THE

ARMENIAN CHURCH
FOUNDED BY
Jbt. <0regorp tfje Si^uminator.

BEING a SKETCH OF THE

HISTORY, LITURGY, DOCTRINE, AND
CEREMONIES, s
OF THIS ANCIENT NATIONAL CHURCH.
BY
E. F. K. FORTESCUE.
WITH AN APPENDIX BY
THE REV. S. C. MALAN,
VICAR OF BRUAOIV1N!)SOK, ETC.

J®'* W\ ftHi -fitcfjinr^..

LONDON :
J. T. HAYES, LYALL PLACE, EATON SQUARE; AND
4, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

THIS WORK
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE
MEMBERS OF
THE EASTERN CHURCH ASSOCIATION.
AND
THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE UNION OF
CHRISTENDOM,
AS THESE TWO SOCIETIES — THE ONE BY ITS WORK, THE
OTHER BY ITS PRAYERS  HAVE FOR THEIR OBJECT
THE RE-UNION OF CHRISTENDOM,
WHICH MAY IT PLEASE ALMIGHTY GOD IN HiS OWN
GOOD TIME TO ACCOMPLISH.

LIST OF CONTENTS.

-*-

PAGE
Preface ......... 9
History ......... 17
The Calendar  . 40
The Divine Liturgy  55
Churches .  117
Etchmiadzine  121
Church Government  125
Vestments  133
The Holy Bible  137
The Liturgy  150
Rites and Ceremonies  184
The Uniat Armenians  194
Protestant Armenians  207

6 Contents. PAGE
Doctrine . . . . . . . . .211
Anglican and Armenian Liturgies . . 222
Notes  - 322

APPENDIX.
(Translations by the Rev. S. C. Malan.)
Confession of Faith  245
Rite of Holy Baptism  291

LIST OF ETCHINGS.

PAGE

View of Etchmiadzine (Frontispiece)
Cathedral Church of the Only-Begotten 17
Interior of an Armenian Church . 57
Crucifixion, from an Armenian Missal 88
Interior of Church of S. Lazar at Venice 117
A Basilian Monk 121
An Armenian Bishop 125
A Priest in Eucharistic Vestments . 133
An Armenian Deacon 137
Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament 150
Convent of St. Lazar, near Venice . 194

ERRATA.

Page 23, line 8, for Theven, read Drain.
„ 24, „ 23, „ Patriarch „ Catholicos.
„ 39, „ 7, „ Carapiet II. „ Carapiet I. {restored?]
„ 40, „ 20, ,, Nahapiet „ Carapiet II.
„ 95, ,, 2, ., Oscan „ Husik.
„ „ „ 3, after Daniel, insert " of."
„ 96, „ 27, for right side, read left side.
„ 143, .. 7 and i,for S. John the Divine, read S. Athanasius.
„ 199, „ 11, after Latin Council of 1869-70, add and the con
sequent attempted deprivation of National Rites.
Page 199, line 19, for present Patriarch, read late Patriarch.

PREFACE.

The account given of the Armenian Church in
the following pages will, it is hoped, give a
general idea of the Liturgy, Rites, Usages, and
History of an ancient National Church, which
has been too long separated from its Patriarchal
See, but which at various times has protested
against its isolated position, and is now making
an effort in the direction of Reunion with the
Orthodox Eastern Church.
There are in different parts of Her Majesty's
dominions a large number of Armenians, and
this work was commenced with the idea of pro
ducing their Liturgy in a language that with
them has almost become vernacular, but the

i o Preface.
Author was advised to add to this such an
account as would convey some idea to English
people generally as to the position of this ancient
and Apostolic Church which has for so many
centuries remained isolated from the rest of
Christendom. This he has in the following
pages attempted to do.
The Author, some few years ago, being in
Calcutta, constantly attended the Armenian
Church of Holy Nazareth in that city ; and in
order to understand the service followed it by
means of a MS. copy of Dr. Neale's translation of
the Liturgy, copied from his " Introduction to
the History of the Holy Eastern Church." This
MS. was seen by several Armenians, who eagerly
copied it, and asked that it might be printed, as
many of them having been educated in England
had lost the knowledge of the ecclesiastical
dialect in which the Liturgy is performed, which
differs very considerably from the language as it
is now spoken.

Preface. 1 1
The Author was unwilling to do this until he
had carefully compared Dr. Neale's translation
(which he had received permission to reprint) with
the original. This he was able to do by the
kind assistance- of Ter Epiphan Gregory, a priest
attached to the Church in Calcutta. It happened
that, at that time the principal Vartabed of the
Convent of St. James in Jerusalem, Ter Nierces,
had been sent on a mission by the Patriarch of
Jerusalem to Calcutta. This Prelate took the
greatest interest in the work, and gave the
Author much assistance in comparing Dr. Neale's
translation, in compiling the Calendar, and in
giving an idea of the ecclesiastical state of the
country, and the habits of the clergy. He was
good enough also to cause a Priest -to vest before
the author, and pointed out the use and mystical
meaning of the various vestments he assumed.
Many of the statements made in this book were
submitted to him for criticism, and met with his
entire approval.

1 2 Preface.
The Liturgy, then, is a reprint of Dr Neale's
translation of the Armenian Liturgy, altered and
corrected by a copy in Armenian of the " Book
of Prayers relating to the Performance of the
Mystery," printed at Jerusalem, in 1841, at the
Press of the Convent of St. James the Apostle,
bearing the imprimatur of Zachariah, Patriarch
of Jerusalem, Stephen, Patriarch of Constan
tinople, and the Catholicos of Etchmiadzine.
This edition gives only the Prayers said by
the Priest ; the Litanies sung by the Deacon, and
the Hymns chanted by the Choir, are printed in a
separate book ; only the first few words of each
Hymn or Anthem being printed in the Priest's
book. These latter are in the text inserted be
tween brackets. The Rubrics and directions are
gathered from various sources, and do not pur
port to be an exact translation of this original,
but they are given to enable those attending the
service to know what is being said or done at
any particular time by the various ministers;

Preface. 13
they have been gathered from several books,
and corrected by personal observation, and from
information received from the above mentioned
ecclesiastics. It will be seen that the parts of
the service that are said aloud are printed in
larger type than the " Secreta."
The following books have also been con
sulted : — the " Liturgia Armenia, trasportata in
Italiano," by P. Gabriele Avedichian, Vicar-
General of the Mechitaristic Monks. Venice:
1826. The " Liturgie de la Messe Arme-
nienne," translated into French by Monsig.
Lapostolest. Venice : 1851 (these two are Uniat
Rites), and Le Brun's " Translation of the Ar
menian Liturgy into Latin."
For the description of Ceremonies, History
Notes, etc., besides information given by the
ecclesiastics before mentioned, the works of Dr.
Neale, Mouravieff, Palmer, Gibbon, Mosheim,
Le Brun, and Chamick's History of Armenia,
completed to the time of the Catholicos,

14 Preface.
Ephrem by the late Mr. Avdall, of Calcutta,
have been consulted. This latter gentleman
was kind enough to afford the author much
assistance in various ways. Most unfortunately,
MSS. translations of the Baptismal Service, and
selections from other Offices, were lost in the
post ; but the author feels that his loss has been
more than made up for by Mr. Malan's Ap
pendix, to whom he takes this opportunity of
expressing his best thanks ; as also to Canon
Humble, of St. Ninian's Cathedral, Perth ; and
Padre Issaverdenz, of the Convent of St. Lazar,
near Venice, for whose kind aid and assistance
he feels much indebted.
The illustrations are taken from various
sources : that of the Cathedral of the Only-
Begotten is copied from Dr. Neale's " Intro
duction;" and the Benediction with the Blessed
Sacrament, from Monsig. Lapostolest's French
edition of the " Armenian (Uniat) Rite."
With these few words of preface, the author

Preface. 15
commends this book to those members of the
English and Armenian Churches who are look
ing and longing for a reunited Christendom, in
the hope that it may contribute, in however small
a degree, to the attainment of so blessed a con
summation. E. F. K. F.
All Saints' Day, 1873.

HISTORY.

The seeds of the Christian faith were, according
to the commonly received tradition, sown in
Armenia by St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas,
who are said to have baptized King Abkar, the
prince mentioned in the spurious Gospels as
having offered an asylum to Our Blessed Lord,
when persecuted by the Jews. Christianity
flourished in this country during the early part
of the second century, but by the middle of the
third had almost disappeared, owing to the con
stant invasions of the Persians and the inroads
of the wild Sarmatian tribes.
The revival of Christianity dates from the
time of the great Apostle of Armenia, St.
Gregory the Illuminator, who was born in 257.
This saint was the son of a prince of Armenia
named Anah. who, having led a conspiracy
against the head of his tribe, was killed, and his
whole family, except St. Gregory, perished.
The saint, then a child, was saved by his nurse,
c

1 8 The Armenian Church.
a Christian woman, and carried by her to
Cassarea, where, being brought up in the Chris
tian faith, he, early in life, married Mary, the
daughter of a wealthy Christian inhabitant of
that place. By this marriage he had two sons,
both of whom afterwards became Bishops of
Armenia. St. Gregory early in life went to Rome, and
on his return from that city visited his native
town, Valarshapat ; where, having refused to
sacrifice at a large idolatrous feast, he was thrown
into prison, and remained a captive for nearly
fourteen years. At the end of this time, having
miraculously healed the sister of King Tiridates,
who was suffering from an incurable disease, he
obtained his release from prison, and immediately
recommenced preaching the faith, and before
many years converted the whole country between
the Caspian Sea and the River Euphrates.
St. Gregory was consecrated Bishop by a
Nicene Father, St. ' Leontius, at Caesarea, and
shortly afterwards became chief Bishop of the
churches in Armenia and Georgia. He changed
the name of the seat of his bishopric from
Valarshapat to Etchmiadzine, meaning the

History. 1 9
descent of the " Only-Begotten," in honour of
a certain vision of Our Lord, which had con
stantly given him comfort during his long im
prisonment. In 331 St. Gregory retired to a
monastery on Mount Sepuls, where he resided
until his death. He was succeeded by his son
Aristaces, who caused his father's remains to be
translated to a church which he founded near
Etchmiadzine. This prelate, who was present at
the Council of Nicasa, brought back to Armenia,
and introduced into the Liturgy, the hymn,
" And we also glorify Thee," now repeated after
the Creed. His elder brother, Vertannes, suc
ceeded him in 339, and, finding no fixed rule
regarding the manner of celebrating Divine
worship, adopted the ritual and ceremonies used
by the Church of Jerusalem. During the reign
of Julian, the Apostate, many of the nobles
relapsed into heathenism, and expelled from the
throne Chosnes, son of King Tiridates. A per
secution ensued, in which nearly all the prelates
and priests in the country were martyred, among
whom was Husak, the Metropolitan of Armenia,
son of Vertannes. He was succeeded by a
Syrian priest, named Daniel, who is also reckoned
c 2

20 The Armenian Church.
among the martyrs. In 345 King Chosncj. was
restored to the throne of his ancestors, and
Christianity again revived throughout the
country. The Church of Armenia was subject to the
See of Csesarea (the Metropolitan of which
Church always consecrated the Primate of
Armenia) until the time of Nierces, the grand
son of Husak. About 364, Arsakes, King of
Armenia, created this prelate Primate of the
Armenian and neighbouring Churches. As
this arrangement was recognised by the Patri
arch of Constantinople, and the Emperor Valen-
tinian I., the Province of Armenia is generally
considered to have possessed an independent
hierarchy from that time. The third (or, ac
cording to some, the fourth) Patriarch after
Nierces, was St. Isaac, his son, whose reign ex
tended over a period of fifty years, from a.d. 390
to 440. He, in conjunction with St. Miesrop,
invented the Armenian and Georgian alphabets ;*
and these two, together with a priest named
* Before this time the Armenian language was written
in Greek or Syriac characters, which were found incapable
of rendering the finer sounds in that tongue.

History. 2 1
Coreun and five other learned men, translated
the Holy Bible into their native tongue.
Owing to the extremely unsettled state of the
country and the jealousy of the Persians, who by
the middle of the fifth century had overrun
Greater Armenia — i.e., that part of the country
between the Caspian and Black Sea, as far west
as the Euphrates, — the Armenian Church was
unrepresented at the General Council of Chal-
cedon, in 451. A misunderstanding arising
from the absence of any Armenian prelate
at this Council, and the transcription of the
decrees from Greek into Armenian carelessly and
incompletely done, were the primary causes
of the schism which until the present day has
separated the Church of this country from the
Orthodox Eastern Church.
Soon after this, Upper Armenia was reduced
to a Persian province. The conquerors, find
ing that the Armenians did not agree with
the majority of their Christian subjects, who
were Nestorians, endeavoured to force them to
adopt that heresy, and for this purpose employed
Barzumah, the Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis,
who succeeded in persuading some Arme-

22 The Armenian Church.
nian prelates to acknowledge the Nestorian
Patriarch. But in 491 the Armenian Patriarch
was able to convoke a General Synod of all the
Church at Etchmiadzine, which in the most
decided and formal manner condemned not only
the heresy of Nestorius but also that of Euty
ches. This Synod entered into a correspondence
with the Greek Court ; and, deceived by the mis
representations of the Emperor Zeno, who was
a bitter enemy of the orthodox party, unfor
tunately allowed itself to condemn the Council
of Chalcedon on the ground that it had accepted
the Nestorian heresy. Notwithstanding this
condemnation, the Synod closed its meetings by
adopting a formula perfectly orthodox, and in
accordance with the decrees of Chalcedon ; they
also showed that they had some difficulty in
understanding exactly the position of the or
thodox party, as they issued a proclamation for
bidding all persons from speaking anything,
either good or bad, concerning the proceedings
of that Council.
The Persians, thwarted in their endeavour to
separate the Armenians from the Greeks by

History. 23
<v»mtti.'ttirg them to the Nestorian heresy, com
pelled them to use the alphabet invented bv
St. Miesrop, and forbade the use of the Greek
letters, which up to this time had been in
general use, although they were being gradually
superseded by the characters invented three-
quarters of a century before.
In 535 and 55 1 Councils were held at Theven,
under the Patriarchs John II. and Moses II., the
decrees of which favour the condemnation
of the Council of Chalcedon ; the latter also
revised the Calendar and made some alterations
in the Liturgy. It was in consequence of these
decrees that the Georgian Church formally re
ceived the Canons of Chalcedon, and revolted
from the ecclesiastical authority of the Armenian
Patriarch. Lesser Armenia continued to be a semi-
independent monarchy, under either Greek or
Latin influence, until late in the fourteenth cen
tury ; and the Church in that part was much in
fluenced by the Greeks, who endeavoured to force
the Armenians to conform to their ritual and
ceremonies. The natural consequence of this
attempt was to increase the ill-feeling already

24 The Armenian Church.
existing between the two Churches; the Gieeks
having the support of the Court, and the Arme
nians the assistance of the Persian governors of
Upper Armenia. The Patriarch John VI., in 719,
convened a Synod at Druin, which, in order to
draw a more marked line between its own people
and the Greeks, decreed :
The use of the unmixed chalice and un
leavened bread for the Holy Eucharist.
The altering the time for the observance of
Christmas from the 25th of December to the
1st of January.
Abstinence from fish, oil, eggs, and butter
during Lent, except on Sundays and Saturdays.
That the Holy Eucharist should not be cele
brated on Maundy Thursday.*
The result of this Synod was to separate
for a time the Armenians in Greater and Lesser
Armenia; the former adopting the rites above-
mentioned, the latter refusing for a time to do
so; and, acting under the patronage of the
Greek Court, the Archbishop of Sis became
spiritual head, and afterwards Patriarch, of the
Armenians in the territories of the emperor.
* This last custom has been happily restored.

History. 2 5
Aft^r the Mahometan invasion of Persia,
Armenia for some years enjoyed freedom, peace,
and quietness as a semi-independent nation under
the family of the Bagarats. But after a time,
owing to the domestic feuds of this family, civil
wars lasted for many years between various
pretenders to the throne. These wars compelled
the Patriarch Stephen II., in 924, to change the
seat of the Patriarchate to Akhtamar, an island
in Lake Van ; and during the eleventh century
the site of the Patriarchal Chair was constantly
being changed from city to city and from country
to country, sometimes being situated in the do
minions of the Greek emperors, and sometimes
in those of the Armenian monarchs. As was
naturally the consequence in such an uncertain
state of affairs, the ecclesiastical authority became
much weakened and divided, and in 1 1 00 a.d.
we find no less than four prelates in different
parts of the country, each claiming to be the
representative of St. Gregory, and each con
demning the others as rebels against his au
thority, and usurpers of the Patriarchal
throne. In the time of the Patriarch Parsick, 1102,

26 The Armenian Church.
a dispute arose between the Greeks and Arme
nians, which to the present day has never been
settled, regarding the time for observing the
feast of Easter ; and even now, once in ninety-
five years, the latter celebrate this feast a week
before the former.
Nierces, surnamed the Graceful, on account
of the extreme beaut) of his writings, which
still remain as text-books of the Armenian lan
guage, became Catholicos ii. 1 1 70. He endea
voured to heal the schism that had so long
existed between the Greeks and Armenians ; and
so far succeeded in his laudable purpose, that
a Council of Greek and Armenian bishops,
under his presidency, was about to have assembled ;
when,unfortunately,the Emperor Manuel's death,
in 1 1 80, caused the negotiations to be broken
off, and political difficulties prevented their re
newal ; and the dispute regarding the time for
keepl'ng Easter, combined with the constant wars
between the Persians and the Greeks, caused the
ill-feeling between the latter and the Arme
nian nations steadily to increase, until, in 1 1 84,
it reached such a pitch that the Patriarch
Gregory, hoping to obtain help against the

History. 27
Greeks on the one side and the Turks on the
other, made overtures of submission to Pope
Lucius III., trusting that by so doing he would
obtain the assistance of Western Christendom
against his enemies ; but he was sadly mis
taken. The Pope, overwhelmed by difficulties
at home, received the legates, but was unable to
afford the Catholicos any assistance. Their
friendly reception, however, led to constant
embassies from several succeeding Patriarchs to
the Court of Rome ; the Armenians making
constant endeavours to enlist the Papal autho
rities on their side in the struggle to maintain
national existence, and even holding out hopes
of complete submission to the Papal see if effec
tual help was forthcoming.
In 1 198 Leo, who founded an Armenian
kingdom under Latin auspices, was crowned
King of all the Armenians, at Tarsus, by the
Patriarch Gregory ; and, under his influence,
the Liturgy and ceremonial worship of the Church
became much Latinized ; and, indeed, had there
been as much wisdom as there was zeal among
the upholders of the Papal claims, the whole
Church would have at this time submitted itself

28 The. Armenian Church.
to the Pope. But this was not to be ; th«
people seemed willing enough to suomit, but
they would not allow their ancient rites to be
abolished, as the Latins wished to do. Tumult
after tumult arose, and the Latin priests were,
in 1 2 19, finally expelled from the country; but
correspondence with Rome was not entirely given
up ; and, indeed, the idea of submission still
existed to such an extent, that in 1251 the
Patriarch Constantine I. intimated 10 Rome his
acceptance of the doctrine of the Double Pro
cession of the Holy Ghost. This concession
was however afterwards rejected, in 1289, Dy
his successor, Constantine II.
In 1 3 1 1 , under the presidency of the Patriarch
Constantine III., the Synod of Sis avowed its
belief in the two natures of Christ, and declared
its adhesion to the Council of Chalcedon.
Sarkies, the Armenian Bishop at Jerusalem,
refused to acknowledge this Synod, and having
obtained a recognition of himself as Patriarch
of the Armenians by the Turkish authorities,
denounced the Catholicos as a heretic. Mutual
explanations soon followed, and the schism
was healed ; but the claim of the Bishop of

History. 29
Jerusalem to the title of Patriarch has ever since
been recognised by the Armenian Church.
In 1375 Leo VI., the last of the Armenian
kings who retained even a shadow of inde
pendent sovereignty, was captured in Capan by
the Turks, and sent to Cairo, where, after an
imprisonment of seven years, he was released,
and died in Paris in 1393. This king was the
last of a long race of Armenian monarchs,
who for generations had defended the out
post of Christianity and civilization against the
inroads of the infidel Turk. 'Had it not been
for the jealousies of the Western powers, who
so often refused assistance to him and to his fore
fathers, might not Europe have been saved from
the outrages of that barbarous race, whose exist
ence is to this day a source of vexation, and
whose presence a disgrace, to Europe ?
Since that time Armenia has ceased to be an
independent nation, and can hardly be said
to have had a national existence; and, in
deed, had it not been for the wonderfully
strong hold maintained on this race by its
national Church, the nationality of the people
must long ere this have been lost among the in-

30 The Armenian Church.
habitants of the numerous countries in which
they dwell. But so strong a tie has this
proved, that although by far the greater
number of them are scattered over three quar
ters of the globe, yet nowhere has their nation
ality become effaced, nowhere have they been
absorbed into the people among whom they
dwell. In 144 1 the Patriarch Kirakus, (or George,)
returned to Etchmiadzine, in which place the
seat of the Catholicos has ever since been
situated. One of his rivals stationed himself
at Sis, and renewed a schismatical Patriarchate
in that place, which had existed during the
twelfth century, and another established himself
at Akhtamar, which had been the seat of the
Greco- Armenian Patriarchate in the eighth
century, and they for some time caused schisms
in the Church.
Under nearly four centuries of Mahometan
rule the sufferings of the Armenian Christians
have been unequalled in the history of the world.
; An infidel writer bears witness to the firmness of
this people for the sake of their holy faith, — how
a numberless host preferred " the crown of

History. 3 1
martyrdom to the turban of Mahomet."
Hundreds of martyrs for Christ's sake, — men,
women, and children, — voluntarily submitted to
martyrdom. Thousands, whose very existence has
been unrecorded, will without doubt at the Day of
Judgment receive their full reward. When fault
is found with the Armenians, who in the attempt
to preserve their nationality separated themselves
from the rest of the Oriental Church, the severe
punishment they have sustained in the loss of
that very nationality itself must not be forgotten.
In 1453, Constantinople having been captured
by the Turks, the Armenian Patriarchate in that
city was founded by Joakim ; and the successor
of that ecclesiastic has ever since been recognised
by the Turkish Government as the civil head of
all the Armenians in the Turkish empire.
After the final conquest of the country by the
Turks, frightful disorders prevailed everywhere.
All kinds of crime were practised, to an extent
almost without historical parallel. The Patri
archal chair was constantly sold by the Turkish
Government to the highest bidder ; and the
clergy, in order to make up the price required,
*vere compelled to extort large sums of money

32 The Armenian Church,
from the people. This practice increased to such
an extent, that in 1586 David V., finding him
self unable to pay the stipulated price for the
throne, associated two other bishops with himself
in the Patriarchate.
For nearly a century this state of affairs con
tinued, until wearied out by the tyrannical cruelty
of the Turkish Government, the Catholicos
Melchizedic, in 1603, sought and obtained help
from the Persian Shah, Abbas, who invaded the
country with a large army, and soon drove the
Turks out of Upper and Eastern Armenia ; but
the unfortunate inhabitants found themselves
little better for the change of masters.
The Persian monarch soon discovered the
great advantage he would gain by the immigra
tion into his own country of a people so com
mercial in character and so enterprising as the
Armenians ; so he ruthlessly snatched from their
homes thousands of families^ and carried them
into Persia, where he formed a colony, and
built a town for them near Ispahan, named
New Julpa, which has ever since been a source
of great wealth to the Persian Government. In
order to make the Armenians forget as far as

History. ^
possible their own country, the Shah began to
pull down the cathedral at Etchmiadzine, intend
ing to transport it stone by stone to New Julpa.
Happily but a small portion was removed, which
now forms the foundation of the principal
church in that town; but the Cathedral of
the Only-Begotten still bears the mark of infidel
hands. New Julpa still exists as a suburb of
Ispahan, and contains within its boundaries
twenty parishes. The colony of Tabriz, in the
north of Persia, was founded at the same time.
The country of Armenia (the Belgium of
Asia) continued to be the battle-field of the
Turkish and Persian nations for upwards of two
hundred years ; and the state of disorder into
which the country was thrown was much in
creased by the disputes which took place between
the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem
on the one side, and the Catholicos on the other,
regarding the supremacy of the latter.
These disputes lasted until the time of Philip, '
who, becoming Catholicos in 1655, succeeded to
a great extent in consolidating the power and
authority of that office, and in healing the
schisms that seemed to be daily increasing in
D

34 The Armenian Church.
the Church. He compelled the schismatical
Patriarch of Sj,s to submit to his jurisdiction, and,
after visiting the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and
Constantinople, induced them also to acknowledge
his authority, and submit themselves to the
j jurisdiction of the successor of St. Gregory.
After governing the Church for more than
\ twenty years, Philip was suddenly taken ill and
died, while reviewing his government of the
Church in a sermon on the text, " Give an
, account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest
be no longer steward." Except St. Isaac, no
Catholicos has had so much influence on the
Armenian Church as this prelate has had ; he
did for it what Gregory VII. did for Rome,
in consolidating the power of the Primate, and
in founding a new and centralizing system of
Church Government. But after his death came
the darkest days of the Armenian Church. For
a century all the powers of the Evil One seemed
to be in arms to destroy and root out the very
name of Christianity. The persecutions of the
Turks and Persians, combined with the evil
lives of the clergy, who were compelled to
purchase from their infidel masters even the

History. t>5
smallest offices, made it seem almost impossible
that the Church could continue to exist. The
Patriarchal throne was always sold to the
highest bidder, and its occupant often murdered
or deposed in order that the price might be
again obtained by the Turkish or Persian
Governments, each of whom claimed the right
to nominate the Catholicos, and each supported
its own nominee by force of arms.
The Roman Catholic missionaries during all
this time made great progress in the country. It
was natural that they should do so in the then
sad state of affairs, when the only remedy seemed
to be the foreign interference and protection
which they promised to their converts.
Affairs reached the lowest ebb of degradation
during the long rule of the wicked Catholicos
Lazar, who disgraced the Throne of St. Gregory
for fourteen years. This wretched man died in
1 75 1, and was succeeded by Nierces, Patriarch
of Constantinople, whose good and gentle life
contrasted well with that of his predecessor.
Isaac of Ahakin, who lived most of his time
in Constantinople, succeeded him in 1 754 ;
after his death, in 1759, Jacob of Shamakh, a
D 2

36 The Armenian Church.
man of quiet, peaceful habits, became Catholicos.
He died in 1763, after an unusually peaceful
rule of four years. His successor, Simon, was
a man of great ability, during whose time,
owing to the increasing Russian influence, affairs
improved greatly. This prelate revised and
corrected the ecclesiastical calendar. He also
wrote very strongly against the Roman Catholic
manner of proselytizing, condemning the undue
eagerness displayed by the Latin missionaries in
their endeavours to obtain converts, which he
considered they often did by the most dishonest
methods. He also complained bitterly of the
mutilation of the Armenian Liturgy issued for
the use of the Latin Uniat Armenians by the
congregation of Rites at Rome. He was suc
ceeded by Lucas of Carin, a man of distin
guished merit, whose life was well spent in
endeavouring to put down the venality existing
among the clergy.
After Lucas's death, his chaplain, David, pur
chased the good will of the Turkish Governor,
and took possession by force of the Patriarchal
throne. He was, however, deposed in 1802 by
the Persian Government; and Daniel, Patriarch

History. 3 7
of Constantinople, who before had been canoni-
cally elected, succeeded to the office of Catho
licos. This prelate, in order as far as possible to
prevent the disgraceful sale of the Patriarchal
throne, during his lifetime caused Ephraim,
Bishop of Astrakhan, to be elected as his successor,
and, having accomplished his object, he himself
retired into a monastery in 1808. During
Ephraim's rule, in 1828, the province of Armenia
in which Etchmiadzine is situated became part of
the Russian empire ; and on his resigning, in
1836, Johannes, Archbishop of Tiflis, was elected
Patriarch in his room. This prelate died in
1 842, and Nierces, Archbishop of Nakhickevan,
was, by a free Synod of all the Armenian Church,
chosen as his successor. This ecclesiastic, who
was a man of great learning and personal holi
ness, died in 1868, and was succeeded by the pre
sent Catholicos George, formerly Archbishop of
Brusah, whose able reply to the invitation of the
Pope to attend the Council of the Latin Church
at Rome, shows him to be an ecclesiastic of no
small learning and firmness of character.

38

The Armenian Church.

The following table will give the successors of
St. Gregory, with the approximate dates of their

accession :
Aristaces  332
Vertannes .... 339
Husik, or Gregory II. 356
Daniel . . . (cir.) 361
Pharen  362
Nierces I. (1st Patriarch) 364
Shahak  381
Zaven .... (cir.) 386
Aspuraces . . (cir.) 389
Isaac 1  3go
Sirmac 
Parsic 
Musul 
Mastiritzes ....
Joseph  441
Melitey  452
Moses 1  462
Kyat  465
John 1  480
Balken  ^.gi
Samuel 
Muscey  502
Isaac II  510
Christopher I. . . . 515
Levond .... 521
Nierces II  524
John II  533
Moses II  551
John  594

Abraham 
Comitas  617
Christopher II. . . . 625
Esdras  628
Nierces III  640
John III  649
Nierces III. (restored) 654
Anastasces .... 661
Israel  667
Isaac III  677
Elias  702
John IV  718
David 1  729
Tiridates 1  741
Tiridates II. ... 764
Levond  770
Isaiah  775
Stephen 1  788
Joab ...... 790
Solomon  791
George 1  792
Joseph II  795
David II  806
John V  823
Zachariah I. ... 862
George II. ... . 876
Marktoz  897
Theodore 1  926
Elisha 1  936

History.

39

Ananias .
John VI. .
Stephen II
Catchick I.
SarkiesPeter . .
Diosconus Peter {restored)
Catchick II. .
Gregory III.
{See vacant)
Parsick
Gregory IV.
Nierces V.
Gregory V.
Gregory VI.
Gregory VII
John VII.
David III.
John VIII.
Constantine
Jacob I. .
Stephen II.
Constantine II
Gregory VII
Constantine III
Jacob II. .
Mekhitar .
Jacob II. {restored)
Miesrop II. . .
Constantine IV.

943 Paul 1  1374
965 Theodore II. ... 1395
970 Carapiet 1  1390
972 David IV  1396
992 Carapiet II  1402
1006 Gregory IX. . . . 1401
Paul II  1418
1.019 Constantine V. . . . 1439
1058 Joseph III  H39
1065 Gregory X  x44°
George III  1441
1 102 Gregory XI  1442
1 145 Aristarces 1  1460
1170 Zachariah II. . . . 1461
1 177 Sarkies II  1466
1 184 John IX  1476
1 195 Aristarces II. and Sar-
1205 kies II  1492
1224 Thaddeus I. and Sar-
1224 kies II  H99
1238 Elisha II 
1268 Sarkies III  1506
1266 Nierces VI. and Sar-
1289 kies III  1512
1293 Zachariah III. . . .1517
13 1 1 Sarkies IV  1520
1327 Gregory XII. and Ste-
1341 phen III.* . . . 1530
1355 Stephen IV. and Basil 1541
1359 Gregory XII. and Mi-
1372 chael  1567

* Stephen associated 1541-

4°

The Armenian Church.

Thaddeus II. . . .
Arrakiel 
David and Arrakiel
Melchizedek and David
Serapim 
Melchizedec {restored)
and David V. . .
Isaac and David V. .
Moses III. . . . .
Philip 
Jacob III 
Thomas 
Zagan 
John 
Sarkies ....
Eleazar 
Nahapiet . . . . .
Stephen 

1575I5»4 1586 1593 1606 1611 16241629 16551676

1680 1691
1699

AlexanderAstwazatur Carapiet III.
Abraham II.
Abraham III
Lazar II.
Nierces .
Isaac . .
Jacob . .
Simon . .
Lucas
David Daniel Ephraim
John .
Nierces
George (present Catho
licos) 

I7°S !7!5
^251730J734 1737i75i J7541759 1763
1788 1800 180218081836 1842 1868

Armenian Calendar.

The Armenians have a date of their own, ac
cording to which they count their years, which
commences with the year 552 of the Dionysian
era. This system was invented by the Catho
licos Moses II., who in the year 551 succeeded to
the Patriarchal throne of Etchmiadzine, and
remodelled and corrected the Armenian Calendar,
introducing at the same time a new era, com-

History. 4 1
mencing with the first year of his own reign.
The Armenians have ever since calculated their
time according to his method ; consequently the
present year 18 71 is with them 1320 of the
Haian era.
The names of the Sundays and Holidays in
the following Calendar are taken from an
Almanack for 1869, compiled in the Monastery
of St. James's, Jerusalem, and used by most of
the Armenian clergy.

( 42 )

%ty Calentjar of tfje
SHOWING THE PROPER PROPHECY, EPISTLE,
SOME FEW OF

Corresponding English
Holiday, or Sunday.

Armenian Name.

The Epiphany.

Nativity, Epiphany, Baptism.

ist Sunday after Epiphany.

1st Sunday after Epiphany.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany.

xnd Sunday after Epiphany.

3rd Sunday after Epiphany.
3rd Sunday after Epiphany.
4th Sunday after Epiphany.
4th Sunday after Epiphany.
Jth Sunday after Epiphany.
5th Sunday after Epiphany.
6th Sunday after Epiphany.
6th Sunday after Epiphany.
( 43 )

Armenian CtmrcJ,

AND GOSPEL USED ON ALL SUNDAYS AND
THE HOLIDAYS.

Prophecy.

Epistle.

Gospel.

None.

Titus ii. 11-15.

Matt. iii. 13-17.

Isa. liy. 1-13.

1 Tim. i. 1-11.

John ii. 1-11.

Isa. lviii. 13 — lix. 8.
1 Tim. iv. 12 — y. 10.
John iii 14-21.
Isa. lxii. 1-11.
z Tim. ii. 15-18.
John vi. 39-47.
Isa. Ixi. 10 — lxii. 10.
z Tim. ii. 19-26.
John vi. 15-21.
Isa. Ixiii. 7-17.
z Tim. iii. 1-12.
John vi. 22-38.
Isa. Ixiii. 17 and lxir.
Titus i. 1-11.
John vii. 37-52.
Isa. lviii.
Rom. iii. 11 and iy.
Matt. vi. i-zi.
Isa. xxxiii. 2-21
Rom. xii. 1 — xiii. 10.
Matt. .. 17-48.
in Western Calendars is considered the first Sunday in Lent, is with them the
second.
44

The Armenian Church.
THE CALENDAR OF THE

Corresponding English
Holiday, or Sunday.

