Within the framework of Iravaban.net’s “The Church and the Law” series of interviews, we talked about the Golden Age of the Armenian Church with Father Shahe Hayrapetyan, the priest of the Ararat St. Sargis Vicarial Church of the Ararat Patriarchal Diocese.
– The Golden Age of the history of the Armenian Church started at the beginning of the 5th century with the invention of letters. Please introduce the essence of the Golden Age.
– The Golden Age goes back to Edessa, to the realm of King Abgar. It was at his request that the apostle Thaddeus first brought the Bible from Jerusalem, and the first translation took place in Edessa. It was after that when based on it Gregory the Illuminator invited the Greek and Assyrian priests to present the translated Bible in Armenian.
Why the Golden Age was important to us, first the Bible was available in the Armenian language and later it was described as the Queen’s translations.
– Can you tell us about the Armenian translation of the Bible, church ritual books, works of famous Christian authors and its necessity?
– When the apostle Thaddeus came to the Armenian world, the first worship services in the churches were psalms. 150 psalms were the basis of our chronicle. Along with the chronicle, the hymns began to flourish, as well as the rhetoric, the behavioral materials, that is, the Armenian Matenadaran was filled.
Our genetic thinking is far from us, that’s why foreign, worthless materials find a place in us, but we forget that we are the result of a serious civilization, and it is, unfortunately, stored in basements.
– Is it possible to imagine the Golden Age of chronology without church and religion?
– It’s the same as telling me whether Adam was a secular or a religious man. He had God in front of his eyes every second. If we look at all the ancient nations, there is no nation without religion. If we visit the state of Israel, we will see that we are in a religious state, that is, without the church there is no salvation, no people, and no civilization. It was in the 18th century that “new enlighteners” came forward, declaring that thought was no longer in the forefront and that religion was being forgotten. Since then, genocides, fascism and world wars have been in full swing.
– Father Shahe, in general, what is necessary to know about the Golden Age of the Armenian Church?
– In order to know, we must ask for wisdom for our leaders, so that at least Grabar (Classical Armenian) is included as a course, because the Armenian language will no longer be closed to the world. They come to the Matenadaran and take our genetic thinking and change it the way they want. They do not allow the Armenians to present their culture and this is where our tragedy begins. If my child learns Old Armenian, he will have free access to the Matenadaran and will perform miracles.
Details in the video
