osmaniyeh, on the Adana plain, April 11, 1909.

MEGUERDITCH'S CONGREGATIONS 147
honorary superintendent, and will be licensed to the Aintab
Church as a lay reader. He is much beloved by the clergy
and laity of the Ancient Armenian Church, as well as by
the members of the Reformed Congregation. His nephew,
who is also a junior instructor in the Central Turkey College,
has gone to Haifa to be prepared by Archdeacon Dowling
for ordination as deacon. The priest and deacon of Marash
are also to come to Haifa for instruction before they receive
a licence from the Bishop. Now that the railway is com
pleted to Aleppo, it is possible to reach Aintab from Beyrout
in two days, and the Bishop has authorized me, as the
Chaplain in Beyrout, to take the oversight of the congrega
tions, and pay periodical visits to Aintab and Marash until
it is possible to appoint a resident priest-in-charge.
"There are three large self-supporting congregational
churches in Aintab, and three in Marash, with membership
between them of over 9,000 persons. There is every
reason to suppose that Episcopal congregations will also
speedily become self-supporting, and to this end it is
necessary to complete the churches and other buildings as
soon as possible, for, at present, the church is uninhabitable
in the winter. With a little outside help the church can be
finished and furnished, the congregation will then be kept
together, and an income will be forthcoming to support a
pastor. " The Ecclesiastical Authorities of the Ancient Armenian
Church have strongly urged us to come and develop our
work in Aintab and Aleppo.1 In the latter place thousands
of Armenians have gone over to the Roman Catholic
Church for political reasons, and the Bishop begs us to help
him to preserve the integrity of his congregations by sending
him some trained teachers for their schools.2
" In Aintab itself their adherents number 20,000, but
their one beautiful Cathedral will only accommodate 4,000,
so that nearly 16,000 are shut out from attending Divine
Service on Sundays ; and the Government will not give the
Armenians permission to build new churches. The spread
1 In Aleppo there are 7,000 Armenians, 80,000 outside its im
mediate neighbourhood.
2 There are about 600 children in the excellent Armenian
schools at Aleppo.
K 2

148 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
of education has kept alive the reforming instinct that
prevailed in the early days of Archbishop Meguerditch with
the additional advantage that the political element has
worked itself out, and vigorous new movements of an
evangelistic nature are stirring the very heart of the larger
congregations in sortie ofthe cities of Asia Minor.
"An appeal is haade for a little tirtiely assistance. ^£500
will ehable us to consolidate this good work at once."

ARMENIAN PROTESTANTS
It is impossible to obtain accurate statistics in
Turkey as to the number of Armenian Protestants
who have left their parent Church. They are mainly
the fruit of American Congregationalist and Presby
terian labours. Their first missionaries reached Syria
in 1 8 19.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions have their offices at Congregational House,
Boston, and are undertaking mission and educational
work among Armenians and others in their Western
Turkey Mission, Central Turkey Mission, and East
ern Turkey Mission. The publications of the Con-
gregationalists have to a considerable degree raised
the standard of education among portions of
Armenians, by putting into their hands cheap copies
of the Holy Scriptures.
The American varieties of the Bible in whole, or in
part, consist of: (1) Modern Armenian; (2) Ancient
Armenian ; (3) Ararat Armenian ; (4) Arrrieno-
Turkish ; (5) Armeno-Kurdish. They also supply
manuals of the ordinary colloquial language, and
develop the modern Armenian as a literary language.
At the same time they have spared neither pains
nor opportunities to propagate Protestant ideas,
commentaries on the Holy Scriptures, religious tracts
and journals which have formed the literary means
of making Armenians familiar with the theories of a