Armenian Name.

znd Sunday in Lent.
3rd Sunday in Lent.
4th Sunday in Lent, or
Mid-Lent Sunday
5th Sunday in Lent, or
Passion Sunday.
6th Sunday in Lent, or
Palm Sunday.
Monday before Easter.
Tuesday before Easter.
Wednesday before Easter.
Thursday before Easter, or
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday.
Easter Even.
Easter Day.
Monday in Easter Week.
Tuesday in Easter Week.
1st Sunday after Easter, or
Low Sunday.
2nd Sunday after Easter,
3rd Sunday after Easter.
4th Sunday after Easter.
5th Sunday after Easter.
Ascension Day.

3rd Sunday of the Fast, or Sunday of the Pro
digal Son.
4th Sunday of the Fast, or Sunday of the
Unjust Steward.
5th Sunday of the Fast, or Sunday of the Un
just Judge.
6th Sunday of the Fast, or Sunday of the First
Entry of Christ into the Holy City.
7th Sunday of the Fast, or Palm Sunday.
Monday. Creation of the World.
Tuesday. The Ten Virgins.
Wednesday. The Betrayal.
Thursday. The Mystic Supper.
The Passion, Death, and Burial of our Blessed
Lord.
The Rest of Christ.
Pascha (Zautick).
Monday of Easter.
Tuesday of Easter.
New Sunday.
Green Sunday.
Red Sunday.
5th Sunday in Easter.
6th Sunday in Easter.
The Ascension.

The Calendar.
ARMENIAN CHURCH— continued.

45

Prophecy.

Epistle.

Gospel.

Isa. liv. 1 1 and Iv.

z Cor. vi. and vii.

Luke xv. 11-32.

Isa. Ivi. and Ivii.

Eph. iv. 17 to v. 14.

Luke xvi. 1-12.

Isa Ixv. 8-25.

Phil. iii. 1 to iv. 9.

Luke xvii. 20 to xviii.
14.

Isa Ixvi.

Col.ii. 8 to iii. 7.

Matt. xxii. 39 and
xxiii.

Cart. i. 1-13.

(1) Zech. ix. 9-15.
(2) Phil. iv. 4-7.

Matt. xx. 29 to xxi. 16.

None.

None.

None.
None.
1 Cor. xi. 23-32.
Matt. xxvi. 17-29.
None.
None.
1 Cor. xv.
Matt, xxviii.
None.
Acts i. 15-26.
Mark xvi. 2-8.
None.
Acts ii. 22-41.
Luke xxiv. 1-12.
None.
Acts ii. 42 ; iii. 21.
Luke xxiv. 13-35.
None.
Acts v. 1-11.
John i. 1-18.
None.
(1) Acts ix. 23-35.
(2) 1 Pet. ii. 1-10.
John ii. 23 — iii. 13.
None.
(1) Acts xiii. 16-43.
(2) 1 Pet. v.
John v. 19-30.
None.
(1) Acts xvii. 1-15.
(2) 1 John iii. 1-10.
John vii. 14-23.
None.
(1) Acts xx. 17-38.
(2) 1 John iii. 1-10.
John ix. 39 to x. 16.
None.
Acts i. 1-13.
Luke xxiv. 36-53.
46

The Armenian Church.
THE CALENDAR OF THE

Corresponding English
Holiday, or Sunday.

Armenian Name.

Sunday after Ascension.
Whitsun Day.
Trinity Sunday.
ist Sunday after Trinity.
2nd Sunday after Trinity.
3rd Sunday after Trinity.
4th Sunday after Trinity.
5th Sunday after Trinity.
6th Sunday after Trinity.
7th Sunday after Trinity.
8th Sunday after Trinity.
9th Sunday after Trinity.
10th Sunday after Trinity.
nth Sunday after Trinity.
1 2th Sunday after Trinity.
13th Sunday after Trinity.
1 4th Sunday after Trinity.
15th Sunday after Trinity.

7th Sunday in Easter, or Second Palm Sunday.
Pentecost (Hokee Kolast).
ist Sunday after Pentecost.
znd Sunday after Penteco6t.
3rd Sunday after Pentecost.
4th Sunday after Pentecost.
5 th Sunday after Pentecost.
6th Sunday after Pentecost.
Transfiguration Sunday.J
2nd Sunday of Transfiguration.
3rd Sunday of Transfig-

Assumption of the Bl<
2nd Sunday of As/ tii
gin Mary. Q^ v.*
Sunday of findi;%o^

Virgin Mary.

W*e I

ary.J
Blessed Vir-
j{ the Blessed

Holy Cross Suna-^%
2nd Sunday of Holy Cross. |
3rd Sunday of Holy Cross.
4th Sunday of Holy Cross.

{ These festivals are transferred from the week days on which they fall.

The Calendar.
ARMENIAN CHURCH— continued.

47

Prophecy.

Epistle.

Gospel.

None.

'"- 3 Kings xviii. 17-46.
(2) 4 Kings ii. 1-16.
(1) Prov. ix. 1-6.
(2) Zach. iii. 7. — iv. 9.
Isa. i. 1-15.
Isa. 1, 21-31.
Isa. ii. 6-1 1.
Isa. iii. 1-11.
(1) Prov. vii. 24 to viii. 4.
(2) Zach. xiv. 16-21.
Isa. iii. 16 toiv. 6.
Isa. v. 1. 10.
(1) Cant. iv. 8-15.
(2) Isa. vii. 10-16.
(1) Prov. xi. 30 to xii. 4.
(2) Zach. ii. 10-13.
Isa. ix. 8-19.
Isa. xii. 13-23.
Isa. xiv. 4-27.
(1) Prov. iii. 13-26.
(2) Isa. lxv. 22-25.
Isa. xvii. 7-14.

(1) Acts iii. 12-26.
(2) 1 John v. 13-21.
Acts ii. 1-21.
James v.
Eph. iii. 1-9.
Rom. vi. 12-23.
Rom. vii. 25 to viii. n.
Rom. viii. 12 to x. 1-4.
Rom. xi. 13-24.
1 John i. 1-7.
1 Cor. i. 25-31.
1 Cor. vi. 18 to vii. n.
Col. iii. 16 to iv. 6.
2 Cor. xi. 6 and xii.
2 Cor. i. i-iz.
2 Cor. ii. 12 to iii. 3.
Col. iv.
2 Cor. x. 18 to xi. 9.
2 Cor. xiii. 3-13.

John xii. 12-33.
John xiv. 25-31.
Luke iv. 25-30.
John x. 22-30.
Matt. xii. 1-8.
Matt. xii. 38-45.
Matt. xiii. 24-30.
Matt. xiii. 3-21.
Matt. xvi. 13 to xvii.
Matt, xviii. 10-14.
Luke ii. 1-7.
Luke i. 39-56.
Mark vi. 35-41.
Mark iv. 30-44.
John iii. 14-21.
Mark x. 1-12.
Matt. xxiv. 30-36.
Mark xi. 17-33.

§ The number of these
Assumption.

Sundays is regulated by the Sundays after the

48

The Armenian Church.
THE CALENDAR OF THE

Corresponding English
Holiday, or Sunday.

Armenian Name.

1 6th Sunday after Trinity.
17th Sunday after Trinity.
1 8th Sunday after Trinity.
19th Sunday after Trinity.
20th Sunday after Trinity.
2 1 st Sunday after Trinity.
22nd Sunday after Trinity.
Advent Sunday.
2nd Sunday in Advent.
3rd Sunday in Advent.
4th Sunday in Advent.
Sunday after Christmas Day

5th Sunday of Holy Cross.
6th Sunday of Holy Cross.
7th Sunday of Holy Cross.
8th Sunday of Holy Cross.
9th Sunday of Holy Cross.
10th Sunday of Holy Cross.
nth Sunday of Holy Cross.
1 2th Sunday of Holy Cross, or 5th Sunday
before Nativity.
13th Sunday of Holy Cross, or 4th Sunday
before Nativity.
14th Sunday of Holy Cross, or 3rd Sunday
before Nativity.
15th Sunday of Holy Cross, or 2nd Sunday
before Nativity.
1 6th Sunday of Holy Cross, or 1st Sunday
before Nativity.

The Calendar.
ARMENIAN CHURCH— continued.

49

Prophecy.

Epistle.

Gospel.

Isa. xix. i-ii.
Isa. xx. 2 to xxi. 6.
(i) Prov. xiv. 1-8.
(2) Isa. xxxiii. 22to xxxiv. 1.
Isa. xxii. 15-25.
Isa. xxiv. 1-12.
Isa. xxv. 9 to xxvi. 7.
Isa. xxix. n-20.
Isa. xxvii. 12 to xxviii. II.
Isa. xxxvii. 14-38.
Isa. xxxviii. 1-8.
Isa. xl. 18-31.
Isa. Ii. 15 to Iii. 3.

Col. ii. 1-10.
Col. iv. 3-18.
1 Cor i. 18-24.
Eph. i. 1-14.
Eph. v. 15-33.
Phil. i. 1-11.
Phil. iv. 8-23.
Phil. iv. i-n.
2 Thess. i.
Heb. i.
Heb. iv. 16 to v. 10.
I Heb. xiii. 18-25.

Mark xii. 35-44.
Luke iv. 14-32.
Matt. xxiv. 27-36.
Luke viii. 16-21.
Luke viii. 41-50.
Luke ix. 43-50.
Lukexi. 1-13.
Luke xiii. i-q.
Luke xiv. 12-24.
Luke xvii. 1-10.
Luke xviii. 9-14.
Luke xxii. 24-30.

E

jo The Armenian Church.
The Armenians divide their Festivals into
five classes, thus:
I. Easter.
II. Other Feasts that always occur on Sun
days; such as Pentecost.
III. Feasts that are always observed on the
day on which they fall, and which are not trans
ferable 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 B. V. M.
IV. Feasts that are always transferred to the
following Sunday.
These are :
The Transfiguration of our Blessed Lord.
The Conception of the B. V. M.
The Nativity of the B. V. M.
Finding of the Zone of B. V. M.
Assumption of B. V. M.
Dedication of the Patriarchal Cathedral of
the Only-Begotten at Etchmiadzine.

The Calendar. 51
Holy Cross Day.
All Feasts of Apostles.
St. John Baptist's Day.
St. Stephen's Day.
St. Gregory the Illuminator's Day.
V. 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.
The days of Fasting and Abstinence are as
follows :
Days of Fasting, when according to the
strict rule, only one meal, at 12 p.m. is allowed
in the twenty-four hours, and at which flesh
meat, milk, butter, eggs, and oil are forbidden.
These days are :
I. Every day in Lent except Sundays.
II. Every day of the Fast of Nineveh.
This Fast is kept for two weeks, one
month before the commencement of Lent,
and represents the commencement of the
long Lent of early Christian days.
III. Every day of the week of Pentecost.
The fact of this week being kept as a fast is
E 2

52 The Armenian Church.
to be noticed.* It was originally observed
during the week before Pentecost ; but in order
that the whole of the forty days of Easter might
be kept without fasting, it was transferred to
the week of Pentecost. Although the Fast is
most strictly observed, yet the Church services
retain their jovful character, and the penitential
psalms and prayers used on other fasting days
are not recited on this occasion.
Days of Abstinence, when flesh-meat, milk,
butter, eggs, and oil must be abstained from.
These are :
I. All Wednesdays and Fridays throughout
the year, except (i) those in the week after the
Nativity ; (2) those during Easter-tide ; (3) those
in the week after the Assumption.
II. The week before the Nativity.
III. One week fifty days before the Nativity.
This was formerly kept as a fast of fifty days,
but now only the first and last weeks are ob
served.

* The observance of Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
as fasting-days in the corresponding week in some Western
Calendars is to be remarked.

The Calendar. 53
IV. One week before the Feast of St. Gregory
the Illuminator.
V. One week before the Assumption.
VI. One week before the Apparition of the
Holy Cross.
VII. One week before the Feast of the Trans
figuration. The Mondays after Easter-day; the Trans
figuration ; the Assumption and Holy Cross Day
are observed as commemoration days of the
faithful departed.
It must not be forgotten that throughout the
East Saturday is looked on as a second Sunday.
The Armenians keep Saturday as a day in
honour of Almighty God, the Creator of all
things, and Sunday in commemoration of the
New Creation brought about by the Resurrec
tion of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

THE LITURGY

THE ORDER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION

HOLY COMMUNION
ACCORDING TO THE USE OF THE MOST
ANCIENT AND ILLUSTRIOUS
C&urcl) of Armenia
DONE INTO ENGLISH WITH DIVERS NOTES
CORRECTED AFTER AN EDITION PRINTED IN THE
HOLY CITY OF JERUSALEM,
AT THE CONVENT OF ST. JAMES,
A.D. 1841. A.H. I2go.
BEARING THE IMPRIMATUR
OF
THE CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH AND
THE PATRIARCHS OF JERUSALEM AND
CONSTANTINOPLE.

THE DIVINE LITUPvGY.

( 57 )

PREPARATORY PRAYERS.

The Priest who is to minister at the Holy Altar, having
banished evil thoughts, will enter the Vestry with his
Deacons, and they having assisted him according to the
rule, will, together with the Priest, say or sing this psalm,
with the antiphon,
Let Thy Priests be clothed with righteousness : and let
Thy Saints sing with joyfulness.
Psalm CXXXII.
T ORD remember David : and all his trouble ;
2 How he sware unto the Lord : and vowed a vow
unto the Almighty God of Jacob ;
3 I will not come within the tabernacle of mine house :
nor climb up into my bed ;
4 I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eye-lids
to slumber : neither the temples of my head to take any
rest; 5 Until I find out a place for the temple of the Lord :
an habitation for the Mighty God of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of the same at Ephrata : and found it in
the wood.
7 We will go into His tabernacle : and fall low on our
knees before His footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, into Thy resting-place : Thou, and the
ark of Thy strength.

58 The Armenian Church.
9 Let Thy Priests be clothed with righteousness : and
let Thy saints sing with joyfulness.
10 For Thy servant David's sake : turn not away the
presence of Thine Anointed.
11 The Lord hath made a faithful oath unto David:
and He shall not shrink from it ;
12 Of the fruit of thy body : shall I set upon thy seat.
13 If thy children will keep My covenant, and My testi
monies that I shall learn them : their children also shall
sit upon thy seat for evermore.
14 For the Lord hath chosen Sion to be an habitation
for Himself : He hath longed for her.
15 This shall be my rest for ever : here will I dwell, for
I have a delight therein.
16 I will bless her victuals with increase : and will satisfy
her poor with bread.
17 I will deck her priests with health : and her saints
shall rejoice and sing.
18 There shall I make the horn of David to flourish :
I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed.
19 As for his enemies, I shall clothe them with shame :
but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
After which will be repeated,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost : both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Then shall a Deacon say this Litany.
Litany.
Again and again in peace, let us make our supplications
to the Lord.
Let us with one accord pray unto Thee, O Lord God
Almighty.

Liturgy. 59
Assist, preserve, succour, and have mercy upon us, O
Lord our God.
Protect us, O Lord our God, and have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us. (12 times.)
Meanwhile the Priest saith this prayer in a low voice :
prayer before vesting.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who art clothed with light as with a garment,
Who with ineffable humility hast appeared upon earth, and vouchsafed to
dwell with men, Who art a High Priest for ever after the order of Mel-
chisedec, Who hast poured out upon Thy Holy Church the gifts of Thy
Priesthood ; Who hast permitted us (Thy priests) to adorn ourselves with
the vestments appertaining to the order of Melchisedec ; I now venture
humbly to approach Thee to perform this service, beseeching Thee to clothe
me with Thy glorious Priesthood ; put far from me the garment of iniquity,
and cover me with the robe of righteousness. O Thou Who alone art without
sin, and Who alone hast fulfilled the Law, grant that with these vestments;
I may put on Thy Righteousness, and so be fit to enter into the Heavenly
Wedding Chamber, where in company with the wise Virgins I may glorify Thee
O Christ our Lord, Who hast borne our iniquities and blotted out our sins ;
hear this my prayer which I offer unto Thee, for Thou art the Redeemer of
man, and to Thee belongeth glory and honour and power now and for ever,
and to ages of ages. Amen.
The Deacons now approach the Priest, and begin to vest him,
saying at the same time the psalms proper for the occasion ;
but first the principal Deacon saith :
Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and to all
ages. Amen.
The Deacons now place on his head the Sacerdotal Cap, and
the Priest saith :
Cover my head, O Lord, with the Helmet of Salvation, that I may resist
the fiery darts of the evil one. Through the Grace of our Losn Jesus Christ,

60 The Armenian Church.
to Whom belongeth glory and power and honour, now and for ever, and to ages
of ages. Amen. At the Albe.
Clothe me, O Lord, with the Robe of Righteousness, put on me the Vest
ment of joy and gladness, and gird my loins with the Girdle of Salvation.
Through. At the Stole.
Adorn my neck, O Lord, with justice, and cleanse my heart from every
stain of sin. Through. At the Girdle.
Gird my heart and thoughts with the restraint of faith, drive away impure
thoughts, and grant that the power of Thy grace may dwell in me for ever.
Through. At the right-hand Maniple.
Strengthen my right hand, O Lord, cleanse it from all stain, that I may
serve Thee with pure heart and mind. Through.
At the left-hand Maniple.
Strengthen my left hand, O Lord, cleanse it from all stain, that I may serve
Thee with pure heart and mind. Through.
At the Varkass.
Clothe my neck, O Lord, with righteousness, and purify my heait from all
stain of sin. Through. At the Cope.
Beautify me, O Lord, with the garment of Thy Glory, and strengthen me
against the fiery darts of the evil one, so that I may fitly do Thee service and
magnify Thy glorious name. Through.
The Priest then adds :
My soul shall magnify the Lord, for behold I am clothed with the garment
of salvation, and a vesture of gladness. The Lord Himself has adorned me with
the crown of a bridegroom, and has beautified me with the jewels of a bride.
Through the Grace of our Lord Jesu* Christ, to Whom belongeth glory and
power and honour, now and for ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
Then, placing the Towel in his girdle, he saith :
Cleanse my hands O Lord, from all the impurity of sin. Through.

Liturgy. 6 1
While the Priest is vesting, the choir sing this hymn :
O deep, O incomprehensible [O eternal mystery, Thou
hast beautified unto Thyself a nuptial chamber, in the
highest Heaven, filled with the light of Thy glory, and Thou
hast surrounded it with choirs of angels.
Thou, with unspeakable majesty, didst create Adam in
the likeness of God, and didst endow him with grace and
glory in that wonderful abode of delight, the Garden of
Eden. Thou didst deliver up the Only-Begotten to become
mortal and to suffer for man ; and by His mortality man
has become immortal, and has been covered with an ever
lasting vesture.
O Thou, the Holy Ghost, very God, Who didst descend
like refreshing rain upon the holy Apostles assembled in
that upper chamber ; when we assume these vestments,
pour down upon us the fiery showers of Thy wisdom.
Holiness becometh Thine House for ever, even Thine;
O Thou Who art clothed with majesty and girded about
with holiness. Do Thou gird us with Thy Truth.
O Thou Who, by the outstretching of Thine arms hast
created the stars, strengthen our arms, that we may
worthily raise our hands in prayer to Thee.
Grant that the crown which encircles our head may pro
tect our thoughts, and that the cross-like stole, embroidered
and beautiful with golden flowers may, like that of Aaron,
adorn Thy sanctuary, and guard our senses from taint of
sin. O Thou Who alone art God and Lord of all, Thou Who
hast placed upon us this brilliant robe even the cope, the
symbol of love, O make us worthy ministers of these life-
giving mysteries.
O Thou Heavenly King, preserve unshaken Thy Church ;

62 The Armenian Church.
and to the worshippers of Thy Holy Name give peace for
evermore.] After the Priest is vested, accompanied by the sacred
ministers, he proceeds to the foot of the Altar, and having
washed his hands, saith alternately with the Deacons :
Psalm XXVI.
"DE Thou my Judge, [O Lord, for I have walked inno-
cently : my trust hath been also in the Lord, there
fore shall I not fall.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me : try out my reins
and my heart.
3 For Thy loving-kindness is ever before mine eyes : and
I will walk in Thy truth.
4 I have not dwelt with vain persons : neither will I
have fellowship with the deceitful.
5 I have hated the congregation of the wicked : and
will not sit among the ungodly.
6 I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord : and so
will I go to Thine Altar ;
7 That I may shew the voice of thanksgiving : and tell
of all Thy wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house : and
the place where Thine honour dwelleth.
g O shut not up my soul with the sinners : nor my life
with the blood-thirsty ;
io In whose hands is wickedness : and their right hand
is full of gifts.
n But as for me, I will walk innocently : O deliver me,
and be merciful unto me.
12 My foot standeth right: I will praise the Lord in the
congregations.]

Liturgy. 63
Glory be to the Father, [and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen.] With the Antiphon,
I will wash mine hands in innocency, O Lord, and so
will I go to Thine Altar.
Priest. Through the intercession of the Holy Mother of
God, [Receive our prayers, O Lord, and have mercy upon
us.] Deacon. Through the intercessions of the Holy Mother
of God and of all the saints, [who pray for us to the
Heavenly Father, save Thy creatures, O Lord God, and
have mercy upon us.]
Priest. Through the intercessions of the Holy Mother.
the spotless Mother of God, and of all the Saints,
receive, O Lord, our prayers, and have mercy upon us ;
grant us absolution and remission of all our sins, that we
may worthily glorify Thee, together with the Son and
the Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and world without end.
Amen. The Priest, bowing towards the other Ministers, saith : 1
I confess to God Almighty, in sight of the Mother of
God, who is exalted above all creatures, in sight of St. John
the forerunner, St. Stephen the proto-martyr, St. Gregory
the Illuminator, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all
the Saints, and before you, my fathers and brethren, that
I have sinned in thought, word, and deed, voluntarily
and involuntarily, knowingly and through ignorance,
by committing all sins that men commit ; and I therefore
beg you, my brethren, to pray the Lord to grant me abso
lution.

64 The Armenian Church.
The Senior Minister replies :
May the Almighty and Merciful God have mercy on
you, forgive you all your sins, past and present, and pro
tect you for the future. May He confirm you in all good
works, and in the end bring you to everlasting life. Amen.
The Priest then turning towards the people saith :
May God the Lover of Men grant you deliverance from
evil, and the remission of all your sins ; may He give
you time for repentance, and grant you grace to perform
good works ; and may He, the All-powerful and Most
Merciful One, bestow upon you the grace of His Holy
Spirit from this time forth for evermore ; to Whom be
longeth all glory, now and for ever, and world without end.
Amen. Choir. Commemorate us also before the Immortal
Lamb of Gorv.
Priest. Yea, verily ye shall be commemorated Defore the
Immortal Lamb of God.
The choir then sing,
PSALM C.
C\ BE joyful in the Lord, [all ye lands : serve the Lord
with gladness, and come before His Presence with a
song. 2 Be ye sure that the Lord He is God : it is He that
hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we are His people,
and the sheep of His pasture.
3 O go your way into His gates with thanksgiving, and
into His courts with praise : be thankful unto Him, and
speak good of His Name.
4 For the Lord is gracious, His mercy is everlasting :
and His truth endureth from generation to generation.]

Liturgy. 65
Glory be to the Father, [and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen.] Which being finished, the Deacon saith :
Commemorating the Patron Saints [of this Holy Church.
Let us make our supplications unto the Lord ; assist, pre
serve, succour, and have mercy upon us.]
Priest. At the very entrance of the Temple, standing
before the Holy Place, approaching the Holy and Divine
Symbols, bowing down in the presence of God : let us
worship with due humility, while we glorify the most
admirable and triumphant Resurrection of Christ. And
let us offer blessing and glory to the Father, and the Holy
Spirit, now and for ever, and world without end. Amen.
The sacred ministers now ascend the altar steps, saying two
verses of this Psalm as they arrive at each step.
PSALM XLIII.
f~* IVE sentence with me, O God, [and defend my cause
against the ungodly people : O deliver me from the
deceitful and wicked man.
2 For Thou art the God of my strength, why hast Thou
put me from Thee : and why go I so heavily, while the
enemy oppresseth me ?
3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth, that they may
lead me : and bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy
dwelling. 4 And that I may go unto the Altar of God, even unto
the God of my joy and gladness : and with the harp will I
give thanks unto Thee, O God, my God.
5 Why art thou so heavy, O my soul : and why art thou
so disquieted within me ?

66 The Armenian Church.
6 O put thy trust in God : for I will yet give Him
thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.]
Glory be to the Father, [and to the Son: and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. With the Antiphon,
I will go unto the Altar of God, even unto the God of
my joy and gladness.
The Celebrant and Ministers now approach the Altar, and
when they arrive at the highest step, the Deacon saith :
Let us praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who alloweth us to be present to offer up the
praises of the Only-Begotten. O Almighty God, to Thee
belongeth power, honour, and glory, now and for ever,
and world without end. Amen.]
Priest. Bowing before Thy Holy Altar, even in the very
Dwelling Place of Thy Holiness, surrounded by Angels,
here is offered the Sacrifice for the expiation of sin and
for the reconciliation of mankind. In Thy very Sanctuary
we offer unto Thee blessing and glory, Who livest and
reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and
for ever, and world without end. Amen.
If the Celebrant be a Priest the Curtain is now drawn ; 2 but
if a Bishop, two long prayers are used here, which are not
said by a Priest. The Priest, then behind the Curtain,*
takes the bread from the hands of the Deacon, and places it
on the Paten, saying,
In commemoration of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Le.. before it as regards the Altar.

Liturgy. 67
Then taking the wine, he pours it into the Chalice, making
with it the sign of the Cross, saying :
In commemoration of the health-giving Incarnation of our
Lord Jesus Christ, from Whose Side did flow the Blood
by which creation has been renewed, and immortality given
to mortals. Let us therefore praise and glorify Him for
ever. The Priest in secret then saith :
PRAYER OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.
O Lord our God, Who didst send forth the Heavenly Bread, the nourish
ment of the whole world, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, as a Saviour and
Redeemer and Benefactor, blessing and hallowing us: bless this oblation, and
receive it at Thy Heavenly Altar : remember, of Thy goodness and love to
men, those that offer it, and those for whom it is offered ; and keep us without
condemnation in the celebration of Thy Holy Mysteries. For.
He covers the Chalice with a veil, and saith.
PSALM XCIII.
'"PHE Lord is King, [and hath put on glorious apparel:
the Lord hath put on His apparel, and girded Himself
with strength.
2 He hath made the round world so sure : that it cannot
he moved.
3 Ever since the world began hath Thy seat been pre
pared : Thou art from everlasting.
4 The floods are risen, O Lord, the floods have lift up
their voice : the floods lift up their waves.
5 The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly :
but yet the Lord, Who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
6 Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure: holiness be-
cometh Thine house for ever.]
Glory be to the Father, [and to the Son : and to the
F 2

68 The Armenian Church.
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen.
Meanwhile the Choir sing one of the following hymns :
On the Feast of the Annunciation.
Behold a new revelation ; Gabriel announces to the Most
Holy Virgin : I am sent to Thee, O Virgin most pure,
prepare to receive thy Lord.
On the Feast of the Nativity.
A new flower to-day has sprung from the root of Jesse :
a daughter of David has borne a Son, even the Son of
God.
On the Feast of the Purification.
Forty days have past, and the King of Glory comes to
accomplish the law : and to offer Himself in His own
Temple. On the Feast of Easter.
With the voice of a lion I proclaim Him Who cried on
the Tetrachord.* For from that Instrument He made His
voice heard even unto the furthest corner of Limbus.
On New Sunday.
To-day a new light shines forth from a new and adorable
Sun : to-day a new lily buds forth in a new garden.
On the Feast of the Ascension.
To-day the Only-Begotten and First Born Son of God
as Man, even as a son of Adam, ascends into Heaven : and
to-day by Choirs of Angels are sung new hymns of praise.

On a musical instrument with four wings, i.e., the Cross.

Liturgy. 69
On the Feast of Pentecost.
To-day let us sing hymns of praise to the Holy Spirit :
and with dignified anthems let us joyfully exult in the re
creation of all things.
On the Feast of the Transfiguration.
To-day a mystic rose of wondrous beauty, a rose of
celestial hue : crowns the Head which bears the Heavenly
Hair of the Son of God.
On the Feast oj the Assumption.
To-day Gabriel gladly brings the Victor's palm and
Victor's crown to the exulting Virgin. To-day the Arch
angel leads into the highest Temple, and into the Dwelling
Place of God, that ever glorious Virgin.
On the Feast of the Holy Cross.
The Cross, planted in Paradise by the Hand of God,
was made a sign of consolation for Seth, and a pledge of
hope for our Father Adam. We also magnify this sign ;
for on the Cross hung our Lord Jesus Christ ; therefore
gladly bow we down before the sacred symbol.
On Feasts of Angels.
To-day let us sing in your honour, and let us rejoice and
be glad with you, O ye Choirs of Angels and Archangels.
On Feasts of Apostles.
The Son of Righteousness, Who proceedeth from
the Father, has filled you, O Holy Apostles, with in
effable grace, and a glorious light has illuminated the
Haian nation by means of the glorious Thaddeus and the
holy Bartholomew.

70 The Armenian Church.
On Feasts of Prophets.
O Holy Prophets, to you it has been given to announce
the secrets of God : to you has been given the power to
gaze into the Future. On Feasts of Prelates.
To-day let us rejoice in the Feast of the Holy (Father,
Doctor, Bishop, Priest,) N., and let us triumph in his
sanctity. On other days.
O Priest, thou art the chosen of God, like as was Aaron.
It was the prophet Moses who prepared the vestment worn
by Aaron on entering the Holy of Holies.
His ephod was woven of four colours, of blue, of scarlet,
of gold, and of purple ; one thread was placed on another,
and the vestment was looped with a carbuncle and bordered
with a golden fringe.
At the sound of his priestly step, the earth rejoiced and
the Tabernacle shone with gladness.
In the same manner, O Christ, to-day our Celebrant
appear. Thou, O Priest, when you enter the Sanctuary,
forget not those who rest in peace, forget not us who vigil
keep ; but in the offering of the sacrifice pray for us and
them, that in the judgment-day we with Christ may be.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy
Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end. Amen.
May Jesus Christ be blessed evermore.]
When the Priest has finished Psalm xciii., the Curtain is
opened, and the Celebrant incenses the Altar, saying:
Prayer of Incense.'1
We offer unto Thee, O Lord Christ, incense with a

Liturgy.

71

sweet smelling savour. Grant that it may ascend into Thy
Holy Dwelling Place, and there be received by Thee ; and
pour down upon us, we beseech Thee, the grace of Thy
Holy Spirit ; for to Thee, with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, we ascribe glory, now and for ever, and world
without end. Amen.
This prayer being finished, the Priest descends to the foot of
the Altar-steps and incenses the people.

( 7* )

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE
LITURGY.

After having incensed the ]k $,e, the Celebrant ascends to
the highest step of the Altai?, and the Deacon saith in a
loud voice :
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to all ages.
Choir. Amen.
The Choir now sing the hymn proper for the day*
The Litany.
Deacon. Again and again [in peace let us make our
supplications to the Lord.
Assist, preserve, succour, and have mercy upon us.
Sir, give the blessing.]

* The following is the Hymn Proper for the Nativity, which is used also on
ordinary occasions :
[Choir.11 Only-Begotten Son, Who, though not subject to death, didst
condescend for the sake of our salvation to be incarnate of the Holy Mother of
God, the Ever Virgin Mary, and wast truly, O Christ our God, made man,
and crucified ; and by Thy death didst destroy death ; Thou Who art One of
the Trinity, glorified together with the Holy Ghost, save us, O Lord our
God.]

Liturgy. 73
The Priest, turning towards the people, saith :
Blessing and glory be to the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to all ages. Amen.
Peace be with all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
The Deacons now range themselves on the two sides of the
Altar, and the senior one saith :
Let us bow down unto the Lord.
Choir. Even unto Thee, O Lord.
The Introit.
The first part of the Psalms is now sung by the Choir,
but first the Priest saith this prayer aloud :
PRAYER OF THE FIRST ANTIPHON.
O Lord our God, of boundless might, and incomprehen
sible glory, and measureless compassion, and love to man
kind ; look down, O Lord, according to Thy tender love
on us, and on this holy house, and show to us, and to them
that pray with us, the riches of Thy mercies and com
passions ; for to Thee belongeth glory, and power, and
honour, now and for ever, and world without end. Amen.
Choir. Let the whole earth [bless Christ the King with
a song of praise.
O all the earth bring a song of thanksgiving to the
Creator of heaven and earth.
Let us bring honour and worship to the Trinity, and to
the One Godhead, world without end. Amen.]
The Priest meanwhile saith in a low voice :
prayer of the second ANTIPHON.
O Lord our God, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance ; guard the

74 The Armenia?! Church.
fulness of Thy Church ; hallow them that love the beauty of Thy house ;
glorify them in recompence with Thy divine power ; and forsake not them
that put their trust in Thee. Amen.
Aloud. Peace be with all.
PRAYER OF THE THIRD ANTIPHON.
O Thou, Who hast given us grace, with one accord, to make our common
supplications unto Thee ; and dost promise, thatwhen two or three are gathered
together in Thy Name Thou wilt grant their requests : Fulfil now, O Lord,
the desires and petitions of Thy servants ; granting us in this world knowledge
of Thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting.
Aloud. For Thou art long-suffering, and of great good
ness ; and to Thee belongeth. Amen.
The Little Entrances.
The Priest then saith, in a low voice,
THE PRAYER OF THE ENTRANCE.
O Lord our God, Who hast disposed in Heaven troops and armies of Angels
and Archangels, for the ministry of Thy glory : grant that with our entrance
there may be an entrance of holy Angels, ministering together with us, and
with us glorifying Thy goodness.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the
glory, now and ever. Amen.
The Priest and Deacon bow before the Altar, and kiss it.
The Choir sing a hymn ; which being finished, the Deacon
saith : Let us attend.
The Priest, then turning towards the people, holdeth in both
hands the Gospel Book, and the Choir sing the Trisagion,
which changeth according to the season.

Liturgy. • 75
Trisagion.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, [Thou
that wast Crucified for us,] have mercy upon us.
[" Thou that wast crucified for us," on certain seasons is
changed thus : At the Nativity.
Thou, Who hast come to dwell among us.
At Easter.
Thou, Who didst rise from the dead.
At Ascension.
Thou, Who didst with great glory ascend into Heaven.
At the Transfiguration.
Thou, Who wast transfigured among men.
On Holy Saturday.
Thou, Who wast buried.]
Meanwhile the Priest in secret saith j
PRAYER OF THE TRISAGION.
O God, Who art holy, and resteth in the holy of holies, Who art praised
by the song of the Seraphim, and glorified by the Cherubim, and adored by
all heavenly powers : Thou, Who didst create all things out of nothing, and
didst make man after Thine own image and likeness, and didst adorn him with
all Thy Graces ; Thou Who givest to him that seeketh wisdom and under
standing, and passeth not by the sinner, but dost give him repentance to salva
tion ; Thou Who hast vouchsafed that we, Thy worthless and humble servants,
should stand even at this time before the glory of Thy Holy Altar, and should
pay to Thee the worship and praise that is meet : receive, O Lord, the Hymn
of the Trisagion, and visit us in Thy goodness ; forgive us all our offences,
voluntary and involuntary ; sanctify our hearts, souls, and bodies, and grant

j6 The Armenian Church.
that we may serve Thee in holiness all the days of our life ; through the inter
cessions of the Most Holy Mother of God, and all the Saints who have pleased
Thee since the foundation of the world.
Aloud. For Holy art Thou, our God, and to Thee we
ascribe all honour and power, now and for ever, and world
without end. Amen. The Litany.6
Again and again [in peace, let us make our supplications
unto the Lord.
Choir. Lord have mercy upon us.
For the peace of the world, and the establishment of the
Holy Church ; let us make our supplications unto the Lord.
Choir. Lord have mercy upon us.
For all Holy and Orthodox Bishops ; let us, etc.
Choir. Lord have mercy upon them.
For our Lord the Venerable Patriarch (N.), and for our
Archbishop (or Bishop) (N.) ; let us, etc.
Choir. Lord preserve them, and have mercy upon them.
For all Vartabeds, Priests, Deacons, Singers, and all the
people ; let us, etc.
Choir. Lord preserve them, and have mercy upon them.
For all pious and holy Kings, their families, the court
and camp, for our Sovereign (N.) ; let us, etc.
Choir. Lord preserve them, and have mercy upon them.
For those souls that have departed to rest in the true
faith of Christ ; let us, etc.
Choir. Lord remember them, and have mercy upon
them. Again and again let us pray for the unity of our true
and holy faith.
Choir. Lord have mercy upon us.
Let us commend ourselves to the Lord God Almighty.

Liturgy. 77
Choir. We will devote ourselves unto Thee, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us say with one accord, In the greatness
of Thy mercy have mercy upon us, O Lord our God.
Choir. Lord have mercy upon us. Thrice.}
Meanwhile the Priest, lifting up his hands, saith in a low

O Lord our God, accept this earnest prayer of Thy servants, and in the
multitude of Thy mercies have mercy upon us, and on all Thy people, who put
their trust in the riches of Thy Grace.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. For Thou art our merciful God, and the lover
of men : and to Thee we ascribe honour and power, now
and for ever, and world without end. Amen.
The Priest now seats himself, and the Choir finish the
Psalms. Then is read
The Prophecy.*7
After which follows
The Epistle.
At the end of which, as at the end of every lesson, " Alleluia"
is sung. Then the Priest, having blessed the incense,
turning towards the people, signeth them with the sign of
the Cross. Then the Deacon saith :
Stand ye up.
Priest. Peace be with you.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacons. Hear with awe.

For the Prophecies, Epistles, and Gospels see Calendar, page 41.

78 The Armenian Church.
The Deacon who is to read the Gospel. The Holy Gospel
according to (N.) read to you.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
Deacon. Let us attend.
Choir. God speaks.
The Holy Gospel.
The Senior Deacon then reads the Gospel, at the end of
which the Choir sing :
Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
The Priest standing before the Altar recites the Creed,
which the Deacon also repeats in a loud voice.
The Creed.8
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker
of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and in
visible :
And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-
Begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father, of the very
essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, Very
God of Very God, Begotten not made, being of one sub
stance with the Father, by Whom all things were made,
in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible :
Who for us men and for our salvation 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:
He suffered, was crucified and buried ; and the third day
He rose again, and ascended into heaven with the same
Body, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father ,- and
He shall come with the same Body, and in the glory of His

Liturgy. 79

Father, to judge both the quick and the dead ; Whose
kingdom shall have no end :
We also believe in the Holy Ghost not created, most
perfect ; Who spake in the Law, in the Prophets, and in
the Gospels; Who descended upon Jordan ; Who preached
Him that was sent ; Who dwelleth in the Saints :
We also believe One only Catholic and Apostolic Church ;
One Baptism to repentance, for the remission of sins ; the
resurrection of the dead ; the eternal judgment both of
souls and bodies ; the kingdom of heaven, and the life
everlasting :
* And for them that say, There was a time when the
Son of God was not ; or, in like manner, There was a time
when the Holy Ghost was not; or, that They were
made of nothing, or that the Son of God and the Holy
Ghost are of another substance, or that they are mutable ;
the Orthodox and Apostolic Church saith, let them be
anathema. The Deacon now presenteth the Gospel Book to the Priest,
saying, Sir, give the blessing.
The Priest having kissed the Gospel Book addeth to the
Creed : Confession of St. Gregory.
And we also glorify Him Who was before all worlds ; we
worship the Holy Trinity, and the One Godhead, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and to all ages.
Amen.

In some editions a rubric is inserted. Thus far the Symbol of Faith.

80 The Armenian Church.
The Litany.
Deacon. Again and again [in peace, let us make our
supplications to the Lord.
Choir. Lord have mercy.
Deacon. Again and again let us pray with faith, and
beseech the Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ at
this hour of sacrifice and prayer, that He would be pleased
to accept and listen to the voice of our requests, and that
the petitions of our hearts may be pleasing in His sight;
that He would pardon our sins, and have mercy upon us ;
that He would let these our prayers and supplications ever
ascend to His Divine Majesty ; that He may grant to us
to labour in good works, and in the unity of faith ; and may
the Almighty Lord pour out upon us the grace of His
Mercy, and save us, and have mercy upon us.
Choir. Save us, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord, that we may pass
this hour of holy sacrifice, and this day, in peace.
Choir. Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord for the Angels of
peace, and the guardians of our souls.
Choir. Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord for the pardon and
remission of our sins.
Choir. Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord to send the great
and victorious powers of His most Holy Cross to our aid.
Choir. Grant this, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us again pray unto the Lord for the unity
of our true and holy faith.
Choir. Lord, have mercy.
Deacon. We will devote ourselves and each other to
Thee, O Lord God Almighty.

Liturgy. 8 1
Choir. We will devote ourselves unto Thee, O Lord.
Deacon. Let us all say, with one accord, Have mercy
upon us, O God-, after Thy great goodness.]
Choir. Lord, have mercy. Thrice.
While this Litany is being chanted, the Priest, lifting up
his hands, saith in a low voice :
prayer for the gifts.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Who art rich in mercy, and plenteous
in the bestowal of Thy benefits, Thou Who of Thine own freewill didst, at this
very hour, endure the suffering and death of the Cross for our sins, and didst
richly bestow the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit upon the Holy Apostles; we pray
Thee to make us also partakers of Thy Heavenly Gifts, for the remission of
our sins, and the receiving Thy Holy Spirit.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. That we may be worthy to glorify Thee with
thanksgiving, with the Father and the Holy Ghosi, now
and ever, and world without end. Amen.
The Priest, turning towards the people, saith :
Peace be with all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord.
Choir. Even before Thee, O Lord.*
. Priest. O Christ our Saviour, confirm us, and preserve
us from the fear of evil, by Thy peace which passeth
all understanding and speech ; and grant to us, together
with all Thy true worshippers, to worship Thee in spirit
and in truth; for to the most Holy Trinity belongeth
glory, dominion, and honour, now and for ever, and world
without end.

* Bears the meaning also of '¦ Even before thee, O Priest." G

82 The Armenian Church.
Choir. Amen.
Blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ.
Choir. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. The Lord our God bless you all.
Expulsion of the Catechumens.9
Deacon. Let none [of the Catechumens, let no one who
has little faith, let none of the penitentb who are not yet
purified, approach these Divine Mysteries.]
Choir. The Body of our Lord, [and the Blood ot our
Saviour are before us. The heavenly powers invisible to
us, sing and say, without ceasing, Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts.]
Deacon. Sing psalms unto the Lord [oui God, O ye
Choirs, with a sweet voice : and let us sing spiritual
hymns.] The curtain is now closed, and the Celebrant uncovers his
head, placing the Cap on the altar. If he be a Bishop, he
takes off his episcopal Vestments, remaining vested as a
simple Priest. Thecurtain is then opened, the choir mean
while singing one of the following Hymns.
For Easter and the Great Feasts.
[Let us, who mystically represent the Cherubim, and sing
the holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, lay by at this
time all worldly cares ; that we may receive the King of
Glory, invisibly attended by all the angelic orders. Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia.
For Christmas, the Annunciation, and Assumption.
Rejoice, O ye heavens, and tremble, O ye foundations
of the earth, for the Lord, Who is from everlasting, hath

Liturgy. 83
appeared among us, and hath come to save mankind : Foi
an innumerable company of Angels, and of the heavenly
Hosts, have descended with Him Who is the King, the
Only-Begotten, singing and saying, This is verily the Son
of God. For Thursday of the Mystic Supper.
O Thou ineffable Word of God, Thou Who sittest on
the glorious throne ; Thou hast descended from the heaven
of heavens for the sake of Thine unworthy creatures :
Thou didst vouchsafe, on this very day, to seat Thyself at
Table with Thy Disciples. The Cherubim with awe and
trembling surround Thee, and the Choirs of Heaven won
dering, sing, Holy, Holy. Holy, Lord God of Hosts.
For Sundays and Feast Days.
O Thou, Who hast created the Hierarchy of Heaven to
glorify Thee in Thy Church, thousands of Archangels, and
myriads of Angels are present there to do Thee service ;
yet Thou art pleased to receive praise from men in these
mystical words, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts.
For Feast Days of Martyrs.
O Saint of Saints, how wonderful Thou art: the
Heavenly Hosts praise Thee, saying, Glory to God in the
Highest, and on earth peace.
For Common Days, and on Commemorations of the Departed.
O most loving Father, receive, we pray Thee, this
Sacrifice in commemoration of the departed, and reckon
their souls among the number of the elect in Thy King
dom ; for we offer Thee this Sacrifice in the certain hope
of obtaining reconciliation with Thee, both for ourselves
and for those for whom we pray.
G 2

84

The Armenian Church.

For Feast Days of Prophets, Apostles, and Bishops.
Thou art all-powerful, O Thou the Lord of Hosts, the
eternal King ; Thou Who sittest in the highest heaven ;
Thou Who givest light to all Thy creation ; Thou hast, by a
wonderful act of humility, descended on the earth. We
therefore offer to Thee this sacrifice, even unto Thee, O
Lord, Who hast crowned Thy Holy Saint (N.), whom
Thou allowest to intercede for us, before the footstool of
Thy glory, O Lord most high.]
the great entrance.
During the singing of these Hymns, the Senior Deacon
incenses the Altar, and, accompanied by another Deacon,
goes to the Credence table on the right of the Altar ; and
having incensed the Gifts, and given the censer to the
other Deacon, takes the chalice, on which rests the dish,
upon which the bread is placed covered with the veil, and
raising the sacred gifts as high as his head, carries them
round the Altar. The Priest, meanwhile bowing before the
Altar, saith : PRAYER OF GREAT ENTRANCE.
None is worthy among them that are bound with fleshly desires and plea
sures to approach Thy Holy Altar, nor to sacrifice unto Thee, the King of
Glory ; for to minister to Thee is great and fearful, even to the heavenly powers
themselves. Yet through Thine ineffable and measureless love, Thou didst
unchangeably and immutably become man, and didst take the title of our High
Priest, and didst confide unto us the Priesthood for this Holy Ministry, and
didst give unto us this unbloody Sacrifice, Thou Who art Lord of all, and Who
rulest over all things that are in heaven and in earth. Thou Who sittest be
tween the Cherubim and Seraphim, Thou Who dwellest in the Holy of Holies,
Thou Who art the true King of Israel, Thou Who alone art Holy, and Who
reposest in the Saints. To Thee do we call. Thou That art only good and
leady to hear, look down upon me a sinner, and Thine unworthy servant.
Cleanse my heart and soul from an evil conscience, and strengthen me with

Liturgy. 85

the might of the Holy Ghost, even me who have been endued with the grace of
Thy Priesthood, that I may stan d before this Holy Altar, and offer Thy Holy and
Spotless Body and Precious Blood. Before Thee I make my approach bowing
the head, and I beseech Thee, turn not away Thy face from me, nor reject me
from among the number of Thy sons ; but condescend that these gifts may be
offered unto Thee by me a sinner and Thine unworthy servant. For Thou
art He That offerest, and He That art offered ; He That receivest and He That
art received ; and to Thee, O Christ our God, we ascribe honour, and power.
and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
The Priest now turneth towards the Deacon, who beareth
the sacred gifts, and taking the censer incenses them while
they are still in the hands of the Deacon. He then takes
the chalice and disk covered with the veil and places them
on the Altar, and again incenses them. After this, water
is brought by the Deacon, and the Priest washes his hands,
saying, in a low voice :
Psalm xxvi. 6 — 12.
6 I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord : and so will I go to Thine
altar; 7 That I may shew the voice of thanksgiving : and tell of all Thy wondrous
works. 8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house : and the place where Thine
honour dwelleth.
9 O shut not up my soul with the sinners : nor my life with the blood
thirsty ;
10 In whose hands is wickedness : and their right hand is full of gifts.
1 1 But as for me, I will walk innocently : O deliver me, and be merciful
Hiito me.
1 2 My foot standeth right : I will praise the Lord in the congregations.
Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: both now
and ever, and world without end. Amen.
The Deacon meanwhile saith :
Again and again [in peace let us make our supplication
to the Lord.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Again let us stand before the Holy Table of

86 The Armenian Church.
God in faith and holiness : let us pray, not with fraud and
scandal, not with deceit and malice, not with doubting and
uttle faith ; but with good works, with a pure mind, with a
clean heart, with a perfect faith, to the fulfilment of charity,
and the increase of every good work. Let us stand up in
prayer before this Holy Altar of God, and we shall find
grace and mercy at the day of the revelation of all things,
at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
shall save, and have mercy upon us.
Choir. Save us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.]
Meanwhile the Priest, lifting up his hands, saith, in a
low voice.
Prayer of St. Athanasius of Alexandria.
0 Lord God of Hosts, Creator of all things, Who hast brought everything
from non-existence into being, Who hast caused our dull nature to become
the minister of this awful and unspeakable mystery, do Thou, O Lord, to
Whom we bring this sacrifice, accept this offering from us, and make it the
mystery of the Body and Blood of Thine Only-Begotten Son ; and grant
unto us, who partake of It, that this Bread and Wine may be for the healing
and pardoning our sins.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. Through the grace and love of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whom we ascribe all honour,
power, and glory, now and for ever, and world without end.
Choir. Amen.
the peace.
The Priest, turning towards the people, saith :
Peace be with all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Let us bow down unto the Lord.
Choir. Even unto Thee, O Lord.

Liturgy. 87
The Priest now kisseth the Altar, and the Deacon also kisseth
the Altar and the arms of the Priest. The Deacon then
conveys the kiss of peace to the Clergy and Choir, and
saith :
Salute one another [with a holy kiss ; let those who are
unable to communicate, go outside the doors, and pray
there.10] Choir. Christ hath appeared [in the midst of us; and
when He, Who is our God, is present, the voice of peace
should be heard : He hath given us the power of the Holy
Gospel ; He hath taken away enmity, and hath poured out
love through the whole world. Now, ye, His ministers,
lift up your voices, and with one heart bless the Consub
stantial God-head, Who is praised by voices of Seraphim.]
The Priest now kisseth the Altar again; and the people,
bowing to each other, say :
Christ is in the midst of us.
Deacon. Stand we upright ; stand we with fear : let us
attend, humbly and with attention.
Choir. Before Thee, O Lord.
Deacon. Christ, the Lamb of God, without blemish, is
borne as a sacrifice.
Choir. The grace of the world, iind the sacrifice of
praise.

( 88 )

THE ANAPHORA o*.
THE CANON-

Anaphora, or the Canon.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
The Priest, turning towards the people, and signing them
with the cross, saith :
The grace of the love, and of the divine sanctifying
power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be
with you.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. The doors ! the doors ! with all wisdom and
caution.11 Lift up your minds on high, in the fear of God.
Choir. We have lifted them up unto Thee, O Lord
God Almighty.
Deacon. Let us give thanks unto the Lord with all our
hearts. Choir. It is meet and right so to do.
While the Deacon and Choir are singing, the Priest, with
joined hands saith, in a low voice :
Preface.
It is very meet and right that we should with all devotion, and at all times,
worship and glorify Thee, Almighty Father, Who, with the co-operation of
Thine incomprehensible Word, didst tread under foot the bonds of the curse ;

Liturgy. 89

for He hath collected together those that believe in Thee, and hath formed of
them a Church, which Thou hast appropriated unto Thyself. He did vouchsafe
to dwell among us in that human nature which He did receive from the Virgin)
and by a new act, as God, did create a heaven on the earth. He, before
Whom the angels could not stand for the glistening and incomprehensible
light of His Godhead, became Man for the sake of our salvation, and hath
granted to us to form part, with the heavenly host, of a spiritual company.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. And with Cherubim and Seraphim to boldly
sing sacred songs, to cry, to call, and say,
ter sanctus.
Choir. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth ;
heaven and earth are full of Thy glory ; Hosanna in the
highest. [Blessed art Thou Who art come, and art to
come in the name of the Lord : Hosanna in the highest].
Meanwhile the Priest lifting up his hands saith in secret :
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION.
Holy, Holy, Holy ; Thou art in truth most Holy ; who is there that can
venture to describe by words these Thy bounties, which flow down upon us
without measure? For Thou didst protect and console our forefathers (when
they had fallen through sin) in divers manners, by prophecies, by the insti
tution of the law, the priesthood, and the offering of bullocks, shadowing out
that which was to come.
And when at length He did come, Thoudidst tear in pieces the handwriting
of our sins, and didst bestow upon us Thy Only- Begotten Son, the debtor and
the debt, the sacrifice and the anointed, the Lamb and the Bread of Heaven,
the Priest and the offering ; for it is He Who giveth, and He Who is continu
ally given amongst us, and is not exhausted. He was truly Man, and that
not in an imaginary manner; and by an union without fusion, was incarnate
of the Mother of God, the Ever-Virgin Mary, and lived as Man in all things,
sin only excepted. He was the Saviour of the world, and the cause of our
salvation.

90 The Armenian Church,
The Priest, having kissed the Altar, now takes in his hand
the bread, and continues :
He went, of His own free will, to the Cross, in the night wherein He was
betrayed : and having taken bread into His Holy, Divine, and Immaculate
Hands, He blessed it, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave it to His Holy
Disciples and Apostles, and said,
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
CONSECRATION OF BREAD.
Aloud. Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken
for you and for many, for the cleansing and remission of
sins. Choir. Amen.
The Priest, placing his hands on the chalice, continues to say
in a low voice :
In like manner He also took the cup, and blessed it; and having given
thanks He drank of it, and gave it to His Holy and Chosen Disciples, whilst
they were seated, saying,
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.

CONSECRATION OF WINE.
Aloud. Drink of this : This is My Blood of the New
Testament, shed for you and for many, for the cleansing
and remission of sins.
Choir. Amen.
Choir. O heavenly Father, [Who didst give up Thy Son
to death, as the debtor of our debts ; we beseech Thee, for
the sake of His Blood, which has been shed, to have mercy
upon us Thy rational flock.]

Liturgy. 9 1
The Priest, with arms partially extended, meanwhile con
tinues in a low voice :
commemoration of our lord's life.
And Thine Only-Begotten Son, the Lover of men, commanded us to df
this in remembrance of Him. And when He descended into the grave, witl
the Body which He had assumed, He crushed mightily the gates of hell: and
manifested Thee unto us, as the one true God, the God of the quick and of
the dead.
The Priest taking the Offering in his hands maketh the
sign of the Cross with the Host and Chalice, and con-
tinueth in a low voice :
We now, O Lord, in obedience to this commandment, perform the salutary
mystery of the Body and Blood of Thine Only-Begotten Son, and do com
memorate His sufferings for our sakes . His Crucifixion which He underwent
while alive; His three days' Burial ; His blessed Resurrection ; His Ascension
as of a God ; Who now sitteth, O Father, at Thy right hand ; we also con
fess, and bless His awful and glorious coming again.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Having replaced the Offering on the Holy Table, the Priest
saith aloud:
THE OBLATION.
In behalf of all, and for all, Thine own offer we unto
Thee of Thine own.
Choir. In all things [Thou art blessed, O Lord ; we
sing unto Thee, O Lord, and make our prayer unto Thee,
O our God. J
Whilst they are singing, the Priest lifting up his hands, con-
tinueth in a low voice :
In truth, O Lord, our God, we sing unto Thee, we give thanks unto Thee
for ever, inasmuch as Thou hast not despised our unworthiness for this awful
and unspeakable mystery, but hast appointed us as its ministers, not for any

92 The Armenian Church.
good works which we have done, for in them we have alway been wanting ;
but trusting in Thy great mercy, we venture to draw near to the ministration
of the Body and Blood of Thy Only-Begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, to Whom belongeth glory, and dominion, and honour, now and
for ever, and world without end. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give [the blessing.
Priest. Peace be with all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Let us pray unto God.
Choir. Even unto Thee, O Lord, Thou Son of God,
Who wast sacrificed to the Father, for our reconciliation
to Him, for Thou art the Bread of life, Who gavest Thyself
for us by the pouring out of Thy Precious Blood ; unto Thee
do we pray that Thou mayest have mercy upon this Thy
flock, which Thou hast redeemed.]
The Priest meanwhile bowing down saith :
PRAYER FOR THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST.
We worship Thee, we pray unto Thee, we beseech Thee, O merciful God,
that Thou wouldst send down upon us, and upon this offering which is before
us, Thy Holy Consubstantial Spirit.
He then blesseth the Holy Bread, saying in secret three times,
Bless this Bread, so as to make it when blessed the Body of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Deacon saith, Amen, silently thrice.
The Priest in like manner blesseth the Holy Wine, saying
three times,
Bless that which is in this cup, so as to make it when blessed truly the Blood
ef our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Deacon saith, Amen, silently thrice.

Liturgy. 93
The Priest then continueth three times,
Bless this Bread, and that which is in this cup, and change them by Thy
Holy Spirit, so as to make them when blessed truly the Body and Blood of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Deacon saith in secret, Amen, thrice.
. The Priest continueth aloud,
May this be unto us, who partake thereof, not for con
demnation, but for the cleansing and remission of our sins.
The Choir now sing this Hymn while the Deacon incenses
the people.
[Spirit of God, Who descendest from heaven, and per-
formest the mystery of Him, Who together with Thee is
glorified through our hands, by the pouring forth of His
Blood, we beseech Thee to grant rest to the so"uls of those
of our brethren that have fallen asleep.]
Meanwhile the Priest saith in a low voice, with his hands
no longer extended :
PRAYER FOR THE LIVING.
By this sacrifice bestow charity, stability, and the peace we desire on the
whole world, on the Holy Church, on all Orthodox Bishops, Priests, Deacons,
Kings, Princes, and People, on those who travel by land and water, those who
are in captivity, tribulation, difficulty, and on those who are fighting with
barbarians. Bestow on us by this sacrifice a healthy state of the atmosphere,
abundance of the fruits of the earth: and to the sick a speedy recovery from
their diseases. PRAYER FOR THE DEAD.
By this sacrifice give rest to the Patriarchs, the Teachers, the Prophets, the
Apostles, to all Martyrs, to all Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and Clergy of Thy
Holy Church, and to all the Laity, both men and women who have departed
in the faith of Thy Holy Church.

gq. The Armenian Church.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. And together with them visit us, O merciful God,
who now offer our prayers unto Thee.
Choir. Remember us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.
Priest. We pray that the Holy Mother of God the Holy
Ever-Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, the first Confessor
St. Stephen, and all the Saints may be commemorated in
this Holy Sacrifice.
Choir. Remember them, [O Lord, and have mercy upon
them. The Deacons then go to the right side of the Holy Table,
and the senior one saith :
We pray that all Holy Apostles, Prophets, Vartabeds,
ana Martyrs, the Holy Patriarchs, the Bishops equal to
the Apostles, Priests, Orthodox Deacons, and all the Saints,
may be commemorated in this Holy Sacrifice.
Choir. Remember them, O Lord, and have mercy upon
them. Deacon. Let us give thanks lor the blessed, highly to be
praised, glorious, miraculous, and Divine resurrection of
Christ our Lord.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, oui risen Lord.
(When the Liturgy is performed on any other day than
Sunday , instead of the Deacon's address on the resurrection, he
shall say "Let the Saint," whether martyr or whosoever it is,
whose memory is on that day kept (mentioning his name)
"be commemorated in this Holy Sacrifice."
Choir. Remember him, O Lord, and have mercy upon
him.) Deacon. We pray that our first preachers, and our
illuminators the Holy Apostles Thaddeus and Bar-

Liturgy. 95
tholomew, our first Patriarch and Illuminator Gregory.
the Saints Aristaces, Vertannes, Oscan, Gregory, Nierces,
Isaac, Daniel, Khath, Mesrop the teacher, Gregory of
Narighon, Nierces of Klaen, John of Odsentsi, Gregory
and Moses or Tathivan, Gregory and Nierces, and all
the Saints, together with all Haian Holy Fathers, Pastors,
and Teachers, may be commemorated in this Holy Sacri
fice.12 Choir, Remember them, O Lord, and have mercy upon
them. Deacon. Let us pray that the holy recluses, our
venerable God-fearing Religious, Paul, Antony, Po-
gose, Machrins, Onophrie, the Abbot Mark, Seraphion,
Nilos, Arsenee, Evachie, Barsumas, the Johannes, the
Simons, Oscans, and Sarkisses, together with all holy and
venerable Fathers and their followers throughout the
whole world, may be commemorated in this Holy Sacri
fice. Choir. Remember them, O Lord, and have mercy upon
them. Deacon. Let us pray that the Christian Kings, Abgar,
Constantine, Tiridates, Theodosius, all holy and pious
Sovereigns, and orthodox Princes, may be commemorated
in this Holy Sacrifice.
Choir. Remember them, O Lord, and have mercy upon
them. Deacon. Let us pray that all believers, wheresoever
they may have been, men and women, old and young, of
every age, who have fallen asleep in Christ, and in holi
ness and in the faith, may be commemorated in this Holy
Sacrifice. Choir. Remember them, O Lord, and have mercy upon
them.]

g6 The Armenian Church.
During this Litany the Priest saith in a low voice :
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH.
Remember, O Lord, and bless and have mercy upon Thy Holy Catholic
and Apostolic Church, which Thou didst redeem by the precious Blood, of
Thy Only-Begotten Son, and which Thou didst deliver by Thy Holy Cross ;
bestow upon it an eternal peace. Remember, O Lord, and bestow Thy bless
ing upon all orthodox Bishops, who have rightly dispensed, and shown us the
word of truth. —
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing..
Aloud. In the first place, O Lord, remember our most
pious and great sovereign. (N.)
(Here the names of all members of the reigning family are
given separately . /
Their court officers, and their Christian army ; preserve
them and have mercy on them, and bestow upon them,
profound peace for many years.
Choir. Amen.
Priest. Remember, O Lord, George, the most honourable
Patriarch of the whole Haian Nation, and their most holy
Catholicos ; grant to him long to rule over Thy Holy
Churches, rightly dividing to them the word of God.
Choir. Amen.
[Priest. Remember also (N.) the Archbishop of all the Haian Nation
residing in Russia ; grant him long to rule over us, rightly dividing the word
of truth.
Choir. Amen. This petition is said in Russia only.']
Then the Deacon, standing on the right side of the Holy
Table, saith :
We offer unto thee, [0 Lord our God, our thanksgivings
and praise for that most holy and immortal sacrifice which
is now on this Holy Table. Grant it may be for the sane-

Liturgy. 97
tification of our lives, and together with it bestow upon us
charity and stedfastness ; and to the whole world, to
the holy Church, to all orthodox Bishops, and particularly
to our Archbishop (N.), to the Venerable Patriarch of the
Armenians, and to the Priest who offers this Sacrifice,
grant we beseech Thee, Thy Peace. Give strength and
victory to our Sovereign (N.) and to all his Royal family.
We also beseech and pray Thee for the souls of those who
have fallen asleep, for the souls of our teachers, and of
the founders of this Church, for those who have been
buried under the shadow of it, for the deliverance of our
brethren who are in captivity, for the well-being of all
who are here present, and for the repose of those who in
faith and holiness have fallen asleep in Christ ; and we
desire that they may be commemorated in this holy
Sacrifice.] Choir. In behalf [of all men, and for all things, O Lord,
do Thou, Who comest down from heaven to complete the
work of our hands, grant, we beseech Thee, repose to the
souls of those for whom we pray.]
The Priest meanwhile saith in a low voice :
Prayer for the People.
Remember, O Lord, bless and have mercy upon these Thy people who now
stand before Thee, and upon him who offers this Sacrifice, and bestow upon
them whatever is necessary and profitable for them. Remember, O Lord.
bless and have mercy upon those who are devoted, and bring gifts to Thy Holy
Church, and who remember the poor in their alms. Render to them of Thy
great and heavenly bounty whatsoever they have lent unto Thee an hundred
fold here, and in the world to come. Remember, O Lord, and show Thy
mercy and compassion on the souls of those who are fallen asleep ; give them
repose and light, and a place together with Thy Saints in Thy heavenly king
dom, and vouchsafe unto them Thy favour. Remember, 0 Lord, the soul of
Thy servant N.,13 and have mercy upon him in the greatness of Thy loving
kindness, and give him repose by visiting him with the light of Thy countenance ;
H

98

The Armenian Church.

and if alive, save him from all spiritual and bodily evil. Remember also, O
Lord, those who have commanded us to commemorate both the living and the
dead in our prayers ; direct their and our wills and desires in the path that
leadeth to salvation ; and bestow upon all men Thy rich and inexhaustible
mercy. Cleanse our thoughts, and make of us a temple fit for the reception
of the Body and Blood of Thy Only-Begotten Son our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ ; to Whom with Thee, Almighty Father, together with the Holy,
Good, and Freedom-giving Spirit, belongeth glory, and dominion, and honour,
now and for ever, and world without end. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
The Priest, turning towards the people and signing them
with the Cross, saith :
The grace of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus
Christ be with you all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Again and again [in peace let us make our sup
plications unto the Lord.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Let us, with all the Saints whom we have
commemorated, earnestly pray unto the Lord.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Let us offer up our prayers unto the Lord, for
those who offer these divine gifts which have been brought
here, and which are now lying on this holy Table.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Let us pray that the Lord our God, the Lover
of mankind, will receive them on His Holy Altar, as the
odour of a sweet smelling savour; and that He will send
down upon us His heavenly grace, and the gift of His
Holy Spirit.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Assist, preserve, succour, have mercy upon us,
and guard us with Thy grace, O Lord God.
Choir. Save us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

Liturgy. 99
Deacon. Lord, have mercy upon us, who have com
memorated the most Holy Mother of God, the Ever-Virgir.
Mary, and all the Saints.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Let us pray unto the Lord, for the Unity of
our true and holy faith.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. Let us offer our souls, and all that we have,
unto the Lord God Almighty.
Choir. Unto Thee, O Lord, we offer ourselves.
Deacon. Let us say with one accord, In the greatness
of Thy mercy, have mercy upon us O Lord our God
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. (Thrice.)']
Meanwhile the Priest continueth to pray in secret :
O God of truth, Father of mercies, we give thanks unto Thee, Who hast
honoured our sinful nature more than that of the Holy Patriarchs, inasmuch
as to them Thou wast called their God, but to us Thou hast been pleased to
call Thyself Father ; aud we now beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant that the
gift of this new, honourable, and glorious appellation may flourish more
brightly in Thy Church day by day.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. And grant to us to open our lips, and as children
to call upon Thee, O Heavenly Father, saying :
The Choir sing the Lord's Prayer, the Priest meanwhile saying
in a low voice :
The Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, Which [art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven. Give us this day oui daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses. As we orgive them that
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation;
But deliver us from evil.]
H 2

ioo The Armenian Church.
While the Choir are singing the Lord's Prayer, the Deacon
incenses the People, and the Priest in a low voice con
tinueth :
Lord of lords, and God of gods, everlasting King, Maker of all creatures,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil, and save us from all misfortunes.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the
glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
I If there be a Sermon it followeth here ; and it being ended
the Priest saith :)
Peace be with all.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Let us worship God.
Choir. Even before Thee, O Lord.*
The Priest, bowing himself before the Altar, saith this Prayer
in a low voice, the congregation meekly kneeling :
Prayer of Inclination.
, O Holy Ghost, Thou Who art the Source of life, and the Giver of all good
things, have merey upon these Thy people, who, bowing before Thee, worship
Thy Godhead ; keep them free from sin; and imprint in their souls that same
lowly posture their body assumes, that they may inherit and partake of those
good things which are to come.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Aloud. Through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to Whom,
with Thee, O Holy Ghost, and the Almighty Father,
belongeth glory, dominion, and honour, now and for ever,
and world without end. Amen.
Deacon. Let us attend. * See Note, page 81.

Liturgy. 101

The Elevation.
The Priest, lifting up the Holy Sacrifice in sight of the
people, saith :
Holy things for holy persons.
Choir. One only is holy, One only is the Lord, Jesus
Christ to the honour of God the Father. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. Blessed be the Holy Father, the true God.
Choir. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. Blessed be the Holy Son, the true God.
Choir. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. [Making with the Host the sign of the Cross over
the Chalice.) Blessed be the Holy Ghost, the true God.
Choir. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest. Blessing and glory be to the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and world without
end. Choir. Amen. The Father is holy, the Son is holy,
the Spirit is holy. Blessing be to the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and world without
end. Amen.
Meanwhile the Priest, bowing himself down, prays in a low
voice :
Look down, O Lord Jesus Christ, from Thy holy dwelling place, and from
the throne of the glory of Thy dominion, and come to us, and sanctify us,
Thou Who sittest together with Thy Father on high, and art here sacrificed,
vouchsafe with Thy mighty hand to give unto us Thy most pure Body and
precious Blood, that we may give them to all Thy people.

io2 The Armenian Church.
When the Priest has finished this prayer, he kisseth the holy
Table, and taking the most pure Body, he dips it entirely
into the most precious Blood, and continueth to pray
thus :
O Lord our God, Who hast called us Christians from the Name of Thine
Only-Begotten Son, Who hast given unto us Baptism, a spiritual laver, for the
remission of sins, and vouchsafed unto us to be partakers of the most holy Body
and Blood of Thine Only-Begotten Son ; we now beseech Thee, 0 Lord, to
receive this Holy Mystery to the remission of our sins, and we give thanks and
glory unto Thee, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and
world without end. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Then the Priest, taking up the Holy Sacrament, turning
himself to the people, maketh over them the sign of the
Cross and saith,
Let us eat the Holy and Pure Body and Blood, of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in holiness, Who, having
descended from heaven, is distributed amongst us. Lo,
He is the Life, the Hope, the Resurrection, the Cleansing,
and the Remission of sins. Sing unto the Lord our God,
sing a Psalm to our immortal and heavenly King, Who
sitteth on the chariot of the Cherubim.
Here the curtain in front of the Altar is drawn and the
Deacon from without continueth :
Sing a Psalm [unto the Lord our God: sing unto Him
O ye Choirs, sing spiritual songs with a sweet voice ; for
Psalms, Alleluias, and Spiritual Songs are fitting for Him.
O ye His ministers, sing Psalms, and praise the Lord of
Lords.]