ARMENIAN PROTESTANTS 14.9
ministry without an Episcopate* At the same time,
I am bound to express my admiration of the excellent
educational work which is being so successfully carried
on in four of their colleges with which I am acquainted.
An Anglican Churchman naturally prefers that
such work in Cilicia should be conducted on lines so
wisely inaugurated by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dr. Benson, The aim of " the Archbishop's Mission
to the Assyrian Christians " is clearly set forth in the
following sentence : " Our object in sending out these
two priests is not to bring over these Christians to the
communion of the Church of England, nor to alter
their ecclesiastical customs and traditions, nor to
change any doctrines held by them which are not
contrary to that Faith which the HOLY SPIRIT has
taught as necessary to be believed by all Christians,
but to encourage them in bettering their religious
condition, and to strengthen an ancient Church."
American Protestant colleges are in good working
order at Constantinople, Smyrna, Aintab, Tarsus,
Marsovan, Karput, and Beirut,1
There are high schools at Baghchejik, Sivas,
Talas, Marash, Aintab, Hadjin, Urfa, etc. ; theolo
gical schools are in existence at Marash, Karput,
and Marsovan.
Colleges for girls exist at Constantinople (Scutari),
Brussa, Baghchejik, Marash, as well as many high
schools for girls.
There are two schools for the blind at Marash and
Urfa ; also hospitals at Aintab, Adana, etc., as well as
orphanages at Adana, Marash, Urfa, Deortyol, and
Kessab. At Marash in 190? there were 1,294 boys in the
1 This last-mentioned college is not solely for Armenians.
Mr. Lynch (Vol. ii, pp. 93~95), when referring to the
American Mission at Van, understands " that the making of
proselytes is no special or paramount object of the teaching
which they dispense."

150 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
American Protestant schools, under 46 Armenian
teachers. In every American college there is a branch of the
Young Men's Christian Association. Abdul-Hamid II
forbade any instruction being given in these colleges
on the History of Armenia.
ARMENIAN MASSACRES FROM 1894-I9O9
An Armenian friend from Marash has supplied me
with a list of Armenians killed and massacred in
1 Turkey between 1 894-1909, amounting in number
to 600,000.
In April 1909, the massacres at Adana, Tarsus,
Antioch, Kessab, and many villages in the Vilayet of
Adana and Aleppo amounted to between 20,000 and
30,000. Some 80,000 lost their property, and over
25,000 were left utterly destitute. These Armenians ,
have left behind them some 5,000 orphans. Instead
of entering into painful details which affected all
these points, it must suffice to quote the exact
description of the Rev. Dr. James Martin, the
missionary physician at Antioch —
"The Massacre of the Armenians in Antioch.
"About Thursday, the 15th April, 1909, there arrived in
Antioch a person claiming high rank and authority, said to
be the head of a Mohammedan society whose 'members
devoted their lives even to death for religion and country.'
He assembled the leading Mohammedans and harangued
them. Next day (Friday) the Christians of the town
observed with some concern that nearly every Mohamme
dan's shop was closed, and that not only as is customary, some
of the Mohammedans, but all of them went to the mosques
to their Friday prayers. On the evening of that day and
the next, great meetings of the principal Mohammedans
of the town were, as we now learn, held in the houses of
their chief men. Meantime the Christians were further
alarmed, observing that the Mohammedans were buying up