Liturgy. 1 03
The Choir now stand, and sing one of the following Hymns.
On Sundays.
Christ is sacrificed and distributed in the midst of us.
Alleluia. He gives us His Body for our food, and redeems us with
His Holy Blood. Alleluia.
Come near unto the Lord and receive light. Alleluia.
Taste and see how good the Lord is. Alleluia.
Bless the Lord in the highest heavens. Alleluia.
Bless Him in the Holy of Holies. Alleluia.
Bless Him, all ye angels of His. Alleluia.
Bless Him, all ye powers of His. Alleluia.
On Mondays.
O Thou, the true light and splendour of the Father, Thou
Who art indeed the reflection and likeness of His glory,
Thou the Incarnate Word, Who hast erected Thy Holy
Church on an immoveable foundation, Thou Who art
indeed the Victim led to sacrifice : permit us to nourish our
selves at the table of Thy wisdom, and have mercy upon us.
On Tuesdays.
O Thou, the Bread of Life, the Food of immortality, the
holy, ineffable, and incomprehensible Sacrament ; Thou,
Who hast descended from Heaven to give to man a new
and better life, O give to us who thirst for Thee, the riches
of Thy tender mercy, and have mercy upon us.
On Wednesdays.
O Thou, Who art at once the Door of Heaven and the
Road to Paradise ; Thou Who art the Lord of Life, before
Whom Angels and Archangels sing hymns of praise ;
Thou, Who didst distribute to the Apostles Thy pure Body
and Blood : cleanse us, that we may also be partakers of
this Divine Sacrament, and have mercy upon us.

104 The Armenian Church.
On Thursdays.
O Word of the Father and Great High-Priest, Thou,
Who art glorified by the Angels in the highest Heaven ;
Thou, Who on the Cross didst suffer for us, and didst shed
Thy Blood for the salvation of the world : do Thou cause
our sins to be washed out by the precious Blood that Thou
didst shed for our salvation, and have mercy upon us.
On Fridays.
O Lord Jesus Christ, true and Head Corner Stone,
Thou, Who art glorified by the song of the Heavenly Host ;
Thou, Who on the Cross didst come to pour out from Thy
sacred Side the immortal stream which taketh away the sin
of the world : grant that we who thirst for Thee may drink
from this sacred Fount, and have mercy upon us.
On Saturdays.
O Lamb of God, Thou, Who art ever sacrificed, yet ever
living ; Thou, Who art worshipped by all the Host of
Heaven ; Thou, Who though free from sin wast put to
death, and sacrificed to reconcile us to the Father : purify
us from sin, and cleanse the souls of those who have de
parted in Thy Holy Faith, and have mercy upon us.
While the Choir is singing the Priest taking the Holy Body
in his hands saith :
The Confession of Faith.
What blessing or what thanksgivings can we offer for this Bread and Cup ?
But Thee only, Jesus do we bless, together with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, now and for ever. Amen.
Aloud. I acknowledge and believe that Thou art Christ,
the Son of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.

Liturgy. 105
The Fraction.
Then dividing the holy Bread into four portions, he places
one of them in the Chalice, saying :
The operation of the Holy Ghost.
And taking one of the Pieces into his hands, he continueth
to pray in secret :
Prayer of St. Chrysostom.
Holy Father, Who hast called us by the Name of Thine.Only-Begotten Son,
and hast enlightened us by the baptism of the spiritual laver, grant unto us to
partake of this Holy Mystery for the remission of sins ; and imprint in us the
grace of Thy Holy Spirit, as Thou didst in the Holy Apostles ; who when
they had received Him, became the purifiers of the world. And now, O Lord
and good Father, take away the cloud of my sins, and make me by partici
pating in this, to become with His Disciples, a partaker in His Last Supper.
Look not upon our unworthiness, and take not away from us the grace of
Thy Holy Spirit, but through Thine infinite love, grant that this may be for
the purification and remission of our sins, as our Lord Jesus Christ promised,
when He said, whosoever eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood shall live
for ever. Make this to be now a purification for us, that they who eat and
drink of It may glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; now and
for ever, and world without end. Amen.
Peace be with all.
I give thanks unto Thee O Christ my King, Who dost vouchsafe unto me,
unworthy as I am, to partake of Thy Holy Body and Blood. Now, O Lord, I
beseech Thee that this may not be unto me for condemnation, but for the
cleansing and remission of my sins, and for the healing of both my soul and
body, and for the performance of every good work ; that it may sanctify both
my body and soul, and make me the temple and the dwelling place of Thy
most Holy Trinity ; so that with Thy Saints I may be deemed worthy to
glorify Thee, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for.
ever, and world without end. Amen.
After this the Priest saith,
Prayer of St. John Chrysostom.
I give thanks unto Thee, I magnify and glorify Thee, O Lord my God,

106 The Armenian Church.
inasmuch as this day Thou hast vouchsafed me, unworthy as I am, to be
partaker of the divine and awful mysteries of thy most pure Body and Blood.
Having this for my defence, I beseech Thee that every day of my life Thou
wouldest keep me in Thy holiness : so that by commemorating Thy good
ness and Thy bounties I may live with Thee : for Thou, O my Lord and God,
didst suffer, die, and rise again for our sakes. Let not the enemy approach to
hurt my soul which has been sealed with the sign of Thy most precious
Blood, and cleanse me, O Lord God, from all my mortal sins, for Thou alone
art without sin,
O Lord God protect my life from all misfortunes, drive away mine enemies,
and all who would do me evil ; strengthen and establish my feet, my thoughts,
my tongue, and all the ways of my body ; be Thou always with me according
to Thy most sure promise, He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood
dwelleth in Me and I in Him. Thou hast said this, O Lover of mankind '¦>
confirm these blessed words, Thy inviolable declarations, for Thou, O God,
art merciful, bountiful, and the Lover of mankind; Thou givest every good
thing, and to Thee belongeth glory, with the Father and the Holy Ghost
now and for ever, world without end. Amen.
Then signing himself with the sign of the Cross the Priest
prays for himself , for the people, and for all men, even for
his enemies: then with fear and trembling he communicates
himself, saying,
I believe in the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
He then consumes the Holy particles, saying, with intense
earnestness,
O Lord Jesus Christ, I have partaken with confidence of Thy Holy Body
for the remission of my sins.
He then communicates himself from the Chalice, saying,
O Lord Jesus Christ, with confidence I have partaken of Thy purifying
and sanctifying Blood.
He then makes the sign of the Cross on his mouth, and saith,
in the words of the Apostle Thomas,
May Thy most pure Body be unto me for life, and Thy Holy Blood foi
tile cleansing and remission of my sins.

Liturgy. 107
Communion of the People.
The curtain is now opened. The Deacon in his turn com
municates. As many of the people as wish to communicate
now approach, and the Deacon saith:
Draw near [with the fear of God and with faith, and com
municate with awe.
Choir. Our God the Lord hath appeared unto us ; blessed
be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.
If among the Communicants there be a Priest, the Celebrant
gives the Chalice into his hand so that he may com
municate himself; if a Deacon be present he receives into
the palm of his hand a portion of the Body dipped into
the Blood. The Laity are communicated in both kinds
mixed together. The Communicants say with the Priest,
I believe this to be the Body and Blood of the Son of
God, that taketh away the sins of the world, and Who came
to save me and all mankind.]
After the Communion the Priest maketh the sign of the Cross
over the people, and saith :
Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thine inheritance ;
govern them and lift them up for ever. Amen.
The curtain is now closed, and if the Celebrant be a Bishop
he puts on again his episcopal vestments ; if a Priest his
cap and ornaments. During the Communion the choir
sing the Hymns proper for the day, and also :
We have been filled with grace, O Lord, who have
tasted Thy Body and Blood. Glory in the highest be unto
that Providence which always feeds us. Send down upon

108 The Armenian Church.
us Thy spiritual blessings. Glory in the highest be unto
Him Who provideth for us.
Whilst the choir is singing the Priest consumes what remains
of the Sacred Elements, and then repeats in secret these
prayers of thanksgiving.
We give thanks unto Thee, O Father Almighty, Who hast prepared for
us a place of refuge, even the Holy Church, the temple of holiness, where
the Holy Trinity is glorified. Alleluia.
We give thanks unto Thee, O Christ our King, Who hast, by Thy life-
creating and Holy Body and Blood, bestowed life upon us. Grant us salva
tion and Thy great mercies. Alleluia.
We thank Thee, O true Spirit, Who hast founded Thy Holy Church;
keep it undefiled in the faith of the most Holy Trinity, now and for ever.
Amen. Meanwhile the Deacon saith,
Let us [who have received with faith these Divine, Holy,
Heavenly, Immortal, and most Pure and Incorruptible
Mysteries, again and again pray in peace unto the Lord.
Let us thank Him for the benefits He has bestowed upon us.
Choir. We give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, Who hast
fed us from Thine own immortal Table. Thou hast given
Thy Body and Blood for the deliverance of the world and
as life for our souls.]
Meanwhile the Priest saith in a low voice.
The Prayer of Thanksgiving.
We render thanks unto Thee, O Christ our God, Who of Thy goodness
hast bestowed upon us the food for the sanctification of our lives ; keep us
through it holy and without blame under Thy Divine protection ; feed us in
the pastures of Thy holy and good pleasure, that, being strengthened against
all snares of the devil, we may be deemed worthy to hear Thy holy voice, and
follow Thee, the one victorious and true Shepherd, and to receive from Thee
that place which has been prepared for us in the Kingdom of Heaven. For

Liturgy. 109
Thou, O our God and Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, art blessed with the
Father and the Holy Ghost now, and for ever, and world without end
Aner. Peace be with all.
To the inscrutable, incomprehensible, tri-hypostatic Godhead of the Holy,
Consubstantial, Life Creating, and Undivided Trinity, bel mg glory, dominion,
and honour, now and for ever, world without end. Amen.
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Then the curtain is opened, and the Celebrant having washed
his hands, and taking the Gospel Book, comes into the
centre of the choir with the Deacons, and again turning
towards the Altar, saith aloud:
Bless those who bless Thee, O Lord ; and sanctify those
who put their trust in Thee ; save Thy people and bless
Thine inheritance, and protect the fulness of Thy Church.
sanctify those who love the beauty of thy house. Glorify
them with Thy Divine Power, and forsake not us who put
our trust in Thee. Give peace to all Thy Churches, and
to Thy Priests, to all Christian kings, to their armies,
and to all Thy people ; for every good gift, and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from Thee,
the Father of light, and to Thee be glory, dominion,
honour, and worship now and for ever, world without
end. Amen.
Choir. Blessed be the name of the Lord, both now and
evermore. (Thrice.)
The Priest looking towards the people saith,
Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast fulfilled the law and
the prophets, Thou, our Redeemer Who hast perfectly
obeyed the Father, fill us with Thy Holy Spirit.
Deacon. Stand ye up.
Priest. Peace be with you.
Choir. And with Thy Spirit.

1 1 o The Armenian Church.
Deacon. Hear with awe.
Priest. The Holy Gospel according to S. John.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
Deacon. Let us attend.
Choir. God speaks.
The Deacons remove the Cap from the head of the Priest,
who turneth towards the people and readeth to thetn
The Holy Gospel.14
S. John i. i — 18.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made by Him ;
and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And
the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness compre
hended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear
witness of the light, that all men through him might
believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear
witness of that light. That was the true light, which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was
in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the
world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His Name : which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among
us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-
Begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth. John bare
witness of Him and cried, saying, This was He of Whom I
spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me,

Liturgy. 1 1 1
for He was before me. And of His fulness have all we
received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No
man hath seen God at anytime: the only-begotten Son,
Which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared
Him. The Priest now puts on his Cap, and the Choir sing ¦
Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
Deacon. We beseech [the Lord by the Holy Cross and
the Gospel, that He may deliver us from our sins and save
us by the Grace of His mercy upon us.]
Priest. Keep Thy servants, O Christ our God, under the
shadow of Thy Holy and most Honoured Cross, deliver us
from visible and invisible enemies, and grant us to thank
and to glorify Thee, together with the Father, and the
Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and world without end.
Amen. Deacon. I will alway give thanks [unto the Lord : His
praise shall ever be in my mouth.]
The Priest turneth himself towards the people, maketh over
them the sign of the Cross three times, and saith :
May the Holy Ghost rest upon you, and the power from
on high protect you.
The Choir sing this Psalm : —
Psalm XXXIV.
T WILL alway give thanks [unto the Lord : His praise
shall ever be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble
shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O praise the Lord with me : and let us magnify Hid
Name together.

j 1 2 The Armenian Church.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me : yea, He de
livered me out of all my fear.
5 They had an eye unto Him, and were lightened : and
their faces were not ashamed.
6 Lo, the poor crieth, and the Lord heareth him : yea,
and saveth him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord tarrieth round about them that
fear Him : and delivereth them.
8 O taste, and see, how gracious the Lord is : blessed
is the man that trusteth in Him.
9 O fear the Lord, ye that are His saints : for they that
fear Him lack nothing.
io The lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they who
seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good.
n Come, ye children, and hearken unto me : I will teach
vou the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is he who lusteth to live : and would fain
see good days ?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil : and thy lips that they
speak no guile.
14 Eschew evil, and do good : seek peace and ensue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous : and
His ears are open unto their prayers.
16 The countenance of the Lord is against them that do
evil : to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth them : and
delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a con
trite heart : and will save such as be of an humble spirit.
19 Great are the troubles of the righteous : but the Lord
delivereth him out of all.
20 He keepeth all his bones : so that no one of them is
broken.

Liturgy. 113
21 But misfortune shall slay the ungodly: and they that
hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22 The Lord delivereth the souls of His servants :
and all they that put their trust in Him shall not be
destitute. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son ; and to the
Holy Ghost : both now and ever, and to ages of ages.
Amen. While this Psalm is being sung, the Blessed Bread is dis
tributed among the people, and the Priest, bowing towards
the altar, saith in a low voice :
O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.
The Priest then entereth the Vestry, and, having unvested,
depart eth in peace.
END OF THE LITURGY.

Laujs ?£>eo.

( "4 J

NOTES.
(1) Page 63. The Confession is said by the people also
with the Priest.
(2) Page 66. The ritual varies here according to whether
a Priest or Bishop be Celebrant. The Bishop does not
say the prayers, " Bowing before Thy Holy Altar," but
recites two long prayers instead.
(3) Page 70. Prayer of Incense. This prayer is of great
antiquity, almost of Apostolic times. It certainly does not
seem to agree with the idea put forth by a certain well-
known Anglican Prelate that incense was only a pleasant
means of fumigating a church.
(4) Page 72. The Initial Hymn, or as it is called in the
West the Introit, consists of a hymn and several psalms,
sung at intervals until the Little Entrance.
(5) Page 75. The Armenians have been found great fault
with, both by Greek and Latin ritualists, for the additions
they have made to this hymn ; i.e., the words " Thou That
wast crucified." These words are commonly called the
addition of " Peter the Fuller," and were intended to bear
the meaning that the Godhead suffered on the Cross. The
Armenians apply them to the Second Person Incarnate
of the Blessed Trinity, and thus use them in an orthodox
sense only.
(6) Page 76. Here as elsewhere, the longer Litany is
sung by the Priests and Deacons together, the shorter
one by the Deacons alone.
(7) Page 77. A similarity between the Armenian and

Liturgy. 1 1 j
Anglican rites may be noted here, in the sequence of the
Epistle, Gospel, and Creed following together directly after
the reading of the Law.
(8) Page 78. The Creed is almost as it was left after the
Second Council of Constantinople. The additions, " Of
the very essence of the Father, perfectly begotten," was in
serted against the Arians. "He assumed for her .... not
figuratively ." " Ascended into heaven with the same Body,"
against the Gnostics. " Perfectly begotten " against the
Apollinarians. At the end of the anathema against the
Arians is an addition against those who deny the Godhead
of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
(9) Page 82. The adoration of the holy gifts before Con
secration in most Eastern rites has been made great capital
of both by Protestants and Latin writers against the
Easterns. The former for the purpose of trying to prove
the disbelief of the Orientals in the Real Presence, or rather
in the Presence being in the elements, and equally after
as before the formula of Consecration. The latter, always
willing to impute heresy to the Orientals, join with the
Protestants in misstatements on this subject ; but un
fortunately for them, a well known Latin writer points
out that they themselves pay the same respect to the gifts
before consecration, speaking of them at the commence
ment of the canon as " These holy and unspotted sacrifices."
For a further explanation of the rite, see " Neale's Holy
Eastern Church."
(10) Page 87. In the Directions for Ritual the Pax is
directed to be performed thus ; the Priest kisses the Senior
Deacon, who then salutes the other Deacons and Ministers.
The youngest Deacon then conveys the kiss of peace to the
Laity, who salute each other. One of the laymen then
kisses the eldest woman, who in her turn passes it on to her
I 2

/ /

1 1 6 The Armenian Church.
sisters. The part in which the laity join has fallen now
into disuse.
(ii) Page 88. A further explanation of this will be given
hereafter. (12) Page 95. The holy men commemorated here are
the Fathers and Defenders of the Armenian Church, many
of them Martyrs for the faith.
(13) Page 97. The founder of the Church is prayed for
here. (14) Page no. This second Gospel finding its place in
an Oriental Liturgy is a curious proof of how much was
borrowed from Rome ; indeed, in the twelfth century, the
Roman Mass itself was translated into Armenian.
Page 81, line 27. Dr. Neale in his edition translates this
sentence, "For to Thy most Holy Trinity," and attaches a
note saying : " This expression savours much of heresy.''
Whether this is found in the Russian version he translated
from or not, I have no means of knowing. But it is not
thus found in " Le Brun," who would have been sure to
have taken note of it. The case is this : at the end of the
word Most Holy in the original, the letter answering to our
y is attached, which is the affixed pronoun, meaning either
" Thy " or " This." Being thus in doubt one is surely at
liberty, there being no reason to choose one rather than
the other, to take the most natural. I may add that the
Vartabed Nierces, to whom I pointed out this, declared
that no such questionable statement was intended.

( "7 )

CHURCHES.

Armenian Churches differ much from those of
the Russian and Greek rites, both in the character
of their architecture, and in their internal arrange
ment. As a general rule they are built east and
west, with the Altar at the east end. They are
divided into four parts, viz., the Sanctuary, the
Choir, the Nave, and the Porch. They do not
possess (save with one exception which will be
mentioned hereafter) the Iconastasis, or great
screen generally found in Oriental churches, but
the Altar is exposed to view, as is the custom in
the West, except that during certain portions of
the service a large curtain is drawn in front of
it and hides it from view. This arrangement
of the Altar seems to have been introduced at
the time the Armenians were so much affected
by Latin influences. Before this they had (as they
have now in their Primatial Church) the Screen
before the Altar, as it is found in all other

1 1 8 The Armenian Church.
Oriental churches. Traces of this custom still
continue in the Screen behind the Altar, with
doors on each side. The Altar was then
moved and placed before the centre doors of
the Iconastasis, and the curtains which hung
before them were moved further down to the
Choir* The Sanctuary at the east end of the church
is raised some distance above the Choir on a
platform, which is reached by four or six steps
in one corner, or as in the case in the more
western churchesf by steps in the middle of the
raised part. Only priests or those in minor
orders are permitted to enter the Sanctuary. On
either side are two rooms, one used as a Vestry,
the other as a Sacristy. Before the doors of
these rooms, or sometimes in galleries over them,
are often placed two small altars.

* It would be curious, if possible, to trace any connec
tion between the Reredos, now so common in English and
Latin churches, and the Oriental Iconastasis. The triptych
may be the connecting link.
\ By "western churches " are meant those which, from
their position among Europeans, are influenced by western
customs.

Churches. 119
The Choirs are not seated with stalls, but
the Clergy and Clerks sit on small mats facing
the Altar. Seats are, however, provided for
Bishops and Dignitaries on the right of the
choir-gates. The lessons are read from moveable
lecterns, which are placed where required, and
sermons are preached from a like lectern at the
choir-gates. The women sit behind the men and quite
apart from them. In the more western churches
seats are provided, but in general the churches
are quite unseated, and the men and women sit
cross-legged on mats or cushions, which they
bring with them to church.
On the Altar is placed a Cross with a picture
of our Lord painted or enamelled upon it,
and also the case, generally of silver, in which
is kept the Book of the Gospels, which is
handsomely bound in silver, and often richly
jewelled. On each side of the Cross are placed many
candlesticks or lanterns, generally thirteen, which
are lighted during the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist. This is a comparatively modern cus-

120 The Armenian Church.
torn, as in former times the Cross and Gospels'
Book stood alone on the Altar.
The Altar itself is vested with a tight-fitting
cloth covering, over which are spread two white
linen cloths.
The Table of the Offerings, or the Credence
Table, is placed to the south side of the Altar.

( 121 )

ETCHMIADZINE.

The convent of the Only-Begotten at Etch
miadzine is a large building situated in the fertile
valley of Erivan in Upper Armenia, not far
from Mount Ararat, where, according to tradi
tion, Noah's Ark rested after the Flood. Its
outer walls of brick are fortified by five circular
towers, and extend in circumference for nearly a
mile and a quarter, surrounding several streets of
houses of two and three stories in height. In
these houses reside the Catholicos and the eccle
siastics who form his Synod, or, as we should
say, his Chapter. Within the walls are
also schools, storehouses, a library, houses for
visitors, and numerous other buildings, besides
the Cathedral Church of the Only-Begotten.
This, the Patriarchal Church of the Armenian
nation, is erected on the very ground where St.
Gregory the Illuminator, more than fifteen hun
dred years ago, built the first Christian Church

122 The Armenian Church.
in this country, and consecrated it in honour of
the Vision of our Blessed Lord, which so often
comforted him during his long- imprisonment.
This church, although built at different times
and in various styles of architecture, is of con
siderable beauty. Its proportions are fifty yards
in length, forty-eight in breadth, and thirty-five
in height.
The income for the support of -the monastery
is derived from lands in its immediate neigh
bourhood, added to which annual gifts are
received from the faithful in all parts of the
world, and pilgrims from far distant countries
make a weary journey in order to present in
person their offerings to the representative of
their National Church.
Funds are now being collected to build a
college near Etchmiadzine for the reception of a
large number of divinity students. If such an
institution is founded, the benefit to the clergy
and laity of the country will be immense.
Contrary to the usual custom of Armenian
churches, this cathedral possesses in front of the
high Altar a screen, (such as is found in all
Greek churches) on which are painted pictures

Etchmiadzine. 123
of the sufferings of St. Gregory, St. Peter, and
St. Paul, and of the conversion of King Tiridates.
In the centre of the church is an Altar of pure
white marble, erected by the Catholicos Astwa-
zatur in 17 15, to replace a less handsome one
which was supposed to mark the exact spot
where our Lord appeared to St. Gregory. On
the north side of this Altar is placed the patri
archal throne. The walls of the church are
decorated with pictures of patriarchs and saints
of early days. Two Altars dedicated, the one
in honour of St. Gregory the other to St. James
and St. John, are placed either side of the High
Altar. In front of the former, all Armenian
bishops are consecrated by the Catholicos. There
are also in the cathedral a large quantity of relics
of saints and martyrs of early Christian days.
A view of the convent is given as a frontis
piece, showing Mount Ararat in the distance.
Well it answers to Dr. Neale's description of the
solemnity and majesty of the position of this, the
Primatial Church of a great nation, occupying
the birth-place of our race. Should it please
Almighty God to grant unity and peace to His
Church, and unite those whose pride it is to be

1 24 The Armenian Church.
called Catholic, Orthodox, and Apostolic in one
fold, under one Shepherd, surely, after Jerusalem
and Rome, no place would be more fitting for a
pilgrimage than this mystical mountain, from
which it pleased Him to re-people the earth after
the Flood.

( i25 )

CHURCH GOVERNMENT.

The Patriarch Catholicos of the Armenian
Church resides in the monastery at Etchmiadzine.
He assumes the title of " The Servant of Jesus
Christ, and by the grace of God, Catholicos of
all the Armenians, and Patriarch of the Holy
Convent of Etchmiadzine." He was formerly
appointed by the Persian or Turkish Govern
ments ; but since Armenia became part of the
Russian dominions, his election takes place in
the following manner. To the regular Synod
of the Catholicos, hereafter described, are added
two deputies from each diocese, one appointed
by the archbishop and the other elected by
the laity. Before this Synod, which meets at
Etchmiadzine, a list of all the Armenian bishops
is laid. Out of this list four persons are chosen,
and these four are reduced by ballot to two,
whose names are submitted to the Emperor of
Russia, and he, after nominating the one with
the greatest number of votes, notifies to the

126 The Armenian Church.
Governments of Persia and Turkey the election
of the new Catholicos.
This election must take place within one
year after the death of the Catholicos ; and
during the vacancy the Patriarch of Constanti
nople administers ecclesiastical affairs.
The personal power of the Catholicos is some
what limited, as he cannot consecrate a single
bishop without the permission of his Synod.
He has, however, the nomination of all bishops ;
and he alone can consecrate the holy oil used for
confirmation and other purposes, which each
year he does between Palm Sunday and Maundy
Thursday. He sends legates to different countries
to carry out his ecclesiastical decrees, and to report
upon the discipline of the Church in various
places. Properly speaking, the Armenian Patri
archs of Jerusalem and Constantinople are merely
his vicars.
He is the head on earth of the Armenian
Church, and from his decision while sitting in
Synod there is no appeal.
This Synod, or Chapter, is the ruling body
of the Armenian Church, and consists of the
Catholicos and twelve ecclesiastics constantly

Church Government. 127
residing in the monastery at Etchmiadzine,
together with representatives sent by the Patri
archs of Constantinople and Jerusalem. Vacancies '
in the Synod are filled up by itself, the Catho
licos having a veto.
Dioceses are generally governed by Arch
bishops, who have Bishops under them as
suffragans and vicars, without territorial jurisdic
tion. In each village there are one or more priests
and deacons, for whose support glebe lands are
set apart, and the clergy receive fees for per
forming marriages and other spiritual functions.
In every Diocese there is a spiritual Court con
sisting of the archbishop, with two superior
and two inferior priests, who sit as assessors.
From the decision of this Court, which deals '
chiefly with the quarrels which occasionally
take place between the congregation and the f
clergy, appeal lies to the Patriarch. It also
settles disputes regarding the lawfulness of
marriages. In cases in which the laity are con
cerned, lay representatives are summoned to sit
by the archbishop.
The Armenian Church allows secular priests

128 The Armenian Church.
to marry before ordination, which must not take
place before the age of twenty- five. The bishops
are chosen from among the more learned priests
belonging to the monastic orders. There is
also an order of superior priests called Vartabeds,
whose particular function is to preach the
Gospel, and to instruct the ignorant in the prin
ciples of their religion. In rank and position
they seem to answer to the Chorepiscopi of
ancient times.
There are two Religious Orders of men among
the Armenians. The one follow the rule of St.
Anthony, and are really hermits, living quite alone
in cells and seeing each other only in church.
Their rule is very strict ; they eat no meat and
drink no wine except, once a year, on Easter-day.
The other, and more popular Order, obey
the rule of St. Basil, which was introduced into
the Armenian Church by the Catholicos Nierces
V., about 1 1 73. The Offices used by both
these religious bodies are very long, as may be
judged by the fact that the Night Office includes
the whole Psalter.
All priests are bound to recite the Divine
Office, which is generally said in church, and

Church Government.

129

not privately. The Offices, which are nine in ,
number, are properly said at Midnight, Three
A.M., Dawn, Sunrise, Six A.M., Nine a.m., at
Sunset, in the Evening, and on retiring to Rest.
But custom now allows them to be said in two
parts ; the first six at daybreak, and the rest
at sunset. When the Liturgy is celebrated, it is
said after the Office for Dawn.
The Armenian Church forbids marriage within
seven degrees of blood relationship. Marriages
between great-great-grand-children are absolutely
forbidden, but beyond this a dispensation may
be procured from the Catholicos, but only as a
very exceptional case.*
The following is a list of Armenian Dioceses,
slightly altered from a report of the Russian
Minister of the Interior, in 1842, translated by
Dr. Neale in his Introduction to the " History
of the Eastern Church ;" it seems nearly to
represent the present state of affairs.

* The inconvenience arising from this rule is seen in
India, where nearly all the Armenians come within the
forbidden relationship to each other ; and the consequence
is, that being unable to many in their own Churches, they
resort for marriage to the English clergy. K

130 The Armenian Church.
The Patriarch Catholicos.
This Prelate is the supreme head of the
Armenian Church ; he has immednate jurisdiction
over the following dioceses :
In Persia. — New Julpa, near Ispahan;
Tabriz, in north of Persia.
In the Russian Dominions. — Nakhitchevan
and Bessarabia ; Astrakhan; Georgia; Erivan;
Karabagh ; Zhirvan ; Gaisen, or Hatchin.
The Patriarch of Constantinople.
Founded in 1453. This Prelate is considered
by the Turkish Government as the temporal and
spiritual head of all the Armenians in the
Turkish empire. The dioceses under his juris
diction are —
In Europe. — -Rodosto, or Thrace ; Adria-
nople ; Galata, or Pera.
In Asia Minor. — -Amasia, in the province of
Sivas ; Tokat, in the province of Roum ; Nico-
media, or Ismid ; Smyrna ; Trebisond ; Agen 5
Edessa, or Vodina ; Sebastin ; Kaisariyeh :

Church Government. 131
Sivas ; Erzeroum , Diarbekir ; Van, on Lake
Van; Brusah.
In Africa. — Egypt.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Founded 131 1. This Prelate's diocese con
sists of all the Armenian churches in Syria, in
the Island of Cyprus, and in India. He resides
in the convent of St. James in Jerusalem, and
has twenty-five bishops under him, but none of
them have any diocesan jurisdiction.
The Patriarch of Sis.
This Prelate is merely a diocesan bishop with
the honorary title of Patriarch. It must be
remembered that Sis was for many years the
seat of the Catholici, and after their return
to Etchmiadzine, schismatical Patriarchs were
established there until the middle of the seven
teenth century, and when the last of them
gave his submission to the Catholicos Philip,
he and his successors were allowed to retain the
honorary title of Patriarch, which had for so
long a time been attached to the diocese. K 2

132 The Armenian Church.
The Patriarch of Akhtamar.
This is also merely an honorary title, the
Patriarch having his seat in a monastery on an
island in Lake Van, with the power of a suf
fragan bishop only. This island was also, for
many years, the seat of the Catholici, and after
them of many schismatical Patriarcha

I l33> )

VESTMENTS.

When the Priest proceeds into the vestry before
celebrating the Liturgy, he first places on his
head the Priest's cap, called the Sagavard ; by so
doing he signifies that he assumes the priestly
office for the purpose of offering the Sacrifice.
He then, assisted by two or more deacons, ac
cording to his rank, puts on the Shapich, which
answers to the Western Alb, except that it is
much fuller, and instead of linen is generally
made of silk.
Then follows the Poor-Ourar. This answers
to the Stole, except that instead of hanging
in two parts round the neck, the head is put
through a hole in the upper extremity and it
hangs down in front. It is made of the most
costly brocade or silk procurable, and is often
Itudded with jewels. The Kodi, or Girdle,
fastens it to the alb round the waist of the priest.

134 ^he Armenian Church.
A large white linen napkin is worn attached
to the left side of the girdle, which is used to
wipe the hands and the sacred vessels, in case of
any dirt or impurity defiling them during the
service. The Pasbans, or Maniples, are next put on ;
these are two slips of brocade worn on both
wrists of the priests, they were originally in
tended for towels, but have long been disused
for this purpose, and now, together with the
girdle, are said to represent the bands with which
our Lord was fastened at the time of His
Passion. The Varkass follows next. This vestment is
not unlike a small amice with a stiff collar
attached to it, which stands up round the neck,
and appears above the cope. Certain high digni
taries wear a breastplate of metal, often of silver
or gold, attached to the Varkass, studded with
jewels and adorned with figures of the twelve
Apostles. This vestment is generally thought
to have been derived from the Jewish Ephod.
Lastly, the priest puts on the Shoochar,
Cope. This resembles the Western Cope, excejjrt
that it has no hood.

Vestments

l35

The priest and all the sacred ministers wear
sandals or slippers which are kept for this pur
pose, and which may not be worn out of the
Church. Vartabeds and bishops wear the Mitre instead
of the priest's cap, and they both use the Pectoral
Cross which hangs by a gold chain round the
neck. Bishops carry a pastoral staff of the same
shape as that used in the West, they also wear
two slips of brocade, generally with pictures of
Saints embroidered on them, attached to the
shoulders of the Cope. These were originally
attached to the mitre.
Vartabeds use a staff, the head of which
is a Cross with two serpents twined round it,
signifying that the wisdom of the serpent is
necessary for their office.
The ordinary dress of the unmarried priests
is a black or dark purple cassock, with a broad
belt, in shape resembling the English cassock ;
over this they wear a kind of gown or mantle,
and also while reciting the offices a dark coloured
cloak or cope, and in Persia and Armenia they
also wear a cap with a fur border, called the
Kulpas.

136 The Armenian Church.
Married priests generally wear a dark blue
cassock with a black gown and blue turban.
Deacons during the celebration of the Sacra
ments wear the Shapich of linen or silk ungirded,
and also the Ossorah or deacon's Stole over the
left shoulder. If a bishop be the celebrant,
the two senior deacons assisting him wear the
Sagavard, or priest's Cap.
The inferior ministers and the choir wear a
vestment resembling an ungirded alb.

( *37 )

THE HOLY BIBLE.

During the time of the Patriarch St. Isaac,
a version of the Holy Scriptures was effected
from Syrian MSS. by St. Mesrop, Moses Choven,
David the Philosopher, and others, the Persian
invaders having burnt all the Greek MSS. in the
country. Hearing of this loss the Council of
Ephesus, in 431, sent the Patriarch a copy in
Greek of the New Testament and of the Sep-
tuagint ; but as neither St. Isaac nor any of his
clergy knew Greek, he was unable to accomplish
this work until he had sent two learned priests
to Alexandria (the then seat of Greek learning)
to perfect themselves in that language. After
two years' stay they returned and completed the
translation of the Holy Bible into their native
tongue, carefully comparing it with the Syrian
MSS. then in their possession. The first printed
edition of this was published in 1666 at Am
sterdam. In that year Vartabed Uscan, of

138 The Armenian Church.
Erivan, was sent to Europe by the Catholicos
in order to see if it were anyhow possible to
print the Holy Bible in the Armenian cha
racter. He went first to Rome, but there permis
sion to cast type and establish a printing press
was refused ; and it was not until after much
trouble and many wanderings that he was able
at Amsterdam to succeed in his object. The
MSS. he carried with him had been carefully
collated, compared with the Latin Vulgate, and
divided into chapters and verses about the middle
of the thirteenth century.
In 1705, the Amsterdam edition was re
printed in Constantinople, since which time
several editions have been issued, the best known
being one printed in Venice in 1733, and the
present authorised edition also printed in the
same town in 1805. This latter edition was
principally compiled from MSS. transcribed in
Cilicia in the fourteenth century, and it was,
before being sent to the press, carefully com
pared with eight MSS. of the Old, and twenty
of the New Testament. In it 1 John v. 7 is
expunged as not being considered of sufficient
authority. The books are placed in the same

The Holy Bible.

l39

order as they are in the English version until
after the Second Book of Chronicles, when they
follow thus : —

First Book of Esdras.

Amos.

Second Book of Esdras.

Micah.

Nehemiah.

Joel.

Esther.

Obadiah.

First Book of Maccabees.

Jonah.

Second Book of Maccabees.

Nahum.

Third Book of Maccabees.

Habbukuc.

Judith.

Zephaniah.

Tobit.

Haggai.

Psalms.

Zachariah.

Proverbs.

Malachi.

Ecclesiastes.

Jeremiah.

Song of Solomon.

Baruch.

Wisdom.

Lamentations,

Job.

Daniel.

Isaiah.

Ezekiel.

Hosea.

Esther. — The chapters in the Book of Esther
follow in an order unknown in other editions.
Joshua. — At the end of the Book of Joshua
is the addition of eight verses, giving an account

140 The Armenian Church.
of the manner of carrying the ark, and the
names of some of the Priests at the time of the
passage of the Jordan by the Israelites.
The Third Book of Maccabees. — Pro
perly called the first, commences with an ac
count of the battle of Raphia, fought between
Antiochus and Ptolemy Philopater in 217 B.C.
This book was printed in some editions of
German Bibles in the sixteenth century. It is
found in Syriac, and in the most ancient MSS.
of the Septuagint.
Proverbs. — After the 22nd verse of the
xxivth Chapter five extra proverbs are inserted,
and the remainder of the book is differently
arranged from the order observed in other
editions. Job. — At the end of this book is a con
siderable addition, in which the genealogies of
Job and of his wife are given, and also some
account of their forefathers' deeds.
In the New Testament St. Paul's Epistles
follow the Epistles of the other Apostles. The
New Testament ends with the Revelation of St.
John the Divine.

The Holy Bible. 141
Books considered Apocryphal then follow,
which are : —
Ecclesiasticus.Third Book of Esdras.
Prayer of Manasses.
Epistle of the Corinthians to St. Paul, and
his reply.
Death of St. John the Apostle and Evan
gelist.
Prayer of Evthagee.
Also in some editions.
The Death of the sixteen Prophets.
The Testament of the twelve Patriarchs.
History of Joseph and Asenath.
Ecclesiasticus. — This Book was in the
earlier printed editions included as part of the
Canon of Holy Scripture, and followed the
Book of Wisdom, but by an order of the Synod
at Etchmiadzine, issued about the middle of
the last century, it is now always placed among
the Apocryphal Books.
Third Esdras. — Called in the English Bible,
second Esdras.

142 The Armenian Church.
Third Epistle to the Corinthians. —
A Translation into English of this Epistle by
Lord Byron is given below.
The Death of St. John. — This is found
in several Armenian MSS. attached to the end
of the Book of Revelation.
Prayer of Evthagee. — A disciple of St. John
the Divine ; the account of his death is found
in Armenian MSS. after the Epistles of St. Paul.
The Deaths of the Prophets. — The account
of the deaths of the Prophets is found at the end
of each of their Books.
The History of Joseph and Asenath is
an addendum to the Book of Genesis.
The following Epistles of the Corinthians to
St. Paul, and his Reply, are found in all editions
of the Armenian Bible as Apocryphal writings.
The Epistles themselves (whatever may be said
regarding their authenticityj are of great an
tiquity, and are supposed to have been translated
into Armenian from the Greek MSS. sent to
St. Isaac by the Council of Ephesus. They
seem however to have been known to the
Church before this time, as St. Gregory the

The Holy Bible. 1 4 ]
Illuminator, in his writings, quotes passages
from them.
These Epistles are not now known to be ex
tant except in Armenian, nor have the Armenians
any tradition that they were ever found in any
but in their own and the Greek languages.
Lord Byron, who spent much time in study
ing the Armenian language in the Uniat-Ar-
menian Convent of St. Lazar, at Venice, trans
lated into English these Epistles ; and the
following is, with one or two slight alterations,
his translation.
THE EPISTLE OF THE CORINTHIANS TO PAUL
THE APOSTLE.
1 Stephen and the elders with him, Tuknos, Euknos,
Theophelos, and Csenon to Paul our Father and Evangelist
and faithful master in Jesus Christ, Health.
2 Two men have come to Corinth, Senon and Ghepos by
name, who vehemently disturb the faith of some with de
ceitful and corrupt words ;
3 Of which words thou shouldst inform thyself:
4 For neither have we heard such words from thee, nor
from the other Apostles :
5 But we know only that what we have heard from thee
and from them, we have kept firmly.
6 But chiefly in this has our Lord had compassion, that,
whilst thou art yet with us in the flesh, we are again about
to hear from thee.

144 T*he Armenian Church.
7 Therefore do thou write to us, or come thyself amongst
us quickly :
8 We believe in the Lord, that, as it was revealed to
Thomas, He hath delivered thee from the hands of the un
righteous. g Now these are the sinful words of these ungodly men,
for they do say and teach :
io That we should believe not the prophets :
n Neither do they confess the omnipotence of God :
12 Neither do they affirm the resurrection of the flesh :
13 Neither do they teach that man was created by God
alone :
14 Neither do they confess Jesus Christ was born in
the flesh of the Virgin Mary :
15 Neither do they allow the World to be the work of
God, but say that it was created by some one of the
Angels. 16 Therefore do thou make haste to come amongst
us, 17 That this City of the Corinthians may remain with
out scandal :
18 And that the folly of these men may be made clearly
manifest. Fare thee well.
* The deacons Therebolos and Dekos received and con
veyed this Epistle to the city of the Philippians. When
Paul received the Epistle, although he was then in chains
on account of S4adone the wife of Abopolane, yet he, as
it were, forgot his bonds, mourning over these words,
and said, weeping : — It were better for me to be dead, and
with the Lord : for while I am in this body, aad hear the
words of such false doctrine, behold, grief arises upon

* This is apparently an addendum of" later date than the rest of the letter.

The Holy Bible. 145
grief, and this trouble adds weight to my chains, when I
behold this calamity, and the progress of the machinations
the Evil One, who seeketh to do wrong.
And thus, in deep affliction, Paul replied to their
epistle :
EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS.
1 Paul in bonds for Christ Jesus, disturbed by so many
errors, to his Corinthian brethren, Health.
2 I nothing marvel that the preachers of evil have made
this progress.
3 Because the Lord Jesus is about to fulfil His coming,
verily on this account do certain men pervert and despise
His words.
4 But I, verily, from the beginning have taught you that
only which I myself received from the former Apostles,
who always remained with the Lord Jesus Christ.
5 And I now say unto you, that Christ Jesus was born
of the Virgin Mary, of the seed of David,
6 In fulfilment of the promise of the Holy Ghost, sent
to her by the Father in Heaven ;
7 That Jesus might be brought into the world, and that
He might deliver our flesh by His Flesh, and that He might
raise us from the dead.
8 As in this also He Himself became the ensample.
9 That it might be made manifest that man was created
by the Father,
10 He has not remained in perdition unsought,
n But is sought for, that He might be revived by adop
tion. 12 For God, Who is the Lord of all, and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who made Heaven and Earth, sent
first the prophets to the Jews : L

146 The Armenian Church.
13 That they might absolve them from their sins, and
bring them to His righteousness,
14 And because He wished first to save the house of
Israel, He bestowed and poured forth His Spirit upon the
prophets ;
15 That they should for a long time preach the worship
of God, and foretell the coming of Christ.
16 But the prince of evil, when he wished to make him
self God, laid his hand upon them,
17 And bound all men in sin,
18 Because the judgment of the world was drawing
nigh. 19 But Almighty God, when He willed to justify, was
unwilling to abandon the creature ;
20 But when He saw his affliction, He had compassion
upon him.
21 And at the fulness of the time He sent the Holy
Ghost unto the Virgin foretold by prophets.
22 Who believing readily, was made worthy to conceive,
and bring forth our Lord Jesus Christ.
23 That from this perishable body, in which the evil
spirit was honoured, he should be reproved, and plainly
shown that he was not God.
24 For Jesus Christ in His Flesh had redeemed to
Himself and saved this perishable flesh, and drawn it into
eternal life by faith.
25 That in His Body He should prepare a pure temple
of righteousness for all ages ;
26 In Whom when we also believe we are saved.
27 Therefore know ye that these men are not the children
of righteousness, but of wrath ;
28 Who turn away from themselves the compassion of
God,

The Holy Bible. 147

2g Who say that neither the Heavens nor the Earth
were works made by the hand of the Father of all things.
30 But these men having the doctrine of the Evil One
are accursed.
31 But do ye, by the power of God, withdraw yourselves
far from them, and expel from amongst you the doctrine
of the wicked.
32 For ye are not children of disobedience but the
sons of the beloved Church, and are counted among the
redeemed. 33 And on this account the Resurrection is preached
unto all men.
34 Therefore, they who say that there is no resurrection
of the flesh, they indeed shall not be raised up to eternal
life, 35 But to judgment and condemnation shall they arise
in the flesh :
36 For unto that body which denies the resurrection of
the body, shall be denied the Resurrection [of the just],
for they have refused the Resurrection.
37 But you also, O ye Corinthians, have known from
the seeds of wheat, and from other seeds,
38 That one grain falls dry into the earth, and first
dies; 39 And afterwards rises again by the will of God indued
with the same body :
40 Neither indeed does it arise the same simple body,
but manifold, and filled with blessing.
41 But we must produce the ensample not only from
seed, but also from the more honourable bodies of men.
42 Ye also have known Jonah the son of Amittai ;
43 Because he delayed to preach to the Ninevites, he
L 2

148 The Armenian Church.
was swallowed up in the belly of a fish for three days and
three nights :
44 And after three days God heard his prayer, and
brought him out from the deep abyss ;
45 Neither did any part of his body see corruption,
neither did his eyelids fall ;
46 And how much more for you, O ye of little faith !
47 If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will
raise you up, even as He Himself hath risen.
48 If the bones of the prophet Elisha falling upon the
dead revived the dead,
49 By how much more shall ye, who are supported by
the Flesh and the Blood and the Spirit of Christ, arise
again on that day, with a perfect body ?
50 Elias the Prophet, embracing the widow's son, raised
him from the dead,
51 By how much more then shall Christ Jesus revive
you on that day with a perfect body, even as He Himself
hath risen ?
52 But if ye receive other things vainly,
53 Henceforth no one shall' trouble me ; for I bear in
my body these bonds,
54 To obtain Christ ; and I suffer with patience these
afflictions, to become worthy of the Resurrection of the
dead. 55 And do each of you, having received the law from
the hands of the blessed prophets and the holy gospel,
firmly maintain it ;
56 To the end that you may be rewarded in the Resur
rection of the dead, and in the possession of Life Eternal.
57 But if any of you, not believing, shall trespass, he

The Holy Bible. 149
shall be judged with the misdoers, and punished with those
who hold false doctrine.
58 Because such are a generation of vipers, and the
children of dragons and asps.
59 Drive such far from amongst you, and fly from them
with the aid of oui Lord Jesus Christ.
60 And the Peace and Grace of the beloved Son be with
you all. Amen.

( 15° )

THE LITURGY,

The Armenian Liturgy is one of the most
ancient and beautiful of Oriental rites. It was
compiled voriginally from the Liturgies used by
St. Basil, St. Athanasius, and St. Gregory the
Illuminator, and was revised about the beginning
of the fifth century, by the same Armenian
Doctors who translated the Holy Bible into their
native tongue; since which time it has been
much augmented from Greek and Latin sources.
Like all Oriental Liturgies it may be divided
into three parts (i.) The Preparatory Prayers,
which in this rite are partly said in the vestry
and partly in the church by the Priest, the
Sacred Ministers, and Choir. (2.) The Introduc
tion. (3.) The Liturgy itself. In the two latter
parts, which are technically called the Proanaphora
and Anaphora, the people join also.
The Armenians have succeeded in preserving
the ritual of their Liturgy in all its ancient

The liturgy. 151
beauty and solemnity; and the ceremonies we
now see are substantially the same as those in use
during the earliest days of Christianity.
Although strangers who attend the Ar
menian Celebration of the holy Eucharist bear
witness to the grandeur and simple majesty of its
ritual, yet those who do not understand the
meaning of the different ceremonies used during
the service, are often inclined to think that many
of them are without meaning, and that much
time is lost in the performance of them. But this
it not the case ; all these ceremonies have a sym
bolical meaning, according to a recognised and
traditional system. They are used to uphold the
dignity of Divine worship, to glorify God, and
to show forth certain truths which might other
wise be lost sight of by the uninstructed and
ignorant. Volumes have been written regarding the
ritual of the altar, its history, and its development,
in different times and among various races of
men ; how the East has retained, with intense
conservatism, ceremonies handed down from
Apostolic times, while the West has wonderfully
modified its forms, in accordance with the genius

152 The Armenian Church.
and spirit of order and progress pervading the
Latin and Teutonic races. But this is not the
place to enter into a discussion on this subject ;
so it will suffice to ask the reader to remember
these two leading points in the theory of all
Liturgical worship : —
First, that the worship of Almighty God
consists in not only saying certain words, but
also in performing certain actions. It seems
necessary to say this, as this idea is often lost
sight of by Christians in these days, who would
sacrifice anything rather than abolish the set
form of words they have been accustomed to in
Divine Worship, and yet are pained and dis
tressed at witnessing the performance of the
equally important acts.
Secondly, that these acts are not only part of the
Divine Worship, but they are an histrionic repre
sentation of the worship in heaven, which is thus
reflected, although in a poor and mean way at
the best, in the acts of worship performed on
earth. The very forms of a Church illustrates this.
The Altar, or Throne, as it is called by most
Oriental Christians, is symbolical of the dwelling-

The Liturgy. 153
place of God. It is made of wood, to show how
the great Sacrifice, once offered up on the wood
of the Cross, is continually perpetuated upon it.
It would be impossible to enter into all the
details of the different ceremonies used by the
Armenians during the performance of their
Liturgy, or even to mention them all ; but a
few words regarding the most noticeable may
be found useful.
The first Rite of marked importance after
the Priest has reached the Altar is called The
Little Entrance. This ceremony, which is
derived from the procession of the Reader with
the Book of the Law in the Jewish Synagogue,
consists of carrying the Gospel Book to the Altar.
It is of great antiquity, being found in all
Oriental Liturgies, and is among the Armenians
performed thus : — During the chanting of the
hymn " Holy God, Holy and Immortal," the
Gospel Book is carried in procession by the
Deacons, surrounded with fans and lights, and
with great pomp is placed on the Altar.
The symbolical meaning of this, is the entrance
of our Lord into heaven — -for the Altar, as
we have seen before, represents heaven, and

154 T"he Armenian Church.
the Book signifies the Word of God, our
Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The next piece
of ritual to be noticed is the reading of the
Holy Gospel. In Churches where the full
number of Priests and Deacons is found, this
ceremony is performed with great dignity and
pomp. The Celebrant stands in front of the
Altar with his cap on and his back to the
people. Two Deacons stand, one at the north
and one at the south side of the sanctuary, and
of these the Senior takes his stand at the north
side on the top step, and having said, " Let us
attend," to which the congregation respond
" God speaks," chants the Gospel, facing the
people. In front of him, on a lower step, stands
another Deacon with a censer, between two
Clerks in minor orders, each holding a taper.
The choir stand outside the sanctuary. How
fully does this respect, paid with so much
ceremony to the Word of God, and the reverence
and care with which the Book itself is always
treated, refute the popular vulgar ideas of Pro
testants, who delight in inventing and retailing
stories regarding the little care the Orientals have
for Holy Scripture !

The Liturgy. 155
The expulsion of the Catechumens. — In ancient
times, those who were preparing for Baptism
were, before the commencement of the more
solemn part of the service, ordered to leave the
Church. It was not thought fit that the Cate
chumens should be present at the Divine Sacrifice
in which they, as unbaptized, could take no part.
Hence the Proanaphora is often called the " Ser
vice of the Catechumens," and the Anaphora
" that of the Faithful," or as we should say, the
" Missa Catechumenorum " and the "Missa
Fidelium." The Great Entrance. — That is, the carrying
the gifts of Bread and Wine from the credence
table, and offering them on the Altar to Almighty
God. The Priest now uncovers his head, and,
during the singing of a suitable hymn, the Deacons
again form a procession, and carrying the gifts
round the Altar, show them to the people, and
then deliver them to the Priest, who offers them
on the Altar. Bread and Wine are offered,
typifying thereby that the Church by itself
can offer nothing worthy of Almighty God's
acceptance ; but He is pleased to accept and
receive this, the simplest food necessary to sustain

156 The Armenian Church.
the life of man, and to take it, and by the power
of His Holy Spirit to change it into that un
speakably precious and awful Gift which He has
given to mankind, even the gift of the Body
and Blood of His only Begotten Son.
In early times the people brought Bread and
Wine to Church, out of which the Priest
selected a portion to be offered to God which was
afterwards consecrated, the remainder being dis
tributed in alms to the poor. In the Ambrosian
rite this function still remains ; and the benefac
tion of Bread which one sees distributed in
churches in England is, without doubt, a rem
nant of the same custom.
The order to guard the doors. — These sen
tences, referring to the early days of heathen
persecution, attest to the extreme antiquity of this
Liturgy. In those days in order to protect the
Christian Mysteries from the knowledge and
jeers of the heathen, those who were debarred
from communicating left the church and re
mained in the porch lamenting the sins that pre
vented them from participating in the Holy
Sacrifice, and also for the purpose of protecting
those inside from sudden attack. This custom

The Liturgy. 157
now prevails in some Western Churches, but its
use has been sadly abused ; as the people not only
leave the inside of the church without shame and
contrition before the Liturgy is finished, but they
even go away to their own homes, and wait not
outside or in the porch, trusting to obtain some
benefit from the spiritual crumbs that might fall
to their share from the Table of the Lord.
The Elevation. — The act of offering up the
Consecrated Elements to Almighty God. The
Priest first elevates the Host, and then dips it
in the chalice and again elevates it.
The distribution of the Blessed Bread. — This
is the remnant of the Agape or Love Feast that
the early Christians partook of together after
communicating. In those days people often
came long distances in order to communicate,
and it was necessary that they should have food
before returning to their homes, as of course they
had eaten nothing before* starting. Besides the
Benefactions of Bread already mentioned, many
remains of this rite continue to the present day
in common use in England ; such are the
Wedding Cake and Funeral Cakes, both of
which were formerly the Blessed Bread dis-

158 The Armenian Church.
tributed after the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist on these occasions. The Good- Friday
" Hot Cross Bun " has its origin in the same
custom, and one bun divided between four
persons and eaten at the Church door after
morning service, was all the food our pious fore
fathers tasted on that holy day.
The Rev. C. S. Malan has most kindly given
me permission to reproduce from his translation
of " The Armenian Liturgy " * part of the
Introduction ; and as the description he furnishes
will present the Liturgy as a living rite, I gladly
avail myself of this obliging offer.
This Introduction consists of an account given
by a Russian traveller of a Celebration according
to the Armenian use, at which he was present
in the cathedral church at Etchmiadzine some
forty years ago. M. Mouravieff, the traveller in
question, gives a better account than I could
possibly do of the performance of the service,

* " The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church of St.
Gregory the Illuminator," translated from the Armenian
With an Introduction and Notes by the Rev. S. C. Malan,
M.A., Vicar of Broadwinsor, etc.

The Liturgy. ijo,
which Dr. Neale, the greatest liturgical authority
of his day, considered the most dignified extant
rite. The manner in which a Russian traveller
speaks of the ceremonies and ritual of the service
of a Church not in communion with his own, is
worthy of notice. He commences by describing
the relics enshrined in the cathedral, and pro
ceeds to give an account of the vesting of the
Celebrant (who on this occasion is a bishop), and
of the ceremonies used during the " Preparatory
Prayers." He then goes on to say :
" Before the beginning of the Liturgy, the
bishop, preceded and accompanied by his clergy,
with fans and banners, goes round the church
burning incense, holding in his hand the life-
giving Cross, with which he blesses during the
service of the Mass, at the end of every prayer
said aloud unto the song of the Cherubim. The
procession is formed the opposite of ours* that
is, all go with the sun ; as also in making the
sign of the Cross, the Armenians follow the

* I.e. the Russian.

160 The Armenian Church.
Romish custom of beginning at the left shoulder,
and then on to the right.
" While these preliminary ceremonies were
going on, the Patriarch* came into the church in
a short purple mantle and stood in his own chair,
sent from Rome by Pope Innocent. I then
followed the Liturgy step by step in the Russian
translation of it made by the Catholicos Joseph
Argutinski. The Bishop-celebrant stood on the
step of the middle altar of the Only-Begotten
[Cathedral Church of Etchmiadzine] ; the arch-
deaconf [or protodiaconj and the other clergy
stood on the right side, singing behind the grating
round the credence table.
" The Liturgy then began, as among us, by
blessing the Sovereignty of the Most Holy
Trinity, after which the choir sang in antiphone,
' Only-Begotten Son,' which in our Liturgy
comes very much later, after the great ektenia^
and the singing of the Psalms appointed for the
day. This solemn hymn, composed by the
Emperor Justinian, was not introduced among

* The Catholicos Ephraim. -j- Senior Deacon.
\ Litany.

The Liturgy. 161
the antiphones, as part of the Liturgy, earlier
than the sixth century ; it is, therefore, singular,
that while the Armenian Church made diffi
culties about admitting it, she nevertheless places
it at the very beginning of her Liturgy. This,
however, only shows that even a hundred years
after the Council of Chalcedon, which proved a
stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to many,
the Armenians were not afraid to borrow their
prayers from the Greeks.
"A short ektenia follows that hymn. But
the deacon prefaced every short prayer said aloud
by the bishop, at the end of those he said
privately, with the words, ' Bless, O Lord,'*
when the Priest celebrant made the sign of the
Cross over the people with the words, ' Peace be
with you.' This blessing is often repeated during
the course of the Liturgy.
" The antiphone appointed for the day then
follows this short ektenia, when the Gospel is
carried by the deacon round the altar, while
the bishop says the prayer for the coming down

* Or as in this book translated : " Sir, give the blessing.'
—Page 74. M

1 62 The Armenian Church.
of angels among those who do the service round
the altar. This prayer is taken from our Service
Book, although here is no actual introit : the
bishop* stands in the midst, and the deacon only
walks round the altar with fans and lighted
tapers ; but, as it is in imitation of a short
introit found in our Liturgy, the prayer is also
used. " All this, however, goes to show up to this
point the union and conformity which of old
existed between the two Churches ; but lo, here
is a rent, a schism, at the praise offered to the
ineffable name of God, in the Trisagion ! This
schism appears and is heard aloud and solemnly,
after the going with the Gospel round the altar ;
at the waving of the fans, intended to repre
sent the quivering of the wings of Seraphim
singing the glory of the Triune God ; and this
noise of silver fans, though appearing strange
because I was not accustomed to it, nevertheless
was not disagreeable to me. But heavily fell on
my ear the additional words ' crucified for us,'

* It must be remembered that the Bishop here is cele
brant.

The Liturgy. 163
sung in the Doxology to the most holy Trinity !
I am well aware that Armenians will say to me,
' We offer this doxology to the Second Person,
and not to the whole Trinity ; we do not sup
pose that the Godhead suffered, and we believe
that the human nature alone of God-Man
suffered for our sakes.' I am, if you please,
willing to accept this explanation ; at the same
time, I do not the less regret the difference, since
with them it is not a dogma, but only an old
custom. " But, if this custom or, more correctly speak
ing, this one word, cast upon them the unpleasant
shadow of a doubt, troubling, as it does, the
whole Church, both East and West, which from
yore has been accustomed to sing this hymn
to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity; is
it well of the Armenians alone to retain this
addition to the Trisagion, that proves a stone
of stumbling, while, as we saw, they borrowed
many prayers from the Greeks and from the
Latins ?
" Notwithstanding the difference about the
Trisagion, the prayer that follows it, said by the
bishop : ' O holy God, Who art extolled among
m 2

164 The Armenian Church.
the Saints,'* which was afterwards taken from
the Greek Service, seems clearly to establish that
originally the Trisagion was not exactly like our
own, even though single prayers both before and
after it were so. The long ektenia which, among
us, is placed at the beginning of the Liturgy, is
said aloud by the Armenians after the Trisagion ;
and after it comes the reading of two parasmise
[portions of Scripture] of the Apostle [Acts and
Epistles] and of the Gospel. ' Attention^ then
cries the deacon, turning the Gospel towards the
people ; and the choir answers : ' God speaks.'
" Here is the Creed then chanted after the
Romish custom ; yet not the Creed exactly as it
was settled by the holy Fathers, at the (Ecume
nical Councils of Nicasa and Constantinople, and
received by the whole Church as well as by that
of Armenia. Although the Armenian Church
also calls it ' the Nicene Creed,' yet she makes to
it an addition which is not found in the original
copy. Like the Greek original of Nicsea, the
Armenian ends with an anathema on all who

* In this translation, " O God, Who art holy, and restest
in the Holy of holies." — Page 75.
+ " Let us attend."— Page 78.

The Liturgy. 165
wrongly philosophise about the Son of God, and
the same terms are applied to those who mutilate
the dogma respecting the Holy Ghost, whereof
there is nothing in the Nicene Creed, because in
those days the said heresy had not yet shown
itself. " After this the deacon says an ektenia, which
consists in part of such supplications as are made
in our Liturgy, during the second part of the
Mass ; for the preservation of peace, for the
guardian angel, etc., and, as with us, the choir
answers: ''Grant it, 0 Lord!''* Then also are
catechumens, men of little faith, and unclean
persons driven out, and the choir sings strangely
enough, even if it were not at the blessing of the
elements, still more so when they are being
placed upon the altar : ' The Body of the Lord
and the Blood of the Saviour are before us ;
the heavenly hosts sing unseen, Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Hosts'^
" What can this mean ? The Armenians
heard how among the Greeks they sing at the

* " Grant this, O Lord."— Page 80.
f " The heavenly powers invisible to us sing and say,
without ceasing." — Page 82.

1 66 The Armenian Church.
Mass of the Presanctified when the elements of
bread and wine already consecrated are brought :
' how the heavenly host do service with us un
seen ; behold the King of Glory cometh in ;
behold the mysterious Sacrifice is novo being
accomplished ;' and they appropriated to them
selves this song, altering it for themselves, and
placing it before the offering of the elements ;
not considering that with them, those elements
are not yet consecrated, and that, therefore, they
ought not yet to say : ' The Body of Christ and
the Blood of the Saviour are before us.' Many
Armenians explain these words, saying they
probably belong to the following hymn. I offer
this my impartial judgment, not in a spirit of
opposition or with obstinacy, but in love.*

* Those of my readers who are acquainted with the
third edition of the Bishop of Brechin's Primary Charge,
will remember the catena of authorities produced to illus
trate the use of the anticipative phrases before the conse
cration, only properly applicable to the Body and Blood of
Christ, and the retrospective phrases after consecration,
applicable only to the creatures of Bread and Wine. These
are common to all Liturgies. The fact is, that the broadest
line of distinction between ancient and modern thought on
this subject, lies in the way in which the early Christians
dwelt upon the whole action, we on especial parts of it.

The Liturgy. 167
" The Cherubic hymn is not always sung
during the Liturgy among the Armenians, but
only on solemn festivals ; on ordinary occasions
it is replaced by some of their own hymns. The
prayer, however, which is said secretly by the
bishop wThen the elements are offered, was taken
whole from the Liturgy of S. Chrysostom : ' //
does not become any of those who are enslaved
by the lusts of the flesh or by the senses, either
to come or to draw near, or even to do service,
unto Thee, 0 King of Glory.''*
" The Celebrant, however, whether he be a
bishop or a common priest, does not go from the
altar to fetch the elements ; this office belongs
entirely to the deacons. The difference between
a bishop or a priest celebrating the Mass consists
in this, that unto the Cherubic hymn the bishop
makes the sign of the Cross in blessing over the
people with a Cross, but after the hymn with the
hand only ; whereas the priest always makes the
sign of the Cross and blesses with the Cross ;

¦* " None is worthy among them that are bound with
fleshly desires and pleasures, to approach Thy Holy Altar,
nor to sacrifice unto Thee the King of Glory." — Page 84.

1 68 The Armenian Church.
but both, bishop and priest, took off their mitres
from the Cherubic hymn to the end of the service ;
meanwhile, every clerk during the singing of
hymns and burning of incense, with the waving
of fans, took part in the bearing of the elements
from the chief altar that served for the sacrifice
to the middle altar in solemn procession and
good order, notwithstanding that the Armenian
song is unpleasant to one who is not used
to it.
" Banners, lamps, and fans go before the
deacon, who, meanwhile, bears the paten on
the chalice, covered with a pall, and who, from
the platform of the altar, shows them to the
people. The bishop then receives them while
praying, places them on the altar, without
any commemoration ; and, after washing his
hands, he proceeds to the consecration of the
elements. " Touching is the utterance of the deacon, or
rather of the whole clergy, who bid the congre
gation ' be in prayer with fear and trembling,
in presence of the Holy Table, not in doubt, but
with a pure mind and heart, and with good
works, that they may find mercy at the awful

The Liturgy. 169
second coming of Christ?* Then, after peace
being proclaimed by the bishop, he bids them
all embrace one another, and those who cannot
receive the Holy Mysteries, he bids them go out
and remain in prayer outside. The embrace
[kiss or greeting] begins with the bishop and
deacon to the whole clergy, who embrace one
another, saying, ' Christ appears in the midst of
us.'f The canon of the Liturgy — that is, the
order of service in the consecration of the ele
ments — agrees with our own in the spirit of
prayers said privately by the priest, which are
partly taken from S. Chrysostom, and almost
exactly like his in the portions of them said
aloud. Only, despite the general intention of
the Liturgy, as well in the East as in the West,
not the priest celebrant, but the deacon, invites
those who pray ' to raise their minds on high
and bless the Lord with their whole heart.' £

* " Let us stand up in prayer before the Holy Altar of
God, and we shall find grace and mercy at the day of the
revelation of all things, at the second coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ."
f " Christ is in the midst of us." — P. 87.
J " Lift up your minds on high, in the fear of God." — P. 88.

1 70 The Armenian Church.
" After singing ' // is right and meet so to
do' the order of the Orthodox Liturgy is almost
exactly followed by the Armenian, in the song
of the Seraphim : ' Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God
of Hosts ;' in pronouncing the words of the Lord
over the Bread and the Cup, and in the lifting
up of both : ' We bring to Thee of Thine own,
of all and for all;'* together with the secret
invocation to the Holy Ghost — all of which
were altered only in some few words.
" We may notice that here the Armenians
have not given way to Rome, but have preserved
the original Orthodox consecration of the ele
ments, not bv the Lord's words : ' Take and eat
this' but as it is done among us, entirely by the
invocation of the Holy Ghost, to come and
transform them. Only the choir, instead of the
usual ' Amen,' sings, before the elevation of the
elements, these touching lines: ' Heavenly Father,
Who didst give Thine only Son to the death for
our sakes, as Debtor for all our debts, we pray
Thee, for the sake of the shedding of His blood,

* In behalf of all, and for all, Thine own offer we unto
Thee of Thine own." — Page 91.

The Liturgy. 171
have mercy on us Thy rational flock'* And after
the elevation and consecration : ' 0 Holy Ghoit,
who didst come down from Heaven, and Who
accomplish est, through our hands, the mystery
of Him Who is with Thee glorified [of equal
glory with Thee] through the shedding of His
blood, we pray Thee give rest to those from
among us who are fallen asleep.' "f"
" This part of the Armenian Liturgy struck
me as most touching, when commemoration is
made aloud of the Saints fallen asleep in God.
Almost the same kind of mention of them is
made also among us at this same place in the
Liturgy, but it is done privately, as also before
the oblation, because here the Armenians insert
what they before omitted at the beginning. The
bishop makes mention, first of all, of the Blessed

* O Heavenly Father, Who didst give up Thy Son to
death, as the Debtor of our debts, we beseech Thee, for the
sake of His Blood, which has been shed, to have mercy
upon us Thy rational flock." — Page go.
f Spirit of God, Who descendest from heaven, and
performest the Mystery of Him, Who, together with Thee
is glorified, through our hands, by the pouring, forth of His
Blood, we beseech Thee to grant rest to the souls of those
of our brethren that have fallen asleep. — Page 93.

172 The Armenian Church.
Virgin, and with her of the Precursor, [i.e.,
Forerunner, St. John the Baptist,] and, I know
not why, of one akin to the Apostles St. Stephen,
proto-Martyr. " Then the deacon, standing on the right side
of the altar, commemorates the Apostles, Prophets,
Martyrs, Patriarchs, and all the Holy Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons, ' that mention be made of
them in this Liturgy ;'* and the choir answers
him : ' Remember them, 0 Lord, and have
mercy on them ; he also mentions by name
the Evangelists of Armenia, S. Bartholomew
and S. Thaddeus, of the great Illuminator
Gregory and his posterity down to the great
Nierces, Isaac, Mesrob, the inventor of the
Armenian letters, Gregory of Nareg,'f~ of Nierces
Schnorhali,^: and the successors of that great man
and of his brother Gregory, who laboured much
for the reunion of the Churches. It is pleasant
also to hear the names of holy hermits, both
Greek and Armenian, and of the faithful kings
Abgarus and Constantine, Tiridates and Theo-

* That they may be commemorated in this Holy
Sacrifice. — Page 94.
f Narighon. % Nierces the Graceful.