ARMENIAN MASSACRES 151
arms and ammunition. Then passed quietly the Sabbath
day and much of Monday. The Mohammedans were
very carefully and Craftily concealing their designs.
"On Sabbath evening, the 18th, the British Vice-Consul
called on me and requested that I would compose and
write out for him an urgent telegram to the British Con
sulate at Aleppo. The telegram stated the threatening
aspect of affairs here, asked the Consulate to apply to the
Governor-General for protection for those for whom the
Vice-Consulate is responsible, and also suggested the Con
sulate ask the Embassy to send warships to Swedea (Bay
of Antioch). The latter clause was added greatly on behalf
of the Armenians here and between Antioch and the sea,
whose safety in the massacre of fourteen years ago we
believed mainly owing to the arrival of warships for which
we then applied. When the Vice-Consul tried to dispatch
this telegram he was met with such objections and con
ditions as he felt meant refusal of his telegram. . We then
wrote a short letter, which, with a copy of the telegram, the
Vice-Consul dispatched to the Aleppo Consulate by special
messenger. On Monday the Armenians felt too alarmed to
open their shops. The local government and their asso
ciates practised diligently and all too successfully a policy
of deceit, and putting the Armenians off their guard, pre
vented their concerting any measures of self-defence or for
escape. " Thus, in the afternoon the authorities of the town, with
the Mohammedan chiefs, sent plausible assurances to the
Armenians, and saying : ' Why do you not open your
shops? You have nothing to fear,' invited them to a
' friendly conference ' . in the Armenian Church building.
The Armenians went, including their Bishop of Antioch,
another bishop who was a visitor from a distance, and one
or more priests. The Armenians passed sherbet and coffee
around to their Mohammedan visitors, while the latter
addressed them with professions of friendship and assur
ances of ' peace, peace.' That meeting to proclaim liberty
and fraternity had not concluded when already the mas
sacre began. As the bishops and people went to pay their
respects to their visitors as they withdrew, their ears were
greeted with the agonizing screams and cries and woeful

152 THE ARMENIAN. CHURCH
lamentations, of their people in a distant part of, their
quarter, where the assault was first made. With the most
urgent entreaties they begged the Governor of Antioch and
his suite the lives of the people ; but no regard was made
to their moving, melting supplications.
"Arms and ammunition had been supplied at the Govern
ment barracks to the military reserves, and to volunteers, for
the purpose of the massacre, and at the barracks those
whose ammunition had become exhausted had it renewed.
" Those braves (?) wept, and filling the Armenian wards
of the town, broke, into the dwellings, shot ^d aided by
butchers, then slaughtered like sheep the principal males of
each family of unoffending and unarmed people.
" What a heartrending cry was that which went up from
the Armenian quarter of Antioch as the bloody and deceit
ful men carried out their mission of murder throughout
that night, and days and nights following, till,, save only orie
man hidden in a well (now one of our Refugees) not a male
over sixteen years old was left alive here ! The two
bishops and the priest, with fourteen others hidden in a
cave in their church building, were discovered, and were
slaughtered, the bishops and priest being subjected to
special tortures and most revolting indignities; besides
that, a bible being fixed upon the breast of one bishop,
it was there set fire to, and burned together with the
bishop's beard, etc.
"Next morning chief Mohammedans went to the
Armenians' houses and took forcible possession of the
women, saying to them : ' We will find you other hus
bands.' Young women were carried off to the hills by the
worst class of the assailants. The houses were robbed of
everything, not so much as a pin being left. Even the
shoes were pulled off the feet of the women,
"Men who had been able to run to Mount Silpius, be
hind the town, and to its dens and caves, were pursued by
crowds of the assassins, who in every possible hiding-place
sought them out as ' appointed unto death.' As for funerals,
there was at first ' none to bury them, when they were slain
and dead.' At length, many corpses, were cast into the
river Orontes; very many were thrown into a great pit,
which I have visited, and were covered with dust of the

ARMENIAN MASSACRES, 153
dung-hill, and some men, I am assured, ^yere there' buried
while yet alive. There was much, both in the preparation
and the perpetration, to, suggest that the leading assassins
might have been studying the methods of the Duke of
Alva, and of the Bartholomew Massacre.
" Meantime, Armenians who resided in other quarters of
the town, and in the villages in the immediate vicinity,
were being pursued and killed. Some having leaped for life
into the river were shot there.
"A man who was understood to be in close relation with
the assassins came to our gate and sent me intimation, that
if I had any Armenians I had better drive them out if I
wished my house to escape assault. I had then Armenian
refugees, already not a few. But I paid, of course, no heed
to his threat by which it was attempted to get hold of those
Armenians. " On the day when the massacre began, as it grew towards
evening and firing could be heard in the direction of the
Armenian quarter, the Vice-Consul, who is our next neigh
bour, called to me from a window, inviting me to come with
all my family into his house, the Vice-Consulate, whither he
had already a day or two before gathered all his Antioch
relatives. The members of our congregation with their
families were already running for protection into our mission
grounds. I believe not one of our people chose the Vice-
Consulate for refuge.
" 1 mentioned to my wife the kind invitation of the Vice-
Consul, adding that I would myself remain with our people
who were refugees in our mission grounds, but that I would
take her and the rest of the family into the Vice- Consulate
if she so chose. Mrs- M.'s affecting answer began : ' Where
you are, there I will be.' Her sister's reply was to the same
effect. "We hung out an old tattered British flag from our
balcony. "Refugees of different sects pressed into our grounds in
increasing numbers till we had that night about four hundred
and forty. Passing around from, company to. company of
them, from this original mission building, to our new
Church-building, and to our new School-building, I prayed
with and for the assembled; people. And such was the

154 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
first religious service conducted in our new Church-
building. " Our quarter and the Armenian quarter are at opposite
ends of the town ; and happily we heard little of the-unmiti-
gated, unrelieved, horrors of the night. Of those few of
our members who spent that night at home, one whose
residence is in some way within the town said to me that
the miserable, woeful shrieks and cries of the people from
the direction of the Armenian quarter that night he ' can
never forget so long as he lives.'
" Moreover, terror had seized the whole non-Mohammedan
population, and it increased. On the night following that
on which the massacre commenced our refugees had grown
in numbers from some four hundred and forty to about
seven hundred. And on the next night they numbered
about one thousand, chiefly Greek Church people ; the
same number or more continuing with us for some ten days.
" On that second night after the massacre began, we here
had a frightful alarm. It was then attempted, by the red-
handed, blood-thirsty, loot-thirsty assassins, to proceed and
extend the massacre to all non-Mohammedans, beginning
with our district.
" Shortly after midnight, a great clamour arose at a point
between this mission compound and the barracks. The
latter are only some three hundred yards distant, and no
building intervenes. A trumpet sound pealed, such as our
refugees understood to mean a signal for assault, and which
filled them with the utmost terror.
"The British Vice-Consul, much alarmed, called to me
from a window, ' Be on your guard,' and as I am informed,
he called to some of my people ' We are gone.' A great
crowd of the ' Reserves ' had assembled between the
Barracks and this house for the purpose of proceeding to
assault this district of the town. This building was about
the first thing in their intended path.
"Then, above the dreadful tumult, was heard the loud
voice of the Commander at the Barracks, not only com
manding, but by everything they held sacred entreating
them to desist. And only by the greatest efforts did he
succeed in keeping them from their purpose.
" The Commander that night was an officer of rank,

ARMENIAN MASSACRES 155
whose family's medical attendant I have often been, and
who has been my very warm friend these many years. On
the following day, this Commander, without any communi
cation from me, sent me his special salutations, and bade
me to have no fears.
"My Armenian refugees numbered then about 170. There
were other bands of refugees at other places in town, as the
French Vice-Consulate, etc. Mine grew later, to 215 or
more; including 66 orphans under eleven years of age,
besides those aged from eleven to twenty, but including
only 1 7 men. I cannot now write the harrowing particulars
of the experiences of any of these, especially distressing in
the case of some of them.
" From writing this account I quite shrank, and I have
not penned it without tears. The massacre of Kassab fol
lowed on the 23rd. On the afternoon of Sabbath the 25th,
just when I descended from conducting here an open-air
service which was largely attended, a telegram addressed to
me by the British Vice-Consulate at Alexandretta was put
into my hands, announcing in response to our diligent
applications, that a British ship of war would arrive that
night at Swedea, Bay of Antioch. The assassins were on
their way from Kassab to attack the Armenian villages of
the Orontes Valley of some eight thousand inhabitants.
On the arrival of the warship Triumph they stopped their
march, and I have not been certified of any further
massacres since.
"James Martin."