The Liturgy. 173
dosius. At last he utters a prayer for all faithful
men and women, old and young, who are fallen
asleep in Christ; while the choir continues to
say aloud : ' Remember them, 0 Lord, and
have mercy on them.'
" When the commemoration of the dead is
ended, the bishop makes mention privately of
the Apostolic Church and of all the Orthodox
Episcopate, and then aloud, of the Emperor* and
of his august family, and of the Catholicos of the
whole Armenian people. Then the clergy, going
round the left side of the altar, repeat the same
commemoration, beginning with the Catholicos.
" After a short prayer taken from the Liturgy
of St. Basil, and said privately by the bishop for
the diffusion over the whole Church for good
and pious deeds through the sacrifice offered,
there follows an ektenia, made up of our ektenise
with alterations, and the Lord's Prayer is then
chanted : ' Our Father.' A prayer said privately
by the bishop, which is not in our Liturgy, is
explained in a very touching manner by the
portion of it said aloud in the fond, forgiving

* Of Russia.

174 The Armenian Church.
call of our Heavenly Father to us : * 0 God of
Truth and Father of Mercies, we bless Thee
that Thou hast shown greater consideration for
our sinful nature than for that of our first
parents ; for, whereas Thou wast by them
called God, Thou in Thine infinite mercy art
pleased to let us call Thee Father'*
" At the call of the deacon they all bow their
heads, and a prayer is then said which in part
agrees with our own. The bishop, holding up
the body of Christ, says aloud : ' Holy things
to the holy !'f to which the choir replies : ' One
is holy, the One Lord Jesus Christ ;'\ but here
end the additions which essentially belong to the
Armenian Liturgy. The bishop pronounces upon
the bread and wine the praise of every Person of
the Most Holy Trinity separately : ' Blessed be
the Holy Father, True God,' to which the choir

* O God of Truth, Father of Mercies, we give thanks
unto Thee, Who hast honoured our sinful nature more than
that of the holy Patriarchs, inasmuch as to them Thou wast
called their God, but to us Thou hast been pleased to call
Thyself Father. — Page 99.
f " Holy things for holy persons." — Page 101.
X " One only is Holy, One only is the Lord, Jesus
Christ." — Page 101.

The Liturgy. 175
answers, ' Amen ;' and thus in the same words of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost ; and then at the
end : ' Blessing and praise* to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,' which is also
repeated by the choir. The bishop then, after
reading privately the prayer taken from our
Liturgy : ' Hear us, 0 Lord Jesus Christ,
from Thy holy abode,'-f dips the most holy Body
of Christ in the Blood of the cup, and shows it
alone to the people, according to the Latin rite,
turning his face towards it with this touching,
tender expression : ' Let us taste in holiness of
the holy, holy, most holy Body and Blood of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who came down
from heaven and distributed among us the life,
the hope, the resurrection, the cleansing and
forgiveness of our sins.'%

* " Glory." — Page 101.
f " Look down, 0 Lord Jesus Christ, from Thy holy
dwelling place." — Page 101.
X Let us eat the Holy and Pure Body and Blood of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in holiness, Who, having
descended from heaven, is descended from heaven, is dis
tributed amongst us. So He is the Life, the Hope, the
Resurrection, the Cleansing, and the Remission of Sins. —
Page 102.

176 The Armenian Church.
" The deacon then gives out a Psalm to be
sung to the Lord, and the curtain is drawn for
the communion of the bishop alone, after the
Romish custom, and not of all the clergy present
[priests and deacons], according to the order of
service of the Orthodox Church ; because since
it is one and the same Mass, if it be not a union
of the believers with the Lord and among them
selves in one body, and if it be not such to all
without exception, to whom more especially
should it be given to partake of it, if not to the
clergy, who, by their calling and profession, are
deserving divines ?
" I do not venture to affirm, but it appears
to me, that the unleavened bread used by the
Armenian Church, instead of leavened bread, for
the holy oblation, may very possibly be an inno
vation, although Armenians insist on the antiquity
of the custom, affirming that unleavened bread
was invariably used among them from the be
ginning. But is it even likely that St. Gregory
the Illuminator and his great grandson Isaac,
after having received the Order of the Greek
service, when it was completely settled — for
those were the days of St. Basil and St. Chrysos-

The Liturgy. 177
torn — is it likely, I ask, that they would so soon
after sever themselves from their glorious teachers,
and, in spite of them, adopt for the celebration
of the Holy Mysteries the unleavened bread of
the Old Testament, instead of the leavened bread
of the New, which the Lord Himself did bless,
by way of putting an end to the typical meal of
the Passover ?*
" Meanwhile the choir sings verses for the
Communion appropriate to the mystery, with
one ' Hallelujah' at the end of every one. Then
follow touching prayers said privately by the
bishop, who communicates, and who, as with
us, breaks the holy Body into four parts and
steeps them in the chalice, saying : ' Fulfilment
of the Holy Ghost.'\ After the prayers of thanks
givings for the Communion, partly taken from
our own, the curtain is drawn aside and the
deacon proclaims aloud : * Draw near with awe
divine and in fear !'% but the bishop, taking the
cup, turns towards the people, and communicates

* See page 24.
f " The operation of the Holy G*host." — Page 105.
X " Draw near, with the fear of God and with faith." —
Page 107. N

178 The Armenian Church.
without a spoon, taking with his fingers the
holy Body out of the cup and breaking it in
pieces — a rite sufficiently inconvenient, inasmuch
as some of the precious Blood sticks to the fingers.
As soon as he has again blessed the people by
making the sign of the Cross over them, the
curtain is again drawn in order that the minis
tering clergy may partake of the Holy Mysteries
on the same altar, for the greater honour paid to
that holy place ; and such feeling deserves every
praise. " The last ektenia said by the deacon reminds
one of our own ; the choir sings a hymn of
thanksgiving to the Lord, who has fed us from
His immortal Table, and has given His Body
and Blood for the salvation of the world and for
the life of our souls. After this the curtain is
again drawn aside, thus ever bearing witness to
the inconvenience of having given up the image-
gallery;* then the bishop comes down to the
people and reads our prayer said beyond the
ambon. " But when the choir has sung ' The Lord's

* I.e. The Iconastasis.

The Liturgy. 179
Name be blessed for ever' then the bishop
after the Romish custom reads the beginning
of the Gospel of St. John : ' In the beginning was
the Word,' and with it closes the Liturgy, begun
after the Greek rite, and ended after the Roman.*
" Thus have I described the order of the
Armenian Liturgy, not in a condemning spirit,
but with impartiality, showing only whence the
prayers, to which I give all praise, were taken ;
that it might be seen in what way its ancient
Eastern order of service was altered in the
middle ages."
The Bread used in the Holy Eucharist is
unleavened, and is generally in small round
cakes, with a figure of our Blessed Lord stamped
upon it. It is made by the Priest who is to
celebrate, early in the morning of the day for
which it is required ; for this purpose a small
oven is often found in one of the out-houses

* This is a mistake, as the principal additions that have
been made by the Armenians to their Liturgy from the Latin,
are the Psalms and Confession at its commencement, and
the Gospel at the conclusion.
N 2

180 The Armenian Church.
attached to the church. If a Bishop celebrates,
it is baked for him by one of his Deacons.
The Wine used in the celebration of the Holy
Communion is the Shiraz wine, which is manu
factured in Persia, and consists of the pure
fermented juice of the grape only.
As in all Oriental churches, the rule that the
• Holy Eucharist may only be celebrated once on
the same Altar during the day, is strictly ob
served ; and the Holy Sacrifice may not be
offered after noon, except on the evening of
Christmas and Easter Eves, and on the after
noon of Maundy Thursday. The Priest who
is to celebrate and the people who communicate
may not break their fast after sunset the evening
before. The Liturgy is, as a general rule, celebrated
only on Sundays, Thursdays, and Saturdays;
but oftener during Lent, and on Feast days.
The Armenians agree with the Greeks in ad
ministering the Holy Communion in both kinds
to the laity, who are communicated in the Holy
Gifts mixed together in the chalice, and adminis
tered by the fingers of the Celebrant, or, in rare
cases, in a spoon. Priests receive the chalice and

The Liturgy. 181
communicate themselves, while Deacons receive
the species in the palms of their hands.
Armenian music, like that of all Oriental
nations, sounds sadly discordant to the Euro
pean ear, and it is not until one has become used
to it, that any melody can be discovered in the
apparently discordant sounds. The hymns du
ring service are often accompanied by cymbals
and bells. An instrument called the Quecone,
which consists of a small metal figure of a
cherub placed on a pole, (to the wings of
which are hung many small bells,) is carried
by one of the deacons, and is put in motion
during such parts of the service as the Great and
Little Entrances and the Elevation. Other deacons
carry fans, which they use at different times
during the service to fan the Gifts before and
after consecration. The mystical meaning at
tached to the use of these instruments is the
rushing of the wings of the cherubim during
the worship in heaven described by the prophet
Ezekiel ; but like many other ceremonies to which
a deep mystical meaning is now attached, the
original use was of a very practical nature.
When after the constant inroads of the bar-

1 82 The Armenian Church.
barians, nearly all the churches in Armenia
were destroyed, the Liturgy was wont to be
celebrated on the tops of hills, in woods, or in
other places where congregations could assemble
together in safety. Now, any one who has resided
in the East will know how adventurous the birds
are in those countries, how they will enter a room
and carry bread off from the very table at which
one is seated. These bells, then, were used in
former days to frighten away the birds whenever
the gifts remained uncovered ; and when the
churches were rebuilt the use of these instru
ments was still continued in memory of the
worship as it was carried on in the days of
adversity. Fans in like manner were used to
protect the sacred offerings from the flies, which
are such a constant source of annoyance in
Eastern countries.
In concluding this chapter on the manner of
celebrating the Holy Eucharist among the
Armenians, it must be remembered that the
great difference between Eastern and Western
Liturgies is the unvarying character of the
former. With the exception of the Lessons,
Eastern Liturgies as a rule admit of no changes

The Liturgy. 1 83
adapted to the different seasons of the year.
But the Armenians, while retaining the un
changeable character of the Liturgy itself, show
how much they have been influenced by Western
sentiment ; more by the manner in which they
have supplemented the service with anthems and
hymns suitable to the seasons, than by any of
the changes which have been noticed before.

I 184 )

RITES AND CEREMONIES.

Among the Armenians, Processions are made on
all the great feast-days, both inside and out
side the church; and the most noticeable of them
is that which, on Palm Sunday, takes place after
the conclusion of the Liturgy, in remembrance of
our Blessed Lord's entrance into Jerusalem on
that day. The Celebrant and sacred Ministers,
descending from the Altar, distribute branches
of trees to the congregation, who then, together
with the clergy and choir, form a Procession, and
proceed, singing Psalms, round the outside of
the church. When they wish to re-enter the
sacred building, the Celebrant and his Deacon
alone pass through the doors, which are then
closed, and the people from without sing : —
" Open unto us the gate of Righteousness, O
Lord, even unto us, Thy humble servants, who
with tearful eyes beseech Thee for Thy loving-
kindness."

Riles and Ceremonies. 1 85
Priest, from within :
" Who are these that without the gate of the
Lord seek for entrance ; for none but the just
can enter therein." People, outside :
" Yea, verily, only the just, and those who
have purified themselves from sin by confession
and penitence."
In this manner the Priest and people reply
antiphonally until the doors are reopened, and
the Procession again enters the church.
This ceremony is intended to teach the
people how necessary it is for them to have
kept well their Lent, failing which, it is impos
sible they can be fit to enter into the Paschal joy
now so near.
The whole of the services during Holy Week
are very impressive; but their length must be
tedious to those who are not able fully to enter
into the spirit of that holy season.
On Thursday of the Mystic Supper, the

1 86 The Armenian Church.
Liturgy commences at midday, and is lengthened
out by lessons from the Old Testament, readings
from the Fathers of the Cliurch, and sermons
until evening, when the ceremony of washing
the feet takes place. A large vessel of water is
placed in the midst of the choir ; the Ecclesiastic
of highest rank present, girding himself with a
towel, washes first the feet of the Ministers and
choir, and then of such of the people as are
willing to come forward. After having done
this, he anoints the feet of each person with oil,
which had previously been poured on the water
in the form of a cross. When this ceremony is
completed, he resumes his cope, which had before
been taken off, and seated in a chair, is raised by
the choir as high as they can lift him. In this
exalted position he announces to the people that
the Church dispenses them from all fasting and
abstinence during the Paschal season. This ex
altation reminds us of Him Who so far humbled
Himself as to wash the feet of His Apostles, and
Who is now exalted far above the heads of
all creation. After this a representation of the
Holy Sepulchre is placed in the middle of the
choir, on it is a cross, on which is engraved or

Rites and Ceremonies. 187
painted the figure of our Lord, which the people
kiss with great devotion. This representation of
the sepulchre remains until the commencement
of the Liturgy on Easter-eve, until which time
in every church, day and night, the people crowd,
to show how, during these three great days, they
are endeavouring to realize the facts of our
Blessed Lord's Passion. The services for Easter-
day begin in the evening, and the large curtain
before the Altar is closed, as has been the case
during the whole of the Fast. The Clergy from
without read passages from the Books of the
Prophets, foretelling the Resurrection of Christ.
At the moment when the time of the Feast is
come (which was formerly considered to be at
midnight) the curtain is withdrawn, and the
highest dignitary present having proclaimed,
" Good News, our Lord is risen," proceeds to
the Altar and offers up the Holy Sacrifice in
honour of his risen Lord. During the season of
Lent, as I have said before, the Altar remains
shut out from view by the great curtain,
typifying thereby the expulsion of our first
parents from Paradise. This is withdrawn as
described above, showing that by the resurrec-

1 88 The Armenian Church.
tion of Christ the gates of Heaven are again
opened to us.*
As has been already noticed in the Calendar,
the Nativity, Epiphany, and Baptism of our
Lord are observed on the same day. This feast
is the great day among the Armenians for the
baptism of children who, if considered strong
and healthy, often remained unbaptized nearly a
year, in order that they may receive the Sacra
ment on this day. There are often so many
baptisms on this occasion, that it is necessary to

* A custom like this existed in former days in the Church
of England.
" Before Evensong on Saturday before the first Sunday
in Lent, the Lenten Veil is to be hung up between the
choir and the presbytery, or in stroller churches between
the chancel and the nave, and is,to rem-ain so hung on all
Sundays and Weekdays whence service is of the Feria,
except at the Procession, andVi '3l tne re3.ding of the Holy
Gospel till after the oblations, L 'Qat the consecration until
the Wednesday in Holy W4 C- ''—The Services of the
Church according to the use ofl-we illustrious Church of
Sarum. Second Edition. Page\pn6.
The custom of veiling the Cross on the Altar now used
in many English churches during Lent is doubtlessly de
rived from this.

Rites and Ceremonies. 189
administer the Sacrament, not in the church, but
in some stream or river. As a short account
of the ceremonies used in the administration of
Holy Baptism will be given hereafter, I will
now only mention the ceremony of the bless
ing of the waters, the other Epiphany function.
After the conclusion of the Liturgy, a metal
vessel full of water is placed in the middle
of the choir. A Procession is then formed, the
Priests carrying each a taper in one hand and
the book of the Gospels in the other ; the Deacons
carrying a taper and censer ; and the Subdeacons
tapers only. The Celebrant walks last, bearing
a Cross in his hand, which he dips into the
water, dividing it, in the shape of a cross, and
pours into it at the same time a small quantity
of holy oil. Meanwhile the proper Psalms are
sung by the Choir, and prayers recited by the
Celebrant. This water the people carry away,
and sprinkle in their houses and into the neigh
bouring wells and streams. The Procession then
proceeds out of doors, and the same ceremony
is performed at the neighbouring rivers and
fountains.

190 The Armenian Church.
Besides the account of the ceremonies above
mentioned, a few remarks on some others will
not come amiss here.
After the election of the Catholicos has taken
place as described in the chapter on Church
Government, the Bishops who have met to
gether in the monastery of Etchmadzine proceed
to consecrate him in the following manner.
During the celebration of the Liturgy, the
Catholicos elect, kneeling down before the High
Altar, is anointed with chrism, and all the
Bishops present having assisted him in assum
ing his patriarchal vestments, lay their hands
on his head and pray for the descent of the
Holy Ghost upon him, for by this means alone
can he be strengthened and enabled to fulfil the
duties of his exalted position.
Before the ordination of priests and deacons,
the candidates are presented to the people, who
are asked whether they know of any just cause or
impediment why they should not receive ordina
tion. If no fault is found with them, after a
strict examination by the Archbishop as to their
knowledge of theology, and general fitness for

Rites and Ceremonies. 191
the reception of Holy Orders, they are ordained
priests or deacons by the laying on of hands.
The Function of Holy Matrimony is of
considerable length, and the ceremony takes
place both in the church and in the house of
the bridegroom. The nuptial benediction is
given first in the church, and after very many
long prayers the clergy, together with the friends
and relations of the bridegroom, form a pro
cession, and escort the bride to her future home,
where the ceremony is taken up again, and after
the husband has promised to protect his wife,
and the wife to obey her husband, the nuptial
benediction is again given. The priest then
crowns the newly married couple with wreaths
of flowers, and gives them wine, which they
drink out of the same cup. The cup is then
broken in pieces ; meanwhile the account of the
marriage of Cana of Galilee is read by the deacon
from St. John's Gospel.
The prayers used at funerals are nearly the
same as those of the Greeks, from whom they
have been borrowed by the Armenians. When

192 The Armenian Church.
a death occurs, the clergy and choir at the time
appointed for the funeral, assemble at the house
where the body lies. A procession is formed of
the clergy and friends of the deceased, who
accompany the body, singing psalms and hymns
by the way. Having arrived at the church, the
body is placed on the bier and the service con
tinues ; at its conclusion the procession is again
formed, and the body taken to the cemetery,
where, attended by friends and relations, it is laid
in its last resting place. Strangely enough the
Uniat Armenians have omitted this latter part of
the ceremony, and allow the body to be carried
to the grave followed by the officiating priest
only, the friends and relations returning to theii
homes from the church.
On the days mentioned before, for the com
memoration of the faithful departed, imme
diately after the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist in the church, the people and priest
together proceed to the cemetery, and the latter
there blesses such graves as are specially pointed
out to him by the friends and relations of the
deceased. A feast is then provided by the richer
members of the congregation for their poorer

Rites and Ceremonies. 193
brethren; and in the cemetery itself, rich and
poor, high and low, master and servant, sit down
and eat together in remembrance of the time
when all earthly distinctions shall be done away,
and when the richest among men will be able to
call nothing his own, but the few feet of earth
in which he lies.

( i94 )

THE UNIAT ARMENIANS.

Besides the Armenians who acknowledge as
their spiritual head the Catholicos, a considerable
number have at various times since the four
teenth century admitted the supremacy of the
Pope, and from a variety of reasons, generally
political, have deserted the Church of their fore
fathers. They now number about 120,000
souls, and are commonly known as United,
Uniat, or Latin Armenians.
In the middle of the fourteenth century a
Dominican father named Pedon brought into
communion with Rome a large number of this
nation, who for a long time used the Dominican
Mass translated into Armenian, otherwise retain
ing their national offices and customs. An edition
of the Dominican Missal in the colloquial Arme
nian of the day was printed at the Propaganda
in Rome, in 1688, and issued for the use of
Armenian churches served by Dominican friars.

The Uniat Armenians. 195
About 1642, the edition of the Armenian
Liturgy now in use by the Latin Arme
nians, was printed in Rome, with many altera
tions from the original. The changes made
have ever been a source of regret to all Arme
nians, even those of the Latin rite, who, as
well as those who continue in their old faith,
feel justly that their national services are pre
sented to Western Christendom in a Latinized
and mutilated condition; but while one is in
clined to blame Rome for these alterations, and
find fault with her for causing a schism in
a national Church, the immense benefits the
whole Armenian Church and nation have re
ceived from the foundation of the convent of
the Mechitaristes on the Island of St. Lazaar,
near Venice, must not be forgotten.
The Monks of this order are so called from
their founder Mechitar. Mechitar was born at
Sebaste in Asia Minor, in 1676, and early in life
determined to devote himself to the Priesthood ;
and with this view entered an Armenian convent
near Erzeroun, in 1691. Soon afterwards he
was permitted to proceed to Etchmiadzine to
conclude his studies. Disappointed at the amount
o 2

196 The Armenian Church.
of education there considered necessary for the
Priesthood, he sought for and obtained permis
sion to travel in Europe, intending to complete
his studies at Rome, but owing to a severe illness
he was unable to accomplish the journey. He
was ordained priest in 1696, in the convent of
the Holy Cross at Sebaste, and shortly after
wards set out for Constantinople. Falling in
with some able Latin ecclesiastics in that city, he
became convinced that the claims of the Pope
were just, and he joined the Latin Armenian
party. Among them he was able to accom
plish that which had been the earnest wish of
his life, namely, the foundation of a religious
body of men, who were to live together for the
purpose of study and constant prayer.
The orthodox Armenians naturally much
aggrieved at the loss of a man of Mechitar's
ability, soon succeeded in forcing the young
society to leave the territories of the Sultan.
The brethren (eight in number) removed to
Modan, in the Morea, in 1703, which country
at that time belonged to the Venetians. Here
the Society remained for ten years, during which
time Mechitar adopted a modified form of the

The Uniat Armenians. 197'
Benedictine rule, which received the sanction of
Pope Clement XL, who conferred on the head of
the Order the title of Abbot.
In 1 715, when the Turks had conquered the
Morea, Mechitar and his brethren removed to
Venice, where, after some little delay, the Senate
gave the society the small island of St. Lazaar.
This Island had formerly been a Benedictine
Monastery, which in the twelfth century had
been used as a hospital for lepers. Finding an
old Church almost in ruins, the brethren managed
to restore it, and to adapt it to the Armenian
Ritual. They gradually built the present con
vent and schools. Mechitar died in 1 749, at
the age of 74, and is buried in the choir of the
Church of the Society.
The whole Armenian nation is deeply in
debted to this Society, who have devoted them
selves to the spread of Armenian education and
literature, by the schools they have founded
in connection with the convent, and by the
numerous works of theology, science, and his
tory, which have from time to time issued from
their press.
None but Armenian boys are admitted to the

198 The Armenian Church.
schools, nor can ecclesiastics of any other nation
join or have any connection with the Society.
This rule is most strictly observed.
The Mechitaristes, about fifty years ago,
founded a house in Rome. About that time
were discovered two inscriptions, in Armenian,
near the Three Fountains outside the city wall,
by which it seems that in the fourteenth century
some Armenian Monks had a religious house on
the spot, and were guardians of the wells, which
tradition says sprang up miraculously at the
martyrdom of the great Apostle of the Gentiles.
In consequence of this discovery, the Society ob
tained permission to refound the house formerly
consisting of Religious of their own nation.
It ought to have been stated before, that
neither among the Orthodox nor the Uniat Arme
nians are any Religious Orders of women to be
found. One cannot but hope that ere long,
following the example of their Western sisters,
women as well as men may be able to devote
themselves to the service of God and of his
Church. The Hierarchy of the Uniat Armenian Church
is as follows : —

The Uniat Armenians. 199
The Patriarch of Cilicia.
This See was founded by Pope Benedict XIV.
during the middle of the last century. The
Patriarch is the spiritual head under the Roman
Pontiff of all the Latin Armenians in the ter
ritories of the Sultan and the Shah of Persia.
He is elected by the Uniat Clergy and Laity,
and an unwise attempt on the part of the present
Pope to deprive the people of the privilege of
election, together with the publication of the
decrees of the Latin Council of 1869-70, has
caused the present Patriarch to threaten to
withdraw from his allegiance to Rome, and it
now remains to be seen whether he will return
to the authority of his own Catholicos, or submit
to the new dogma of Infallibility.
This ecclesiastic formerly resided in a Monas
tery on Mount Lebanon; but a few years ago
the present Patriarch removed to Constantinople,
where he now lives. He has under him the fol
lowing bishops of —
In Europe, Orta in Albania.
In Asia Minor, Trebizond, Brusah, Angora,

200 The Armenian Church.
Erzeroun, Marash, Kaisariyeh, Militin, Diar
bekir, and Mardin.
In Syria, Aleppo, and Antioch.
The Titular Archbishops.
There are also five Titular Archbishops, one
of whom is Abbot of the Monastery of St.
Lazaar; his title is the Archbishop of Sunie.
The others take the names of their Archbishop
rics from the island of Cyprus, Chirag, Csesarea
in Palestine, and Tarsus.
The last five live at Rome, and are merely
appendages to the Papal Court.
The Archbishop of Lemberg, or Leopold,
in Austrian Poland.
Is the spiritual head of all the Latin Armenians
in the Austrian empire, and lives in an ancient
palace at Lemberg. Nearly 20,000 Armenian
families reside in this country — the descendants
of those who, after the final conquest of Ar
menia, sought for and obtained hospitality in
Christian lands when flying from the tyranny of
their Mussulman masters. These Armenians

The Uniat Armenians. 201
long ago submitted to Rome, and were allowed to
retain their national liturgy. This rite is more
Latinised than the one used by the Uniat Arme
nians in other countries, and the clergy wear the
Latin, and not their national vestments during
the celebration of Divine worship. There are
also several Latin Armenian congregations with
priests of their own rite in the Danubian pro
vinces under the Archbishop of Lemberg.
The Uniat Armenians in Russia are under
the jurisdiction of the Latin bishops in that
country.

Hitherto the rules regarding the maintenance
of the national rite have been very strict. No
Armenian can be ordained for the Latin Rite
even if he receive orders from a Latin Bishop,
and no person of this nation is ever allowed to
receive confirmation from Latin Bishops.
Formerly the holy Chrism was consecrated
by all of the Bishops, but now the Patriarch
alone is allowed to do so. This, among
many other changes taking place just at
present, shows how this body are gradually

202 The Armenian Church.
returning to their allegiance to the Catholicos,
the proper spiritual head of their own church
and nation.

The principal differences between the Latin
ized Uniat Rite and the Armenian one are as
follows. Only one prayer is said at the putting on of
the Maniples.
In the Confession at page 6^, from tne words,
" Who is exalted above all creatures" to " Holy
Apostles, Peter and Paul" are omitted.
In the Preanaphora, the Hymn, " Only Be
gotten Son" page 72, or the hymn used in its
place, is omitted and another Introit sung instead.
The additions to the " Trisagion," page 75,
are omitted, and it is sung thus :
" Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and
Immortal, have mercy upon us"
In the Litany and before the Patriarch's name
the Pope's is inserted.
The Lessons, Epistles, and Gospels are some
what changed.
In the Creed, the words, " Who proceedeth

The Uniat Armenians. 203
from the Father and the Son" are added,
which latter words fall mournfully on the
Eastern ear.
At the Expulsion of the Catechumens, page
82, the words:
" The Body of our Lord and the Blood
of our Saviour, are before us" are changed
into, " The Holy Body of our Lord and the Blood
of our Saviour, are about to be before us."
The hymn at page 82 for Easter, " Let
us who mystically" is left out, and for it is
inserted :
" What Lord is like unto our God f He has
even been crucified for us ; He was buried, and
is risen again. He has been recognised as God
by all the world; and has most gloriously
ascended into heaven. 0 come, let us sing
praises unto Him, and with the Hosts of
Heaven let us say, Holy, Holy, Holy, 0 Lord
our God."
The hymn " Christ is in the midst of us,"
page 87, is omitted.
The words of " Consecration," page 90, are
slightly altered.

2 04 The Armenian Church.
The prayer for the Descent of the Holy
Ghost, page 92, runs thus :
We "worship Thee, we pray unto Thee, we
beseech Thee, 0 merciful God, that Thou
wouldst send down upon us, and upon this
offering we present unto thee, Thy Holy Con
substantial Spirit. (Making the sign of the
Cross on the Host.) By Whose operation
Thou hast truly made of this Holy Bread
the Body of our Lord. (This is thrice re
peated. He then maketh the sign of the
Cross on the Chalice and saith :) By Whose
operation also Thou bast truly made that ivhich
is in this Chalice the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (Then making the sign of the Cross on
both species the priest saith :) By Whose opera
tion Thou hast truly made this Holy Bread and
Wine the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in transforming them by Thy Holy
Spirit? In the Litany page 94 in the 2nd and 3rd,
5th, 7th, and 8th suffrages, the response " Have
mercy upon them" is changed into '•''Have mercy
upon us."
In the same Litany, the names of " John

The Uniat Armenians. 205
of Odsentsi, Gregory, and Moses of Tathivan"
are omitted.
These, the use of the mixed Chalice, and the
using wafer instead of unleavened bread, are the
principal changes that have been made in this
rite ; there are, however, several others of lesser
importance, tending towards Latinizing the
Liturgy as far as possible; and there seems but
little doubt that Rome will (if the present regime
continues, which God forbid) drive this ancient
rite without the bounds of her pale, as she has
many others, more ancient and more beautiful
even than her own. But although we may
blame Rome for her disregard of ancient customs,
and dislike of national rites, yet we cannot but
see, that she is honest in her avowed determina
tion to Italianize Christianity; and her honest
avowal shines the more brightly in contrast with
those who, while protesting against her central
ization, yet strive themselves in every manner to
procure centralization, and that by the very
means they blame Rome for so severely,
namely, that of suppressing other rites than
those they use themselves. And yet we cannot
close our eyes to the fact, that this is the case in

206 The Armenian Church.
the East as well as in the West. We cannot but
with sorrow remember that St. Mark's Liturgy
has been forced out of the Patriarchate of Alex
andria by that of St. Chrysostom ; the " Use of
Constantinople," and that the glorious "St. James"
has sunk into insignificance, and is used but once
a year where formerly supreme. And we An
glicans may look nearer home. Of the three living
Anglican rites incomparably the grandest, the one
that brings us nearest to the early Christian
church, and which reminds us of our old con
nection with the East, the "Scotch Communion
Office," has been nearly driven out of the field
by the centralizing influences of Canterbury.
Let us then who are never too weary to throw a
stone at Rome, look sometimes at home and try
and see if we have not in ourselves, although in
a somewhat different shape, the very faults we
are so willing to blame in her.

PROTESTANT ARMENIANS.

Besides the two great bodies of Armenians
we have already spoken of, a third body, that
of the so-called Protestant Armenians exists, who
now number about two thousand souls, and are
recognised as a distinct sect by the Turkish
Government. The author is unable to discover
that this sect possesses any dogmatic teaching,
and its members seem to agree with one
another only so far as to protest against the
Catholic faith in general. They profess to
found their religion on a somewhat mutilated
edition of the Bible distributed among them
by the emissaries of certain English and
American sects. These extracts from the
Scriptures have been translated into the col
loquial language spoken by the uneducated
Armenians, which is as far removed from the
dignified language of the Authorised Version as is
the English of Artemus Ward from that of the
English Bible. One cannot, therefore, be sur-

208 The Armenian Church.
prised that the stories so industriously circulated
by the agents of various Protestant Bible Societies
regarding the contempt with which their edition
of the Bible is received by the Armenian clergy
has some foundation, nor can we wonder that
those who possess so much real reverence for
the Word of God should bitterly feel the degra
dation it undergoes in being rendered into a coarse
and vulgar idiom.
The agents of the above-mentioned societies
consider the fact worth recording, that in one
year they managed to distribute among Arme
nians two million printed pages of these extracts
from the Holy Bible ; but notwithstanding this
extreme energy, the author is given to understand
that in the last few years the number of these
sectaries have decreased considerably, which can
hardly be considered a matter of regret to any
member of the English Church.
The two following stories show the effect the
instruction of Protestant missionaries has on
the minds of a people who have constantly be
fore them the dogmatic teaching of the Eastern
Church. An Armenian priest, preaching to his congre-

Protestant Armenians. 209
gation, told them :* " You wish to know whether
the English are Christians. They are Christians ;
they even have the Eucharist, such as it is. Once
a year the minister goes up into the pulpit with
a large basket, containing pieces of bread, on his
arm. These he flings about among the people,
who thus have a scramble for it in the Church.
They also have another religious ceremony called
the National Debt, which consists in offering a
large sum of money every year to the Emperor
of the French ; a ceremony much disliked and
murmured at by the people."
And again :
A Mahometan Sceptic, talking to a Protestant
minister, wishing to compliment him, said :
" Our religions are the same. You eat pork —
so do we ; you never fast — no more do we ;
you say no prayers — and we say none either."
There is also a small body of Armenians in
Syria, numbering about two hundred souls,
who might be called Anglican-Armenians,

* " Essays on Liturgiology and Church History," by
Dr. Neale. P

2io The Armenian Church.
under a Bishop Megerchitch, who (for reasons
not very clearly stated) has renounced com
munion with the Catholicos, and has been,
against all ecclesiastical rule and discipline,
admitted to communion with, and is recognised
as a suffragan by the Anglican Bishop at
Jerusalem. But the existence of this body of
Uniats has never been officially recognised by
the English Church, which, when the bishopric
at Jerusalem was founded, especially repudiated
the idea of wishing to encourage proselytising
among members of any Oriental Communion.

( 211 )

DOCTRINE.

The author had intended to have written a
chapter on the " Christian Faith" as taught by
the Orthodox Armenian Church, but he finds
the task a greater one than he is able to accom
plish ; and if the reader feels an interest in the
subject, he will find in a pamphlet, translated
from the Armenian by Mr. Malan, a Catechism
of " Instruction on the Christian Faith according
to the Orthodox Armenian Church,"* all that he
could wish to know on this point. Europeans
generally (at least those who are aware of the
existence of this Church) believe that tbf
Armenian Church teaches heresy regarding th#
two Natures of Christ. This is not really the
case ; on matters of faith the Armenian Church
is, without doubt, at one with the Orthodox

* No. VIII. Occasional Paper of the Eastern Church
Association, published by Rivingtons. P 2

2 1 2 The Armenian Church.
Eastern Church, and only separated by questions
of jurisdiction, and matters of discipline. Some of
these differences have been already mentioned,
but there is one other on which the sympathies
of members of the Anglican Church will be with
the Armenians rather than with the Greeks, and
that is on the question of the amount of reverence
paid by the latter to Icons, the Armenians blaming
the Greeks much for what they consider their
excessive veneration for the Holy Icons; and this
question has sometimes led to bitter quarrels
between the two Churches. At the present
moment, however, there seems but little reason
to doubt that, in the course of the next few years,
the much to be desired and often sought for re
union between the two Churches will at last be
! accomplished without any sacrifice on the part of
the Armenians of their national rites and cus
toms ; and in order to show how little real diffi
culty there will be in accomplishing this object,
a fuller account is here given of the negotiations
that took place for the reunion of the two Churches
in the twelfth century, which were referred to*
* Page 26.

Doctrine. 213
in the chapter on history. The authority for the
following is one of the Occasional Papers of the
Eastern Church Association :*
About the year 1 1 70 Alexis, the Emperor
Manuel's son in law, during a tour in Armenia,
happened to meet the Catholicos Nierces, and
being much surprised by his learning, and
avowed desire to reconcile the two Churches,
entered into a communication with him on the
subject. The points of difference discussed be
tween them were : (1) the dogma regarding the
two Natures of Christ : (2) the addition to the
hymn " Trisagion :" (3) the custom of celebrating
the Feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany the
same day : (4) the use of unleavened bread in
the Holy Eucharist : (5 ) the Unmixed Chalice :
(6) the fasts observed by the Armenians, but not
by the Orthodox Church, more particularly that
called the Fast of the Forerunner, or of Nineveh.
On his return home Alexis reported this circum
stance to the Emperor, who, pleased with the

* No. XIII. " On the disagreement between the Greek
and American Churches," translated from the Russian, by
the Rev. C. S. Malan.

214 The Armenian Church.
idea that he might be the means of bringing
about so important a fact as the reunion of the
two so long separated Churches, sent a monk,
named Theorian the Philosopher, to discuss the
above mentioned points of difference with the
Catholicos, and also to see whether, in case of a
Council assembling, there was any chance of the
Armenians submitting themselves to its authority.
To this monk, Nierces thus expressed himself in
speaking of the Incarnation, which was the only
doctrinal point of difference : " One Substance
and One Person out of Two Essences in the
One Jesus Christ, united without confu
sion and indivisibly." This was granted by
the Greek Envoy to be perfectly in accordance
with the Orthodox Faith, and on the Catholicos
quoting the words of S. Cyril, " One Nature of
the Word made Flesh," the monk proved to
his satisfaction that these words which the
Armenians had made so much use of, and to
which they had clung so tenaciously, did not
apply to the difference in question between the
two Churches, but were quoted from words
S. Athanasius had used against Arius, who
taught " the word " God" to be the innermost

Doctrine.

215

uncreated attribute proper to the Divine Nature
created out of the Word ; whereby he (the
archheretic) honoured Jesus Christ as such.
S. Athanasius then made use of the phrase in
question, " One Nature of the Word made I
Flesh." The Greek proceeded to show how
thoroughly the decrees of Chalcedon agreed
with the Faith as interpreted by the earlier
Fathers, and more especially with the teaching
of S. Cyril. To all this the Catholicos assented,
allowing that this side of the question was now
brought before him for the first time.
The next point discussed was the omission
from the " Trisagion" of the addition of Peter
the Fuller. The Catholicos, although willing
to admit the doctrine of the Two Natures of
Christ, yet pointed out how impossible it would
be to relinquish this custom, as the people had
been accustomed to sing it, and considered it as
one of the means of maintaining their nation
ality, but he thought some slight change might
be made which the Greeks without difficulty
might accept.
The day on which the Nativity of our
Blessed Lord should be observed did not prove

216 The Armenian Church.
a difficulty, as Nierces declared his willingness to
concede this point if the more important ques
tion could be settled.
Other points of lesser importance were taken
into consideration before the Greek monk re
turned to Constantinople, which he did full of
hope that his mission might be successful, and
that he might live to see the much to be wished
for union.
A long correspondence between the Greek
Patriarch Michael and Nierces followed the
monk's return home, and some little time after
wards he was again sent to Armenia with the
proposition that the Armenians should : (i)
Anathematize the heretics Eutyches, Severus,
and Elyras : (2) Make a distinct confession of
the Two Natures in the One Person of Jesus :
(3) Recognise the Council of Chalcedon as
(Ecumenical : (4) Omit the addition to the
Trisagion: (5) Use leavened bread and the mixed
Chalice for the Holy Eucharist : And that one
or two other points of less importance should be
yielded ; and the Emperor also added that the
appointment of the Catholicos should, in case of
union, be left to him and his successors.

Doctrine. 217
On receiving these propositions, Nierces
gathered together as many bishops as he could,
and the points in question were very fully dis
cussed, and the result was that, although willing
enough to accept the doctrines demanded by the
Greeks, they felt how impossible it was to change
customs which the people considered so necessary
for the preservation of their distinctive nationality.
The idea of union has lingered on from this
time, and has been taken into consideration by
Synod after Synod of Armenian bishops, who
have undoubtedly held the doctrine of the Two
Natures as taught by the Greeks to be truly
Orthodox; but it has ever been impossible for
them to change their national ritual. And
even to this day the question rests thus. One
in faith with the Orthodox Eastern Church,
they are still separated by this narrow stream,
which we may live to see bridged over, and the
Universal Church one step nearer visible unity.
Many points of similarity seem to exist be
tween the Armenian and English Churches as
far as regards their peculiar position and charac
teristics as national Churches, thrown by circum
stances out of communion with their respective

218 The Armenian Church.
Patriarchal Sees. Dr. Neale, in his " Introduction
to the History of the Eastern Church," dwells
on this at some length. He says : " As the
former is confounded with Monophysite, so the
latter with Calvinian heresy. The one in her
Creeds ; the other, in her Articles, seems to give
some colour, at first sight, to the charge. The
one and the other, both in their formulae, and
by their chief Doctors, have protested against it.
The one and the other nevertheless do contain
many in their bosom who are implicated in the
heresy respectively charged; and it is to be hoped
the day will come when both one and the other, in
the sight of the Church Catholic, will vindicate
their innocence, and assume their own place of
honour." Both Churches are now feeling extremely
their isolated condition, and both, through their
respective authorities, and by the work of indi
vidual members, are, as it were, throwing out
feelers towards their respective Patriarchal Sees.
Would that the Anglican Church seemed as
near reunion with its Patriarch as the Armenian
appears to be. With them it must come in the
course of a very few years ; with us, dare we hope

Doctrine.

219

it? Yes, sometimes we dare; and looking forward
through the deep, deep gloom that surrounds us,
we ever see in the distance the far away but
steady light that points out to us the haven
where we fain would be, and where, at peace
with all men, we may say with one accord,
" Thy Kingdom come."
Another point of similarity between the two
Churches may be found in the manner in which
both are compelled to submit to the decrees of a
civil court in matters of ritual and doctrine ; nor
can we doubt that in many cases Anglicans
would rather plead before a court composed of
Mussulmen indifferent to Christianity than be
fore the Court of Final Appeal as now consti
tuted. Dr. Neale supplies a story regarding a
case of ritual before a Mahometan Court that is
well worth inserting here :*
" About fifty years ago the clergy of the
Uniat and Orthodox Armenian Rites quarrelled
among themselves regarding the use or disuse
of the Mixed Chalice. The dispute grew, and
at last the affair was brought before the Turkish

Essays on Liturgiology.

220 The Armenian Church.
Judge, who, having heard the case and plead
ings on both sides, gave judgment as follows :
Wine is an impure liquor, accursed and for
bidden by the Koran ; it ought not, therefore,
to be employed at all. Why do you not use
pure water?" Have we not lately in England
had a similar judgment ?
It will be well to conclude this chapter by men
tioning a few instances indicative of the friendly
feeling that has in past times been shown towards
members of the English Church by the authori
ties of the Armenian Communion. Mr. Mac-
donald, an English envoy at the Court of Persia,
is buried in the Cathedral Church at Etchmiad
zine, and a handsome monument to his memory
has been erected within its walls. The well-
known English Missionary Henry Martyn was,
in 1812, buried at Tocat, by the express order
of the Catholicos Ephraim, with all the honours
of an Armenian Archbishop. The late Catho
licos Nierces, when at Bagdad in 1 8 1 4, finding
that no English clergymen were present in the
country, attended several Englishmen on their
deathbeds, and administered the Holy Com
munion to them, requiring them only to confess

Doctrine. 221
their belief in the Trinity and in the Real
Presence in the Holy Eucharist.
On the other hand, the English ecclesiastical
authorities have always endeavoured to befriend
members of the Armenian Church whenever
they have been thrown into contact with them.
An instance of this will be remembered by those
who have taken an interest in the ecclesiastical
events in the Province of Calcutta during the
late bishop's lifetime. That this kindly feeling
may grow and increase is the earnest prayer
of many of both communions.

( 222 )

ANGLICAN AND ARMENIAN
LITURGIES.

As has been stated in the Preface, this work is
partly intended for the use of Armenians; it may
perhaps interest many of them to note how
nearly in all essential points the form of worship
used in the Anglican Church agrees with that
offered to the same God in their own : but as
very few are able to make a study of Liturgi-
ology, the following remarks may not be amiss.
All Liturgies seem originally to have sprung
from four, which bore the names of S. James,
S. Mark, S. Peter, and S. Clement : the latter
of which seems to a certain extent to have been
the source of the others. These Liturgical
forms were drawn up either by the Apostles
themselves or by their immediate disciples, for
the churches which they had founded in different
countries ; and forms of them modified more or

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 23
less still exist in the churches of all countries who
still hold the faith once delivered to the Saints
unwatered by the philosophy of Calvin or other
so called Reformers: and, strange to say, there still
are found large bodies of Christians who prefer
their ministers to pour out before them once
a week the effusion of their own brains, tc
using daily the forms of prayer drawn up by or
under the immediate direction of) those veiy
persons whom our Divine Master called the salt
of the earth.
The Armenian Liturgy, then, is founded on
a service written by S. Basil, who in his turn had
adopted that of S. James; while on the other
hand the Anglican passing through a succession
of changes, comes to us principally from tha*'
bearing the name of S. Peter ; I say principally
because the earliest Liturgies brought from Rome
to England were much affected by the remnants
of a Liturgy of an Oriental type already in use,
some traces of which remain to the present day.
In speaking of the Liturgy, it must be re
membered that that service is meant which in
the English Prayer Book is called the Order of
the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy

224 The Armenian Church.
Communion. The word itself properly means
"sacrifice," and this term has from the earliest
times been applied to the Service of the Altar,
although it is not at all an uncommon thing to
hear people (who really ought to know better)
talking as if the word " Liturgy" merely meant
certain fixed forms of prayer.
The ordinary English service as used on
Sunday morning, which would be the one
Armenians would most naturally attend, consists
of three parts : first, the office commonly called
Morning Prayers, which every Anglican clergy
man is bound to say either publicly or privately
daily, which answers to the every day morning
service recited by their priests ; secondly, the
Litany, which with them is incorporated in the
Service of the Altar ; and thirdly, the Liturgy, or
the Holy Communion, which in all essential
points resembles their own; although unfor
tunately owing to the carelessness of many
English clergy, the most important part, the
Sacrifice at the Altar and the Communion itself, is
frequently omitted, except on certain Sundays in
the month. This abuse, however, is much less
common than in former days, and in most

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 11$
churches the service is continued to the end.
But notwithstanding these services being ori
ginally separate offices, they have, as a matter
of use, become so mingled together, that the
Author feels justified in treating them as one in
comparing them with the Armenian Liturgy.*
The service then commences thus : —

OFFICE PREPARATORY TO COMMENCEMENT OF THE
DIVINE LITURGY.

English.
When the wicked man turneth away
from his wickedness that he hath
committed, and doeth that which is
lawful and right, he shall save his
soul alive.
And ten other sentences of Scrip
ture, ivhich may be said according
to the season of the year.
(The Prayers to be said while the
Priest is -vesting and preparing for
the service, are by a sad laxity of
rule, left to the discretion of the
Priest. The pious Armenian ivill
notice and regret this.)
The Exhortation.
Dearly beloved brethren, etc.

Armenian.
Psalm xx-vi.
Be Thou my Judge, O Lord, (as at
page t>?..)

The Armenian, knowing that
his countrymen go to Church on
such days as the Church directs,

* A service of a very Oriental nature might be used by
the American Church, as their Prayer Book allows the
services to be run into each other. Q

226

The Armenian Church.

English.

Confession.
Almighty and most merciful Fa
ther, etc. Absolution.
Almighty God, etc
Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, etc .
y. O Lord, open thou our lips.
RjT. Andourmouthshallshowforth
Thy praise.
J. O God, etc.
R/. O Lord, etc.
J. Glory, etc.
R/. As it was, etc.
y. Praise ye the Lord.
Rz. The Lord's name be praised.
The Venite and Psalms.
The ist Lesson.
Te Deum.
The znd Lesson.
Benedictus.
The Apostles' Creed.
f. The Lord be with you.
R/. And with thy spirit.

Armenian.
and confess their sins and receive
absolution for them, ivill think Eng
lish people -very negligent in their
religious duties on hearing this Ex
hortation.

I confess to God Almighty, (page
63/

May the Almighty and Merciful
God, (page 64^

The Litany, (p. -;6J

Assist, preserve, succour, and have
mercy upon us.

Blessing and glory, etc.
The first part of the Psalms is
noiv sung

Hymn.

Peace be with all (page •jiJ

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 227

English.
Let us pray. etc.
Our Father, etc.
Versicles and Responses.
Three Collects.
Hymn or Anthem.

Armenian.
Let us attend, (page 74/

Prayers of first and second Antiphons.
Trisagion. (page 7$J

Litany.
O God, the Father, etc.

LITANY.

Litany, (page 76J
Again and again, etc.

From all evil and mischief, etc.
From all blindness of heart, etc.
Good Lord, deliver us.
That it may please Thee to keep
and strengthen in the true worship
ping of Thee, in righteousness and holi
ness of life, Thy servant VICTORIA,
our most gracious Queen and Go-
vernour; We beseech Thee to hear us, good
Lord.

For the peace of the world, etc.
let us make, etc.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
For all pious and holy kings, thei,
families, and for our sovereign, the
court and camp, let us make our sup
plications unto the Lord.
Our most pious and great Sovereign
(N). (pagetfj
Lord, have mercy upon them.

That it may please Thee to be her
defender and keeper, giving her the
victory over all her enemies ;
We beseech, etc.
That it may please Thee to bless
and preserve Albert Edivard, Prince
of Wales, and all the Royal Family ;
We beseech, etc.

Their families

0-2

228

The Armenian Church.

English.
That it may please Thee to illumi
nate. all Bishop9, Priests, and Deacons,
with true knowledge and understand
ing of Thy Word ; and that both by
their preaching and living they may
set it forth, and shew it accordingly :
We beseech, etc.

Armenian.
For all Holy and Orthodox Bishopi
et us make, etc.

That it may please Thee to endue
the Lords of the Council, and all the
Nobility, with grace, wisdom, and
understanding ;
We beseech, etc.
That it may please Thee to bless
and keep the Magistrates, giving
them grace to execute justice, and to
maintain truth ;
We beseech, etc.
That it may please Thee to give
to all nations unity, peace, and con
cord;

The Court, (page 76;

Their Court Officers, (page 96)

Bestow upon them profound peace
for many years.

We beseech, etc.
That it may please Thee to have
mercy upon all men ;
We beseech, etc.
That it may please Thee to bring
into the way of truth all such as have
erred and are deceived.

For those souls that have departed
to rest in the true faith, let us make,
etc.

For the unity of our true and holy
faith.

We beseech, etc.

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 229

English.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, etc.
Ihen Petitions and Prayers until
Prayer of St. Chrysostom.
Almighty God, who hast given us
grace at this time with one accord to
make our common supplications unto
Thee ; and dost promise that when
two or three are gathered together in
Thy Name Thou wilt grant their
requests ; Fulfil now, O Lord, the
desires and petitions of Thy servants,
as may be most expedient for them ;
granting us in this world knowledge
of Thy truth, and in the world to
come life everlasting. Amen.

The Grace of, etc.

Hymn or Introit.
Our Father, etc.

Armenian .
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. (page $\j

Prayer of Third Antiphon. (page 74
O Thou, who hast given us grace
with one accord to make our common
supplications unto Thee ; and dost
promise, that when two or three are
gathered together in Thy Name, Thou
wilt grant their request ; Fulfil now,
O Lord, the desires and petitions of
Thy servants, granting us in this
world knowledge of Thy truth, and
in the world to come life everlasting.

The Grace of, etc. /page 98^
INTROIT. Proper Psalms, (page 73/

Collect for Purity.
Almighty God, unto whom, etc. O Lord our God. (page y$f

PROPHECY.
Reading the Law.
/Ten Commandments from the XX,
Chapter of Exodus. I

The Prophecy.

Prayer for Queen, etc.
Collect for the day.

O Lord our God, accept this earn
est prayer, {page yjj

23°

The Armenian Church.

EPISTLE.
English. Armenian.
The Holy Gospel is written in Hear with awe, etc. (page jif
the, etc.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord. Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

GOSPEL.

CREED.

I believe in one God, the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, And of all things visible and
invisible :
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the
only begotten Son of God, Begotten
of his Father before all worlds, God
of God, Light of Light, Very God
of very God, Begotten, not made,
Being of one substance with the
Father ; By whom all things were
made, Who for us men, and for our
salvation, came down from heaven,
And was incarnate by the Holy
Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And
was made man, And was cruci
fied also for us under Pontius
Pilate. He suffered and was buried,
And the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures, And as
cended into heaven, And sitteth on
the right hand of the Father. And
he shall come again with glory to
judge both the quick and the dead :
Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost,
The Lord and Giver of life. Who

We believe in one God, etc.

And we believe in one Lord, etc.

We also believe in tne Holy Ghost,

etc.

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 231

English.
proceedeth from the Father and the
Son,* Who with the Father and the
Son together is worshipped and glori
fied, Who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe one Catholick and
Apostolick Church, I acknowledge
one Baptism for the remission of
sins, And I look for the Resurrection
of the dead, And the life of the
world to come. Amen.

Armenian.

We also believe one only Catholick,
etc. (page 1%)

OFFERTORY.

ACTS OF FIRST OBLATION.
The Money collected and offered
representing the means for supply
ing the Bread and Wine, and offered
on the Holy Table.
Let your light, etc.

Wanting in Armenian rite.
Bread and Wine in ancient days
were presented by the people, but
this primiti-ve custom has fallen
into disuse.

ACTS OF SECOND OBLATION.

When there is a Communion, the
Priest shall place upon the table
so much Bread and Wine as he
shall think sufficient.

Answering to the
trance, (see page 847

Great En-

Let us pray for the whole state of
Christ's Church militant here on
earth.

PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH.
Again and again, etc. {page %$j

* Can the Church have peace while these words are retained? We
believe the doctrine, true ; so do the Easterns ; but while we reject the Infal
libility of the Pope, we preserve words inserted by the will of an individual
Pope in the most sacred Confession of Faith, given us by the Holy Councils ot
Nicza and Constantinople.

232

The Armenian Church.

Armenian.
'Prayer of Entrance." (page 84,/

English.
Almighty and everliving God,
who by Thy Holy Apostle hast
taught us to make prayers, and sup
plications, and to give thanks for
all men :

WORDS OF FIRST AND SECOND OBLATION.

We humbly beseech Thee most mer
cifully to accept our alms and obla
tions, and to receive these our prayers,
which we offer unto Thy Divine
Majesty,Beseeching Thee to inspire con
tinually the Universal Church with
the spirit of peace, unity, and con
cord:

but condescend that these gifts may
be offered unto Thee, (page %$)
Prayer of St. Athanasius.
accept this offering from us, and
make it, etc. (page %6J
Prayer for the Church.
Remember, 0 Lord, and bless and
have mercy upon Thy Holy Catholic
and Apostolic Church .... bestow
upon it an eternal peace, (page y6J

COMMEMORATION OF THE LIVING
And grant that all they that do con
fess Thy Holy Name may agree in
the truth of Thy Holy Word, and
live in unity and godly love.

Let us pray unto the Lord for the
unity of our true and holy Faith.

OF KINGS AND
We also beseech Thee to save and
defend all Christian Kings, Princes,
and Governours ; and specially Thy
Servant VICTORIA our Queen; that
under her we may be godly and
quietly governed: And grant unto
her whole Council, and to all that
are put in authority under her, that
they may truly and indifferently
minister justice, to the punishment
of wickedness and vice, and to the
maintenance of Thy true religion
and virtue.

For the peace of the world, etc.
(page 76;
GOVERNOURS.
Let us pray that all holy and pious
Sovereigns, etc. (page 76J
In the first place, O Lord, remember
our most pious and great Sovereign
(N). (page^J
Their Court, Officers, and Christian
Army.

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. i$3

OF THE CLERGY.

English.
Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all
Bishops and Curates, that they may
both by their life and doctrine set
forth Thy true and lively Word,
and rightly and duly administer Thy
holy Sacraments :

Armenian.
Remember, O Lord, and bestow Thy
blessing upon all Orthodox Bishopsf
who have rightly divided and shown
us the Word of Truth, (page 96/

OF THOSE PRESENT.

And to all Thy people give Thy
heavenly grace; and especially to
this congregation here present ; that,
with meek heart and due reverence,
they may hear, and receive Thy holy
Word; truly serving Thee in holiness
and righteousness all the days of their
life.

Remember, O Lord, bless, and have
mercy upon these Thy people who
now stand before Thee, and upon
him who offers this sacrifice, and
bestow upon them whatever is neces
sary and profitable for them, (page
67J

OF THOSE ABSENT.

And we most humbly beseech Thee
of Thy goodness, 0 Lord, to comfort
and succour all them, who in this
transitory life are in trouble, sorrow,
need, sickness, or any other adversity.

For the deliverance of our brethren
who are in captivity, (page g6f
Bestow  to the sick a speedy
recovery from their diseases, (page
96J

OF THE SAINTS AND FAITHFUL DEPARTED.

And we also bless Thy holy Name
for all Thy servants departed this
life in Thy faith and fear ; beseeching
Thee to give us grace so to follow
their good examples, that with them
we may be partakers of Thy heavenly

Remember, O Lord, and show
Thy mercy and compassion on the
souls of those who are fallen asleep :
give them repose and light, and a
place together with Thy saints in
Thy heavenly kingdom, (page yjj
Give rest to all  . both men and
women, who have departed in the
faith of Thy holy Church.
And together with them, visit us,
etc. (page 93/

234 The Armenian Church.
English. Armenian.
Grant this, O Father, for Jesus
Christ's sake, our only Mediator
and Advocate. Amen. EXPULSION OF CATECHUMENS.'
(Then on certain occasions follow
some Exhortations to the faithful.)
Then a Confession made by Priest,
the Faithful, and the Choir.
Absolution.
Confession.
Almighty God. etc.
Absolution. (These occur at the commence-
Almighty God. etc. ment of the Office in the Armenian
rite.)
COMFORTABLE WORDS.
Then shall the Priest say,
Hear what comfortable words our Deacon. Again let us stand before
Saviour Christ saith unto all that the holy table of God, etc . (page S$)
truly turn to Him.
Come unto Me all that travail and Draw near, etc. (page 107 )
are heavy laden, and I will refresh
you. So God loved the world that He
gave His only-begotten Son, to the
end that all that believe in Him
should not perish, but have evti-
lasting life.
Hear also what St. Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy O Christ our Saviour, conn'mi

* The pious Armenian will be surprised to see how many English Chris
tians are willing to be considered Catechumens.

Anglican ana Armenian Liturgies. 235

CUOIJSH-
of all men to De received, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners.
Hear also what St. John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advo
cate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous ; and He is the pro
pitiation for our sins.

Armenian.
etc. (page iij

Choir. Save us, O Lord, and have
mercy upon us.

SURSUM CORDA.

After which the Priest shall
proceed, saying,
Lift up your hearts.

Answer. We lift them up unto
the Lord.
Priest. Let us give thanks unto
our Lord God.
Answer. It is meet and right so
to do.
Then shall the Priest turn to the
Lords Table, and say,

Deacon. Lift up your n inds on
high, in the fear of the Lord, (page
i%) Choir. We have lifted up unto
Thee, Lord God Almighty.
Deacon. Let us give thanks unto
the Lord with all our hearts.
Choir. It is meet and right so to
do.

THE PREFACE.

It is very meet, right, and our
bounden duty, that we should at all
times, and in all places, give thanks
unto Thee, O Lord, Holy Father,
Almighty, Everlasting God.
Upon Christmas-day, and seven
days after.
Because Thou didst give Jesus
Christ, Thine only Son, to be born
as at this time for us ; who, by the

l^-iest. It is very meet and right
that we should with all devotion, and
at all times, worship and glorify Thee,
Almighty Father, etc. (page ii)

236

The Armenian Church

English.
operation ot the Holy Ghost, was
made very man of the substance oi
the Virgin Mary His mother ; and
that without spot of sin, to make us
clean from all sin.
Therefore with Angels, etc.
Upon Easter-day and seven days
after.
But chiefly are we bound to praise
Thee for the glorious Resurrection
of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord :
for He is the very Paschal Lamb,
which was offered for us, and hath
taken away the sin of the world ;
Who by His death hath destroyed
death, and by His rising to life again
hath restored to us everlasting life.
Therefore with Angels, etc.
Upon Ascension-day, and seven
days after.
Through Thy most dearly beloved
Son Jesus Christ our Lord ; wb/5
after His most glorious Resurrection
manifestly appeared to all His Apos
tles, and in their sight ascended ur.>
into heaven to prepare a place for \v
that where He is, thither we mighr
also ascend, and reign with Hia. tu
glory. Therefore with Angels, etc.
Upon Whitsun-day, and six days
after.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord ;
according to whose most true pro
mise, the Holy Ghost came down as
at this time from heaven with a

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 237

English.
sudden great sound, as it had been a
mighty wind, in the likeness of fiery
tongues, lighting upon the Apostles,
to teach them, and to lead them to
all truth ; giving them both the gift
of divers languages, and also boldness
with fervent zeal constantly to
preach the Gospel unto all nations
whereby we have been brought out
of darkness and error into the clear
light and true knowledge of Thee,
and of Thy Son Jesus Christ.
Therefore with Angels, etc.
Upon the Feast of Trinity only.
Who art one God, one Lord ; not
one only Person, but three Persons
in one Substance. For that which
we believe of the glory of the
Father, the same we believe of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without
any difference or inequality.
Therefore with Angels and Arch
angels, and with all the company of
heaven, we laud and magnify Thy
glorious Name ; evermore praising
Thee, and saying,

Armenian

and with Cherubim and Seraphim to
sing sacred songs, to cry, to call and
say,

TER SANCTUS.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts ;
heaven and earth are full of Thy
glory: Glory be to Thee, O Lord
most high. Amen.

Choir. Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God of Sabaoth ; heaven and earth
are full of Thy glory : Hosanna in
the highest. Blessed art ThoH who
art come and art to come in the
name of the Lord : Hosanna in the
highest.

238

The Armenian Church.

PRAYER OF HUMBLENESS.

English.
Then shall the Priest, kneeling
down at the Lord's Table, say in
the name of all them that shall
receive the Communion this Prayer
following. We do not presume to come to
this Thy Table, O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in Thy manifold and great
mercies. We are not worthy so
much as to gather up the crumbs
under Thy Table. But Thou art
the same Lord, whose property is
always to have mercy : Grant us
therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat
the flesh of Thy dear Son Jesus
Christ, and to drink His blood, that
our sinful bodies may be made clean
by His body, and our souls washed
through His most precious blood,
and that we may evermore dwell in
Him, and He in us. Amen.

Armenian.

None is worthy among them that
are bound with fleshly desires, etc.
(page 847
Look down, O Lord, etc. (page
lOlf

O Lord our God, etc. (page iov

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION.

Almighty God, our heavenly Fa
ther, Who of Thy tender mercy
didst give Thine only Son Jesus
Christ to suffer death upon the Cross
for our redemption ; who made there
by His one oblation of Himself once
offered a full, perfect, and sufficient
sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction
for the sins of the whole world; and
did institute, and in His holy Gospel
command us to continue a perpetual
memory of that His precious death,
until His coming again ;

Holy, holy, holy : Thou art, etc.
(page 89J * * *
He did come. Thou didst tear in
pieces the handwriting of our sins,
and didst bestow upon us Thine Only-
begotten Son, the Debtor and the
Debt, the Sacrifice and the Anointed,
the Lamb and the Bread of Heaven,
the Priest and the Offering. * *
He went of His own free will to the
Cross, in the night wherein He was
betrayed.

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. .439

THE INVOCATION

English.
Hear us, O merciful Father, we most
humbly beseech Thee; and grant
that we receiving these Thy creatures
of Bread and Wine, according to Thy
Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy
institution, in remembrance of His
death and passion, may be partakers
of His most blessed Body and Blood ;

Armenian.
Bless this Bread, so as to make it
the Body of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Bless that which is in
this Cup, so as to make it truly the
Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, (page yzf

WORDS OF INSTITUTION.

Who in the same night that He was
betrayed, {here the Priest is to take
the Paten into his hands'} took
Bread ; and when He had given
thanks, {and here to break the
Bread) He brake it, and gave it to
His disciples, saying, Take eat, {and
here to lay his hand upon all the
Bread) this is My Body, which is
given for you: Do this in remem
brance of me. Likewise after supper
He [here he is to take the Cup into
his hand) took the Cup ; and when
He had given thanks He gave it to
them, saying, Drink ye all of this;
for this [and here to lay his hand
upon every vessel, be it Chalice or
Flagon, in which there is any Wine
to be consecrated) is My Blood of
The New Testament, which is shed
for you and for many for the remis
sion of sins : Do this, as oft as ye
shall drink it, in remembrance oi
Me. Amen.

And having taken Bread into His
Holy, Divine, and Immaculate hands,
He blessed it, and gave thanks, and
brake it, and gave it to His holy
Disciples and Apostles, and said :
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest, (aloud. J Take, eat : this is
My Body, which is broken for you
and for many, for the cleansing and
remission of sins.
Choir. Amen.
The Priest continues to say in
lecret ;
In like manner He also took the
Cup, and blessed it; and having given
thanks He drank of it, and gave it
to His Holy and Chosen Disciples
whilst they were seated, saying:
Deacon. Sir, give the blessing.
Priest, (aloud.) Drink of this :
This is My Blood of the New
Testament, shed for you and for
many, for the cleansing and remission
of sins. Amen.

2^0

The Armenian Church.

COMMUNION OF PRIEST.

The Priest now communicates
himself,

The Communion of the Potest.
(page io6J
O Lord Jesus Christ, I have psi-
taken with confidence of Thy HolV
Body for the remission of my sins.

COMMUNION OF PEOPLE.

and the people, saying to each one
as he delivers either kind:
The Body [or Blood] of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which was given
for thee, preserve thy body and soul
unto everlasting life. Take and eat
this, in remembrance that Christ died
for thee, and feed on him in thy
heart by faith with thanksgiving.

The Communion of the People.
I believe this to to be the Body
and Blood of the Son of God, etc.
(page 107)

Our Father, etc.

LORD'S PRAYER. Our Fattier, (page 99/

THIRD OBLATION, i.e.. OF THE SANCTIFIED GIFTS.

O Lord and Heavenly Father, we
Thy humble servants entirely desire
Thy fatherly goodness, mercifully to
accept this our sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving :

In behalf of all and for all, Thine
own offer we unto Thee of Thine
own, etc. (page 91 J
We offer unto Thee, O Lord oui
God, our thanksgivings and praise
for that most holy and immortal
sacrifice which is now on this holy
Table, etc. {page y6)

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 241

PRAYER FOR THE
English.
most humbly beseeching Thee to
grant, that by the merits and death
Df Thy Son Jesus Christ, and through
faith in His Blood, we and all Thy
whole Church may obtain remission
of our sins, and all other benefits of
His passion.

WHOLE CHURCH. Armenian.
Trusting in Thy great mercy ....
(page 92;
By this sacrifice bestow charity,
stability, and the peace we desire
on the whole world, on the holy
Church, etc. (page 93)

OBLATION OF OURSELVES.

And here we offer and present unto
Thee, 0 Lord, ourselves, our souls
and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy,
and lively sacrifice unto Thee; humbly
beseeching Thee, that all we who are
partakers of this holy Communion,
may be fulfilled with Thy grace and
heavenly benediction. And although
we be unworthy, through our manifold
sins, to offer unto Thee any sacrifice,
yet we beseech Thee to accept this our
bounden duty and service ; not weigh
ing our merits, but pardoning our
offences, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. By whom and with whom, in the
unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour
and glory be unto Thee, 0 Father
Almighty, and without end. Amen.
Then follows a Thanksgiving,
and—

Let us offer our souls and all thai
we have unto the Lord God Almighty.
(page 99)
O Lord our God, who hast . . .
vouchsafed unto us to be partakers of
the most holy Body and Blood of
Thine only-begotten Son; we now
beseech Thee, O Lord, to receive this
Holy Mystery to the remission of our
sins, and we give thanks and glory
unto Thee, etc. (page 102 J
We now, Lord, in obedience to
this commandment, perform the salu
tary Mystery of the Body and Blood
of Thine Only-begotten Son . . .
In behalf of all and for all, we offer
to Thee Thine own of Thine own.
(page 9if
To whom with Thee, Almighty
Father, etc. (page <)ij

THE ANGELIC HYMN.

Glory be to God on high, and in
earth peace, etc.

This Hymn is said in the Morning
Office by the Armenians. R

242

The Armenian Church.

THE
English.
Then the Priest (or Bishop, if he
be present) shall let them depart
with this Blessing.
The peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in the knowledge and love
of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ
our Lord :

PEACE. Armenian.
Priest. Peace be with all.
Choir. Christ hath appeared, ....
the voice of peace should be heard,
etc. (page 87)

THE BLESSING AND DISMISSAL.

And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, be amongst you, and remain
with you always. Amen.

Bless those who bless Thee, O Lord,
etc. (page 109)
Keep thy servants, O Christ our
God, etc . (page xii)
May the Holy Ghost rest upon
you, etc. (page in)

The pious Armenian who, with the view of
seeing how far the Anglican form of worship
agrees with his own, attends service at an English
church, will naturally miss much of the ritual to
which he has been accustomed, and which his
church, more faithful to the customs handed
down from Apostolic times, has carefully re
tained ; but he must not therefore confuse An
glicanism with the mere Protestant sects of whose
existence he has doubtless heard : if he wishes
to know the truth, he will study our church

Anglican and Armenian Liturgies. 243
history, and there discover the reasons (poor
enough, many of them, God knows) why we
have departed so far from the customs of the
primitive church, he will miss the incense ascend
ing with the prayers of the congregation, he will
miss the carefully ordered grouping of the priests
and sacred ministers, which adds so much to the
dignity of his own rite, but he will remember
that these adjuncts of worship have never been
abolished by the English church, but that they
have only, owing to the carelessness and slovenli
ness of her clergy, fallen into disuse ; and he
will soon discover that these accessories to Divine
worship which seem of such importance to him,
are being again used, and that the worship of
God is, in many churches whose number is in
creasing every day, offered up with due dignity.
And looking back on the history of his own
church, he will understand how, at the earnest
prayer and working of a few, a whole church
can be raised from the slough of Despond into
which she has apparently fallen. Meditating on
this, he will (if he has at first done so) cease to
condemn us, and will understand how just is our
own claim to be, and how true our firm belief
R 2

244 The Armenian Church.
that we are part of the Orthodox Catholic and
Apostolic Church, the Body of Christ, and how,
though outwardly divided, we are one with the
Church of his own people in the faith of our
Blessed Lord.