" The Friends of Armenia,'' 47, Victoria Street, London, S. W.,
have lately published an illustrated Penny Booklet, entitled,
After the Massacre : The Story of a Martyred People.

APPENDIX I
An interesting feature in the Church of St. James the
Just, Jerusalem, is the character of its decoration, which
bears evidence of influences geographically widely distant :
Chinese and Japanese tiles, Indian hangings, French em
broideries, silken carpets are combined with the finest and
choicest productions of the Nearer East. The jewelled
reliquaries, monstrances, mitres, crosiers, are probably
unique in value and artistic beauty, and the amateur of
church embroidery admitted to the sight of the immense
collection, of embroidered and jewelled vestments and altar
frontals1 will enjoy an opportunity possibly Unrivalled in
the religious world. The Cathedral is adorned with large
numbers of paintings which, though less primitive and
conventional in style than those of other Oriental churches,
are for the most part of little artistic value.
A great treasure is the alleged Chair of St. James the
Just, which stands on the north side of the sanctuary, and
on festal occasions is gorgeously draped, but usually remains
empty.2 It is not surprising that the report of such treasure should
at various times have excited the cupidity of the Turkish
Government, but as the Armenian population in Jerusalem
is all gathered together into the surrounding district,
honourably known for its extreme cleanliness, there have
always been means at hand for defence.
During the period of the rule of Ibrahim Pasha (1832-
1841) heavy taxes were laid upon this Armenian Convent,
possibly in the expectation of forcing the exhibition of
1 Inner ferusalem, A. Goodrich Freer, p. 116. (Archibald
Constable & Co., Ltd., 1904.)
2 Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, vii, 19.
156

C4

APPENDIX I

iS7

evidence of their wealth. They met the occasion, however,
by the sale of portable household property, and to this day
it is possible, especially in the Jewish quarter of the Holy
City, to recover fine bowls and dishes of engraved pewter
and silver bearing Armenian inscriptions generally record
ing their presentation to the convent.
An interesting historical reminder of this Egyptian occu
pation of Jerusalem is to be found in the southern wall of
the Armenian property, which is of singular appearance,
constructed without cement, like other " dry walls " of the
district, but of carefully hewn stones of superior quality.
,The Armenian Patriarch (Bogos), it is related, received
permission from Ibrahim Pasha to enclose his property on
condition of his using no mortar, a wall so constructed (the
usual " dry wall " of the country) being useless for purposes
of defence, as the irregularity of unhewn stones makes it
easily possible to overturn it. Armenian readiness and
ingenuity solved the problem, and this wall of some seventy
years' standing is still in excellent condition.

APPENDIX II
Before going to press, after correcting the proof at Bovey
Tracey, S. Devon, the Vicar of the Parish Church, the
Reverend H. B. Hyde (Archdeacon of Madras from 1905-
19 10), kindly lent me his copy of Melodies of the Holy
Apostolic Catholic Church of Armenia. The Liturgy as sung
in ordinary, during Lent, and on Festivals, written down in
modern notation and privately printed by Amy Apcar, 4to,
Calcutta, 1897.
The following remarks are adapted from the Introductory
Note, etc., in the above-mentioned Melodies.
The conditions of modern life amongst Armenians, so
different from their isolated existence of other days, are fast
leading to the corruption and final extinction of these
ancient melodies of liturgical song. Gold and silver, costly
jewels, richly embroidered vestments and draperies, are all,
it would appear, to be found in Armenian churches, each
taking part in beautifying one of the most dignified of
ancient rituals, while not a thought is spent on that crown
ing touch of beauty given to the service of God by the most
spiritual of arts.
When Archbishop Thaddseus came to the diocese of
Julfa, in Ispahan, 1850, he had already won in Etchmiad2in
a great reputation for his knowledge of ecclesiastical melo
dies, and for the purity of his style in singing, according to
the ancient modes. In Julfa, owing to the isolated position
of the colony, the old traditional way of singing had hitherto
been preserved intact. Finding, however, that it was fast
deteriorating, and in danger of being entirely lost, he
revived the ancient style by personally training, according
to his own singing, the choir boys and future priests of his
diocese. It was from the singing of one of the best known
158

APPENDIX II 159
of these at the present day, by Ter Poack Hyrapiet Jacob,
parish priest of the Holy Church of Nazareth, Calcutta,
that the melodies which are printed in the above-mentioned
book for the first time have been written down by Miss
Apcar note for note, re-written, and revised again and again,
until Father Jacob expressed himself satisfied with the
result. The effort of memory involved in this old-world
singing, especially of the complicated and elaborate festival
hymns, occurring only once in the year, seems marvellous.
We are told that Father Jacob knows nothing of music, and
has never sung to any instrument. His singing is an in
heritance that has been handed down by tradition from
century to century, for perhaps fourteen hundred years.
But in the unchanging East oral tradition has ever been the
great factor in the preservation of ancient lore.
The present publication is in three parts. The first con
tains the Divine Liturgy as sung in ordinary, the Armenian
text being taken from the authorized versions used in Cal
cutta, and the English translation being an entirely new one,
printed privately by Miss Amy Apcar for the first time. As
the text and the translation are printed side by side, a
person, even with a very slight knowledge of the Armenian
tongue, can easily understand the Liturgy, when present in
church. The second and third parts give respectively the
hymns sung during Lent and festivals.
The study of the Liturgy shows that the parts audibly
taken by the celebrant are small. The greater portion
consists of hymns, long and short litanies, and versicles and
responses by the choir, who during the Divine Liturgy are
divided into deacons or acolytes or choristers. The recita
tions of the celebrant, while having a character of their own,
are yet not without suggestions of the mode of priestly
intoning in the churches of the West. The tunes to which
the hymns are set are dignified, stately, witnessing to a
devout spirit. Nothing could be more admirable than their
religious tone and temper. In some of them it is not
difficult to detect a remote kinship with well-known Greek
modes. Eastern music, as a rule, sounds strange and harsh to
ears accustomed to the smoothly-flowing melodies of the
West. The general style and modal endings of these

l6o APPENDIX II
ancient Armenian airs are characteristically Oriental. Fre
quently we meet with strahge progressions, while on every
page are quaint cadences which help, to maintain the
compositions in a monastic atmosphere. The entire effect
of these melodies lies in the expression with which they
should be rendered. If that be wanting, their true beauty
and grand solemnity cannot be realized. Power there is in
this old-world music in such measure as is but rarely given
to modern chants; power of thought, of feeling, and of
expression. Armenian ecclesiastical melodies; without instrumental
accompaniments, are sung according to eight modes which
were arranged by SS. Isaac and Mesrob, in the fifth
century, no doubt from the Greek modes, although they
cannot now be said to correspond entirely with these.
In a Dictionary written by Mechitar, the founder of the
Armenian Roman Catholic Monastery at Venice, and pub
lished in 1749, mention is made of several musical instru
ments formerly used in Armenian churches. From the
description given they appear to have been of the nature of
cymbals, triangles, large and small bells, striking different
notes. The only one of these which still survives in some
churches is the K'shuerts, not however as an instrument of
music, but simply as bells, sounded out at different portions
of the service. No doubt the necessity of avoiding any
thing which might attract attention to religious services in
times of persecution led to the disuse of these instruments.
It is clear, however, that a musical accompaniment to the
hymns would, in Armenian churches, be no innovation, but
rather a revival of an ancient custom, and it is a revival
which has already taken place at St. George's Church,
Fokchany, Roumania ; at Constantinople ; at St. Stephen's
Church, Smyrna; and at Calcutta.

Richard Clay &> Sons, Limited, London and Bungay.