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
OF
THE ORTHODOX ARMENIAN CHURCH;
TOGETHER WITH
THE RITE OF HOLY BAPTISM
AS IT IS ADMINISTERED IN THAT CHURCH.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINALS BY
THE REV. S. C. MALAN, M.A.,
VICAR OF BROADWINDSOR AND PREBENDARY OF SARUW!

The two following translations from the Russian and from
the Armenian, were, with other treatises, intended to form
part of the second volume of my " Life and Times of
S. Gregory the Illuminator."
Two of those fragments — " The Instruction in the
Christian Faith," and " Disagreements between the
Armenian and the Greek Churches" — have been published
by the Eastern Church Association ; the third, " The Holy
Liturgy of the Orthodox Armenian Church," has also been
published by myself; and the two remaining, " The Con
fession of Faith " and "The Rite of Holy Baptism," are
now added to Captain E. F. K. Fortescue's popular work
on the Armenian Church and nation ; both most deserving
to be better known than they are.
The Uniats, or Latin Armenians, have made sundry
alterations in their Liturgy, not only by dispensing alto
gether with the " Confession of Faith " which prefaces the
Common Prayer Book of the Orthodox Church, but in sun
dry other instances, as in the introduction of the " Filioque ''
into the Nicene Creed, etc. They have also altered in
some ways the Rite of Holy Baptism, as may be seen in
Dr. Issavardenz's " Divine Ordinance according to the
Armenian Ritual." Venice: 1867.
S. C. Malan.
Broadwindsor, Aug., liyz.

( 249 )

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
OF THE
ORTHODOX ARMENIAN CHURCH*

After the dedication of the book to "The Most Pious
Autocrat, and Supreme Lord Emperor, Paul I.," follows this
address : —
" Great Emperor crowned by God, and Most Gracious
Sovereign !
" The Christian Church of Armenia, together with the
whole Armenian nation, bowing the knee prostrate in
presence of your Imperial Majesty, offers you, most pious
Monarch, as unto the Head of the Church and her most
merciful Protector, a true Confession of her Christian Faith,
of her principal Sacraments (Mysteries), Baptism with
the Chrism, and of the order of her Divine Liturgy; and lays
them all open to your righteous judgment. ' For thou art
the glory of our strength, and in thy loving kindness we
shall lift up our horn.' f

* Translated from the Russian work published by "Joseph, Prince
Argutinski-Dolgorucki, Archbishop of the whole Armenian people in
habiting Russia."
f This quotation, from Ps. Ixxxix. 1 8, addressed to a man, is a fair sample
of Eastern servility.

250 The Armenian Church.
" Most gracious Sovereign 1 Of your Imperial Majesty
the most faithful subject and servant, as well as the
most devoted worshipper, Joseph, Prince Argutinski-
Dolgorucki, and Archbishop of the whole Armenian people
dwelling in Russia." —
Address of the Editor (Joseph, Patriarch,) to the well-
disposed readers.
My duty as spiritual pastor over the children of Haik*
reckoned to Christ's flock committed by Providence to

* The most trustworthy report concerning the origin of the Armenian
nation, says thus : Noah begat Japheth, Japheth begat Gomer, Gomer begat
Tiras, Tiras begat Togarmah (Torkoma), Togarmah begat Ha'ik, who, with
Nimrod, undertook to build the Tower of Babel. But not feeling disposed to
bear Nimrod's rule over him, he opposed his undertaking, and then returned
into his own country (Armenia) ; wherefore Nimrod waged war against
Haik, by whom he was overcome and slain. After this the tribes who yielded
to Haik, looked up to him as to their lord and father, took to calling them
selves after him, Ha'ikans, and the country in which they lived, the land of
Haik. And thus from that time to the present do we call ourselves Haitians,
both in books and in daily intercourse.
But Ha'ik begat Armen, who by force of arms brought several neighbouring
nations under his rule, which he firmly established, and extended far and wide.
From his name, become celebrated by his conquests, nations came to call us
Armenians, and our land Armenia; the name under which it became
widely known and celebrated, even in the days of Cyrus, and of the Roman
Republic. This Armen begat the handsome Ara, after whom the highest
mountain in Armenia was called Ararat. His reign happened in the times
of the Babylonian sovereigns, Ninus and Semiramis.
[The Patriarch's account, which in some few instances differs from the
general tradition, is nevertheless substantially the same. The pedigree of
Ha'ik, here given, like that of Karthli, also from Togarmah, on the side of the
Georgians or Karthalinians, are local traditions of considerable interest, in that
these national names have been preserved from the very highest antiquity.
Armen is here said to be a descendant of Ha'ik, and Aram, though a son of

The Confession of Faith. 25 1
my charge here in Russia, where they enjoy numberless
blessings under the shadow of our gracious Sovereign, who
by God was crowned Emperor; who like a loadstone draws
unto him from all parts Armenians, my fellow-countrymen,
who have suffered under the yoke of barbarians, — my duty
towards them, I say, has made me give my attention to
the translation into the Russian tongue, of the following
work, containing — I. The Confession of the Christian Faith
of the Armenian Church. II. The Order of Baptism and
of Chrism. III. The Mystery of the holy and Divine
Liturgy, which is now published.
In thus putting it forth, I had two objects in view: First,
owing to the ruin of our native land, and to the dispersion of
her people all over the world in consequence of it, the
original and radical meaning of our language has become
either altered or adulterated in the vulgar tongue, and only
preserved in its ancient literature. So also, our people thus
scattered, and occupied chiefly in maintaining its existence,
furnishes few men who have leisure to bestow on the
cultivation of our literature ; but rather, by degrees forget
their own tongue, and make use in common conversation
of the language of the country in which they live ; as for
instance in this Empire of Russia placed under God's
protection, in which several of my fellow-countrymen
occupy places under Government, and hold civil and mili
tary appointments ; and therefore pay greater attention to
the Russian language than to their own. My first object
then, in editing this work in Russian, was to labour for

Shem, is also made the seventh in a direct line from Haik, and thus a de
scendant of Japheth. The real fact is, that however easy it be to speculate on
such matters, nothing whatever certain is known about them, beyond the
account given in Genesis x. — S. C. M.]

252 The Armenian Church.
their good, in giving them a right exposition and good
understanding of the Confession of Faith of our Church,
and of her principal Sacraments and Ceremonies.
And, secondly, I wished to keep in remembrance the
origin of our Church and of her Faith. This Armenian
nation of ours, which has continued in uninterrupted
existence from the highest antiquity, is one of the most
celebrated kingdoms and nations in the world. For a king
of ours, the blessed Abgarus, was with his people the first
to be enlightened by the Gospel preached by the holy
Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, in the year 34 of
our Lord.
The people, however, having fallen back into idolatry,
was again brought to better manners and civilised by our
king Tiridates, through the preaching of St. Gregory, the
illuminator of the whole Armenian nation ; as it is told in
detail by the Greek writer Agathangelos, whose works after
being a long time forgotten, were afterwards translated
into Armenian, at the revival of Armenian letters [in the
fifth century] . And since that time, the time of St. Gregory,
this Armenian people worships, believes in, and confesses
the unity of the Godhead in three Persons, and still pre
serves whole and without wavering, the essential articles
of the Orthodox Faith, the foundation of which was laid
among the people by the holy Apostles of the Lord, then
by St. Gregory the Illuminator, and after that, was again
confirmed by the three fficumenic Councils, of Nicsea,
Constantinople, and Ephesus ; and with anathemas eradi
cating from within itself the teaching of heretics, such as
Arius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Sabellius, and Eutyches,
and their followers ; while it calmly cherished the true faith
and doctrine laid down by the Fathers of those said
Councils.

The Confession of Faith. 253
But owing to the snares of the Old Enemy of the Faith
and of union among men, I am obliged to address myself
chiefly to those who, not taking the trouble to look into
the real articles of our Faith, ignorantly blame our Church;
and who, entertaining doubts regarding her without any
reason whatever, from want of knowing better, thus
accuse her falsely, and call light darkness ; and lay
various faults to her charge, with unseemly reproaches,
and thus stain her otherwise pure conscience. For this
reason have I been led to publish this Exposition of our
Confession of Faith, and the two following treatises, in
order to make known the righteousness of our Faith, our
Confession, and the performance of our divine service,
so as to disarm prejudice and calumny, the result only of
ignorance. I therefore beg affectionately those who read
the following pages, to give their mind to the subject,
without prejudice or jealousy, but in the hearty love of
God; thus to enter into it, and understand it, and with it
also my intention, and the object I have in view ; to the
good of their souls. For I have no other motive in lay
ing it before all, than to furnish sound information for
the people.

254 T'he Armenian Church.

INTRODUCTION.*
The Hai'kan Nation was, for the greater part, converted
to the Christian Faith as we already stated, by the Apostles
Bartholomew and Thaddeus themselves, and by their dis
ciples, Addeus, Neske,f and others. After their death and
martyrdom under King Sanadrugh, the people again fell
back into idolatry ; until, at last, after three hundred years,
the whole nation was once more turned to Christ, together
with her King Tiridates himself, by Saint Gregory the
Illuminator of all Armenia; as we find it told at length by
Agathangelos in his history of the Conversion of the
Armenians, and in the lives of St. Gregory and of the Ar
menian and Persian kings of that time. The holy Patriarch
Nerses of Clajes, also in his treatise on "Jesus the only
Begotten of the Father," p. 442 et seq., writes in this wise:
" They [the Apostles],! who sent Thaddeus to him [the
king Abgarus], according to what He [Christ] had
promised. He [Thaddeus], when he came to the city of
Urha, cured Abgar of diseases and of pain, and confirmed
him in the faith," etc.

* [That is "Benevole Lector" in Schroder's Thesaurus Lingua; Armenica
Amstel, 171 1, p. 249. sq. where the whole of this Exposition, is found from be
ginning to end in Latin, with the quotations from the Armenian Fathers,
given in the original Armenian. As I have ascertained that there is no
Armenian original of this Exposition, I will follow the Russian translation
which has the sanction of the Archbishop ; translating, however, the Arme
nian quotations from Schroder's originals, and pointing out the most important
occasions on which the Archbishop departs from the Latin copy. — S. C. M.]
t [I can find no trace of him anywhere. — S. C. M.]
X [The Russian says : " Christ sent Thaddeus," but wrongly ; the Armenian
has worq, " those who." — S. C. M.]

The Confession of Faith. 255
Ever since that time, the two Armenias, (the Greater
and the Lesser) however straitened by wars, however much
persecuted by infidels, have never yet been altogether
destroyed ; but they had kings of their own ; Greater Ar
menia, until the fifth, and Lesser Armenia until the four
teenth centuries. They saw* the most zealous defenders of
their religion and of their country ; they produced patriarchs,
bishops, and doctors, who being remarkable for their mani
fold learning and their devoted piety, furthered the cause
of Christ, as most zealous defenders of the faith, and also
as the most devoted martyrs for it. All these, by trans
lating the Holy Scriptures and the works of the best
authors from foreign languages into their own tongue, so
far enlightened and benefited the people, not only as re
gards theological and other works of devotion and the
teaching of saving faith, but also by forwarding knowledge
and arts that relate to everyday life, that the very gates
of hell could not prevail against it. Wherefore, since that
ancient nation, does, in common with all other Orthodox
Christians, call upon the same God and confess Christ, it
is of the greatest use and profit to bring to light what
Armenians hold concerning the chief Articles of the
Christian Faith, namely, of God, one in three Persons, of
the Incarnation, Person, Office, and Merits of Christ, &°c.
That from this we may see, whether it be rightly or not,
that the Armenians have hitherto been accused of the de
testable heresy of the Monothelites and of the Mono-
physites (who hold only one will and one nature in Christ).
And lastly, that the firm hope of everlasting life and of a
heavenly country which we have through the Resurrection

[Lat. Progenuit minor Armenia.]

256 The Armenian Church,
of Christ from the dead, is one and the same for them and
for ourselves.
Such things, however, cannot be better ascertained than
by the Symbols of Faith and works of the kind written and
received everywhere by the Armenian' Church ; wherefore
put we forth now in a Russian translation, a Confession or
Symbol of the Armenian Faith, which we shall explain by
parallel passages drawn from the writings of the Patriarchs,
Bishops, and Doctors of the Armenian Church.

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE
ARMENIAN CHURCH.*
We confess and with our whole [most perfect] heart, be
lieve in the Father God [Who is] not created, not
begotten 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 in the Holy Ghost, [Who is] not created
[and] not of time ; not begotten but breathed forth 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

[Translated, for greater accuracy, from the original Armenian. Jamakirk
ed. Const, p. 3. It is also given in Schroder, Thes. p. 251  S. C. M.J

The Confession of Faith. 25 7
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 tarried 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, with
out alteration ; conception without seed, and generation
without corruption. So that as there is no beginning to
His Godhead [Divinity], so also is there 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 salvation of men, laboured in the body, hungered and
thirsted ; after that, of His own free will came into suffer
ings, was crucified, dead in the body, but alive in His God
head [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.

258

The Armenian Church.

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 the
body] ; to the righteous, life everlasting ; and to sinners,
everlasting torments.

COMMENTARY ON THE CONFESSION OF THE
ARMENIAN FAITH.
Confession. — Although there are in the Churches of
Armenia several Confessions and Symbols of Faith, given
of old to the Church, as, for instance, the Apostles' Creed,
the Nicene Creed, with which is coupled the Constanti-
nopolitan,* in the book called Tchasoslov, or Book of Com
mon Prayer, and also the Creed of St. Athanasius of
Alexandria ; yet the men who have been the most zealous
defenders of the Christian faith in Armenia wrote for the
use of the people several letters intended as special refuta-

* [Schroder adds : " famagartuthyan, horologio precum ordinariarum,
excuso Amstelodami A. Ch. meccv. pag. 42 ; et Athanasii annexum Cate-
chismo Armeno Latino ibidem Amstel. A. Ch. mdclxvii. edito," This
paragraph in Schroder's Latin differs in some other respects from the Russian
translation. For instance, he says here elegantly, " Ex his. (sc. Uteris) quas inter
cameras eminent, quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi, sunt quinque
sequemes " — a pretty and true imagery borrowed from an Eastern landscape,
which the Russian translator omits altogether. — S. C. M.]

The Confession of Faith. 259
tions of the heresies attributed to the Armenian Church
Of these the chief are the five following: —
The first is the Confession of St. Gregory of Nareg, or
Nariek, who flourished in the days of Ashod, son of
Symbat and King of Great Armenia, during the reigns of
the Greek emperors Basil and Constantine, which he wrote
about the year 951 for the use of his fellow-believers.
The second and third Confessions of Faith, are those of
S. Narses Clajetsi, an orthodox Armenian Patriarch. The
second was addressed to the Churches of Armenia, and the
third to the Greek Emperor Emmanuel Commenus, in a
letter written about the year 1170.
The fourth Confession of Faith is also of the same
Patriarch S. Nerses, written by him the same year, in an
answer to Alexis, son-in-law of the above-mentioned king.
But besides this, there is also of him a Confession, in his
remarkably beautiful treatise in verse, on "Jesus the Only-
begotten of the Father," from p. 241 to 321.
And lastly, the fifth Confession of Faith is of Nerses of
Lampron [Lampronatsi], Archbishop of Tarson, in his
eloquent address to the Synod or Council of Tarson,
gathered together in 1177. These Confessions of Faith
are found together in the book called Sobornik, or a
compilation. As regards these five Confessions of Faith by Armenian
Fathers, it is right to notice the following two things : —
I. That unto this day they are received by all adherents
to the Armenian Church as no less true and orthodox than
the Creeds of the Apostles, of Nicasa and Constantinople,
and of St. Athanasius ; as having dropped from the lips of
the most distinguished rulers of the Church which Armenia
ever saw, and of whose orthodoxy not an Armenian ever
dreamt of doubting. Nay, not only are those men yearly
3 2

260 The Armenian Church.
remembered as saints by the Armenian Church, in the
feasts held in honour of them, but she also daily sings the
spiritual songs composed by them for the use of the
Christian congregation. So that, all that we shall now
bring forward from their writings, carries weight and
importance only so far, and no farther, as it confirms the
truths believed in, which we have now brought forward in
the above Confession of Faith.
II. As to the subject-matter itself, and to the truths
stated, there is among these several Confessions of Faith
no difference or contradiction worth noticing ; but they all
so entirely contain the same faith, that one confirms
another, and that what is stated more briefly and concisely
in some, is told more at length and explained in others.
So that they all agree in casting abundant light upon the
short Confession of Faith here given, as we shall see
presently. This Confession of the Armenian Church then, is the
very same which the Fathers above alluded to undertook
either to defend or to explain ; wherefore in their more de
tailed Confessions, did they not attempt to explain or to
defend more articles of faith than are contained in this
shorter Confession ; which is the first in order, and without a
knowledge of which no one is allowed access to any of the
Sacraments of the Church. It is also the one Confession
which, in the Primitive Church, the Catechumen during his
or her preparation, but now the sponsor, is required to repeat
faithfully at the font before Baptism, in the name of the
child or person about to be baptized. This Confession is,
therefore, also found at the beginning of the Book of Prayers
already mentioned.*

[The Confession, as here stated, is found at the very beginning of the Jama-

The Confession of Faith. 261
Of the Armenian Church. — We thus designate this Con
fession, instead of " the Ha'ikan Churches," in order thereby
to express the entire agreement on this point of all the
churches of Armenia, by the single name under which they
have been hitherto known in Europe. We have already
stated the reason why the Armenians call themselves
Ha'ikans. I. We confess and believe. — The first of these terms
comes from promise,* whence is derived the sense of pro
mising, confessing, and agreeing ; and the last word
comes from belief or faith, which the Armenians define
thus : " Faith is an enduring token to those who believe,
whereby they are pledged to the Truth, and the Truth is
pledged to them." — [Book of Definitions, p. 25.)
These two terms " we confess and believe," are here
given together, albeit in other confessions, the one or the
other only be used ; in order to teach that neither faith
without confession, nor confession without faith, will avail;
"for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Rom.
x. g, 10.) And as to the common custom, that this Con
fession should be made in churches by one man only aloud,
and in silence by the rest, it is for this reason — either that
one should repeat it in behalf of all, or that the whole
assembly seem to confess together by the mouth of one
man: "We believe with our whole heart." Under other

kirk or Prayer Book of the Armenian Church. The Romish schismatics, how
ever, have published a Jamakirk with precisely the same title, and purporting,
like the other, to have been compiled by the Fathers of the Armenian Church,
but in which this Confession is left out, together with several beautiful prayers
that follow it. Compare the Jamakirk published at Constantinople in 1836
with the same book published by the Mechitarists at Verjce in 1827. — S. C. M.]
* TThis is said of the Armenian term. — S. C. M.]

262 The Armenian Church.
circumstances, however, when one confesses his faith by
himself, he does so in the singular ; as, for instance,
Nerses Clayetsi, who thus begins his own Confession :
" I confess God the Father," etc.
II. God the Father. — It says " God" and the first Person
of the Most Holy Trinity " the Father ;" whom it defines by
the attributes of eternity, " not created, not begotten, and
without beginning;" and by personal attributes : " begetter
of the Son, and breather forth of the Holy Ghost." Gregory
of Nareg, however, mentions many more attributes of God,
both absolute, relative, and personal, when he says : " The
true orthodox Faith, then, is, to believe in God the Father,
true essence, perfect existence, uncreated, without begin
ning, without time, without cause, imperceptible, invisible,
ineffable, inconceivable, simple, inscrutable, undiscoverable,
infinite [or unlimited], without "when"? without "where"?
incomprehensible, unalterable, unchangeable ; supreme ex
istence, supreme Hght, supreme above description, Who was
made by none, neither did make Himself, before Whom
nothing existed, and like unto Whom nothing exists ; but
He being the beginning, is also the cause of the ofioovalaiv
by generation and emission ; but of things created, by
actual workmanship." And as regards properties and at
tributes the Father that necessarily flow from these, the
Church extols them in her hymns and in her daily prayers;
praising God " Almighty." as in the Nicene Creed, " Lord
God, Who art good and the Doer of good, pitiful and of great
mercy, just and taking care of all ;" everywhere in the
Sharaghots* and the Book of Daily Prayers. All of which,
if we examine attentively, and compare one thing with
another, we shall find the whole directed against infidels,

* [Or Hymnal.]

The Confession of Faith. 263
heathens, and Jews, and against heretics ; Simonians,
Saturninians, Basilidians, Corpocratrians, Valentinians,
Gnostics, Cerdonians, Marcionites, Manichseans, Audaans,
or Anthropomorphites, and others of the same sort.
III. The Father— that is " Begetter of the Son, by a
great and awful mystery," and in such relation to Him who
is the Son, issued from the Father by generation " of the
nature of the Father, incorrupt, incorporeal, before time,"
says Nerses of Lampron. (See below what is said of the
Son.) IV. Begetter or Genitor — from to beget, or generate, * as
we see it in the justly admired hymn sung at the Nativity
¦rij9 BeoroKov : ; " She who brought Him forth that was
begotten of the Father before time, was this day born of a
barren woman" (of Anna) ; Sharaghots, p. 5.
V. Breather forth — [Russ. otruigatel, literally " eruc-
tator;" Arm. pghkhogh~\ of the Holy Ghost ; source, origin,
and originator of the Procession ; a term which, in Arme
nian is common, that is, both active and passive. It occurs
in Ps. cxix. 171, " My lips shall utter thy praise;" and Ps.
xix. 2, "One day telleth another," etc. It is also said of the
Virgin Mary, of the birth of Christ : " Who didst [produce,
breathe,] bring forth a flower begotten of the Father." Sha-
rag. p. g; and it also renders Gen. i. n : "Let the earth

« [The Russian translator thus gets over a great difficulty that lies in the
Armenian term dznanil. This means both " to beget" and " to bring forth ;"
so that it is equally said of God the Father, and of the Virgin Mary ; the same
term being applied to each. Even in this short quotation from the Armenian
Hymnal, dznanilis said (i) actively of the Blessed Virgin, who brought forth;
(2) of the Father who begat ; and (3) passively of the Blessed Virgin when
herself born of St. Anna. No wonder, if with such peculiarities of idiom,
misunderstandings should arise, and a true rendering often be most difficult,
if not impossible. — S. C. M.J

264

The Armenian Church.

bring forth every green herb." So also is it said of Christ
Himself, in Sharag. p. 285 : " They gave Him vinegar min
gled with gall, Who caused a river to flow from Eden,"*
" But when the term is taken in a passive sense, it is
well rendered by neuter Latin verbs emanare, procedere,
progredi, prodire, that mean, " to flow," or " to proceed
from," and other like expressions, said, for instance, of
Christ suffering, Sharag. p. 289. " From Thee flowed a
two-fold stream, for the renewing of the human race." And
again, ibid., p. 6, " This day is fulfilled God's promise to
the patriarchs, that in their seed should all the nations of
the earth be blessed ; for of their stem issued the pure
Virgin who brought forth the Word."
Hence the term "procession" [R. proizkhozdenie, A.
pghkhoomn] which is a verbal term, but is mostly taken in a
passive sense. Both terms then, " begetter" [A. dznogh.]
and " breather forth" [A. pghkhogh, eructator] are said of
the Father, as " begotten" [A. dznyeal] is said of the Son,

* [The utter impossibility of always rendering the idea expressed by a term
in one language, into an exact counterpart of it in another idiom, is never
more felt than in discussing such subjects as this. No wonder that two
men, one Syrian or Armenian, and the other Greek, should differ, literally,
about shadows. The term used in this Armenian Confession, cannot be ren
dered literally ; it properly means eructare, and is thus used for iKiropevecr6at
in the sense we see, of a fountain, as S. Chrysostom says : ir£j eWopetWm t!>
Trvevfia £k too irarp6s; as airb -ir-nyrjs S5a;£ Homil. lxxii. torn. 6 (as quoted
in Suiceri Symbolum Nicxno Constant, expositum, p. 308 sq.) The same
Armenian term also answers to eK.-n-efi.tpts ; and in some cases to TrpoepxztrOcu
and TvpioSos, terms used for the Procession of the Holy Ghost. Never so appli
cable were the words of Orthodoxus in Athanas. contra Maced. vol. ii. p. 276.
OP0. 'AAA' 6 jxev 'Tibs yeyivriTai, to Be Tlvevfia eKiropeverat MAKEAON.
Kcd t'is t) Siarpopa rrjs yevv4]<rtais i<al tt)s iKiropevtreois ; OP0. TV Sia<popap ^
-irepiepydfrv oi yap KaTa\ijirr}j, a\\' a -KpoaeTay-rf croi, TavTO. Siavoov,
ttal vepanepa tovtoiv fi.ii (?£eTa£e- — S.C.M.]

The Confession of Faith. 265
and " breathed forth," or " proceeding" [A. pghkhyeal, L.
eructatus, procedens], is said of the Holy Ghost."
VI. God the Word. — "The Son of God, begotten and hav
ing His beginning in the Father;" thus does the Armenian
Church always address and worship the Second person of
the Most Holy Trinity ; that is : " the Only Begotten Word
of the Father ; a generation above every word ; the image
and splendour of the Father ; the character [impression] of
His essence, living zeal, wisdom, and power, having all
the divine attributes of the Father; as, being equal with
Him in nature (6fioova-io<;) ; God of God, uncreated of Him
who is uncreated, without time of Him who is without
time, Life of Life, a Light of Light," as Gregory of Nareg
writes; words which Nerses Clajetsi gives even more ex
plicitly in his Confession of Faith of the Armenian Church.
" The Son Light of the Father Light, and fire of the Son's
Godhead of the fire of the Father's Godhead, issuing by
generation ; they are not one and another, but one and the
same nature. Thus this example without parallel of the
Son's generation, is nothing else than the generation of
speech that takes place in our mind, though this example
be not agreeable to Truth in all respects. Therefore is He
said to be ' the Word,' because of this immaculate gene
ration ; but He is called Son, because He is of the Father's
nature, and not foreign to it, nor yet created, according to
the blasphemy of Arius."
And soon after, he adds, " And the only possible means
for us to understand this incomprehensible (generation)
is, to believe what is said in the Holy Scriptures, and not
to subject to investigation that which is unsearchable; for
they declare that this generation of the Godhead, is by the
mind unattainable, and in words, ineffable."
VII. Who is neither posterior, nor less, etc. — Thereupon

266 The Armenian Church.
Nerses of Lampron, says : " There never was the Father,
when there were not with Him the Son and the Holy
Ghost ; but as the Father was always Father, and did not
afterwards acquire the title of " Father," so also is the
Son with the Father, eternal."
VIII. The Holy Ghost. — On this Nerses of Lampron,
also says: "The Holy Ghost always is the Spirit of God,
inseparable from the Father and from the Son ; wherein is
understood one essence and one nature in three Persons."
And Gregory of Nareg : " The Holy Ghost is uncreated,
without time, having the same essential attributes as belong
to the Father and to the Son."
IX. Proceeding from, or out of the Father. — Of this,
Gregory of Nareg says: "The Holy Ghost is an ineffable
expiration (or procession) from the Father, not like that of
the Son by generation, but is a procession from His essence;
according to this: (S. John xv. 26) " The Spirit of Truth,
which cometh from the Father." Thus also S. Nerses
Clayetsi : " The Holy Ghost is an expiration [or procession]
from the Father." And the Archbishop of Lampron : " The
Holy Ghost is an expiration [or procession] from the
Father, like a spring; an example which He alone can
search into, but which cannot be known by His crea
tures." Nevertheless, we also hold that which John Damascenus,
in lib. i. c. xi. p. 43, says, speaking of the Orthodox faith,
namely, that " Of the Holy Ghost we say both that He is
from the Father, and of the Father ; but as regards the
Son, we do not say that the Holy Ghost is from Him,
though we call Him the Spirit of the Son." This is also
affirmed by Armenian Fathers, as by Gregory of Nareg in
his Book of Prayers, chap. 81, where he thus speaks of the
Second Person of the Trinity : " and unto Thee unsearch-

The Confession of Faith. 267
able, with the Father incomprehensible, together with Thine
ineffable Spirit belong glory, honour, and worship, for ever
and ever." And elsewhere, in his [Private Meditations, or]
Soliloquies, c. xiii: "And the Holy Spirit of Truth proceeding
from Thee, of infinite perfections co-eternal and in all re
spects equal with Thee, and of equal praise with the Son
as Sovereign power," etc.
Further, the order of Baptism in the Armenian
Church declares that " the Holy Ghost of one essence
and glory with the Father and the Son, is of the same
essence with the Father and of equal glory with the
Son." And the Patriarch Nerses in his Confession of Faith of
the Armenian Church, says : " The Holy Ghost is an
expiration [or procession] from the Father, and of the same
glory as the Son, perfect God, like the Father and the
Son." With which the Church in all respects agrees ;
saying by the lips of Moses of Chorene, at the Feast of
Pentecost, " O Thou, True Spirit, Thou art unintelligible
in Thine essence, and ineffable in Thy procession, without
beginning from the Father and co-substantial with the only
begotten Son ; we bless Thee, O God, of our Fathers ! "
And soon after : " Thou who wast sent from the Father,
Spirit, uncreated and co-substantial, co-essential with Him
in Thine official intercession, in order to become the Com
forter of the holy Apostles, we pray Thee, have mercy on
us." (Hymns, p. 395.)
As regards, therefore, the procession of the Holy Ghost
from the Father, the Armenian Church agrees with the
Greek; consequently, there can be no dissension between
them on this subject. For both the one and the other
clearly declare and confess with one voice the proces
sion of the Holy Ghost from the Father; and herefore it is

268 The Armenian Church.
unnecessary to bring forward further proofs thereof from
other Fathers of the Armenian Church.*
X. The Holy Trinity. — " Nothing greater or less is seen
in the worship of the Trinity, but it is alike in common
essence, equal and one, besides the special qualities
inherent in every Person and that naturally follow from it
respectively. These personal properties are the begetting
of the Father, begotten of the Son, and the procession of

* [Thus far the Gregorian Church. The Eomish Armenians, however, in
their Exposition of the Creed (Hankanag havadu, Venice, 1807, p. 212), tell
their people, that if they value the salvation of their souls, they must admit the
Filioque ; saying, that the clause was not at first introduced either in the
Confession of the Illuminator or in the Nicene Creed, because no doubt had
then arisen on the subject. But that after heretics had disputed the point, it
was necessary to define it more positively. This they do from St. John xvi. 15 ;
xv. 26; S. Luke xxiv. 49; and S. John xx. 22; Gal. iv. 6; Rom. viii. 9,
1 Peter i. 1, and maintain that the ancient Armenian Fathers held the doctrine ;
as e.g. St. Gregory the Illuminator, who taught the Armenian people to believe
"that the Father is from Himself, the Son is of the Father, and the Holy Ghost
is from them and in them." But this, say they, was only the doctrine taught
by St. Thaddeus, for we read in the martyrdom of Sandukht that she declared
he had taught her to know her Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth and His
only Begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost who is from them." The first canon
also of the Council of Shiragvan declares that " Whosoever shall not confess
the holy and quickening Trinity to be One nature and Three Persons, the
Father without cause [or origin] , and the Son of the Father, and the Holy
Ghost from their essence, let him be anathematised." They give other
passages to the same effect from some of the Armenian Fathers, and say that
when, in 1251, the Pope wrote on the subject to the Eastern nations neither
the Syrians, the Greeks, nor the Georgians, but only the Armenians agreed to
receive the new doctrine, because they searched into the Old Fathers and found
they held the same," etc, This, however, is only true of the Romish Arme
nians, who are schismatics from the real Armenian Church, which retains
both her Confession and the Nicene Creed without the Filioque. Alas, that
schisms should be made, and the Body of Christ be thus rent asunder for such a
leason as this ! — S. C. M.J

The Confession of Faith. 269
the Holy Ghost. As regards their unity one and equal in
nature, in Godhead, in not being created, in power, in
greatness, in wisdom, in goodness, in faculty to create, in
providence, etc." — Gregory of Nareg.
XI. One Will.— "There is one will of the Three Per.
sons and one power, and one ability to create. The Father
would create the visible and invisible creatures ; and the
Son caused them to exist out of things not before existing ;
and the Holy Ghost adorned them in wisdom." — Nerses
Clajetsi. The same Patriarch in his treatise in verse on the "Only
Begotten Son," opposes this Confession of the Armenian
Church of One God in Three Persons, to Arius, at ver.
242; to Sabellius, at ver. 243 ; and to the Tritheists, at
the same place.
XII. We believe [in] a Holy Church.* — " Here the
framers of this Confession of Faith express themselves

* [This passage deserves special attention, because there is every reason to
believe that from this second-hand source of information some considerable
mistake has taken place between the fact that — the Armenians believe in
a Holy Catholic Church, and the fact that — the term holy is not found in the
Armenian version of the Nicene Creed.
Armenians, like all other Christians who believe m 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 ; not even in the editions of that Creed
published at Rome by Romish Mechitarists, who introduce the Filioque, e.g.,
as in the Armenian Liturgy, published at Venice in 1837. Nay, so easily do
mistakes creep in from want of access to original documents, that this very
Catholicos Joseph, in his translation from the Armenian of the Nicene Creed
at its proper place in the Liturgy, p. 40, says: vyeruyem vo edinu svyatu-
yu sobornnyu i Apostolskuyu Terkov, we believe in a Holy Synodical
(Catholic) and Apostolic Church, albeit svyatuyu Arm. srpwu is not found
in the original Armenian. — S. C. M.J

270 The Armenian Church.
differently from what they did before. Before they said ;
" We believe God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Ghost;" but here, "We. believe in the Holy Church"
—inasmuch as to believe in God the Father, in God the
Son, and in God the Holy Ghost, seems to imply that,
taking the existence of them for granted, to it is added
[trust or] hope in the Most Holy Trinity ; but to believe
in the Church shows that one must believe in the existence
of it. Wherefore is it well said in the Nicene Creed ; " I
believe in one God, the Father, and in one Son, Jesus
Christ, and in the Holy Ghost ;" but it also continues in
the same strain : " We believe in one Catholic and
Apostolic Church ;" that implies one mysterious body of
believers, as well as those that died happily, as of those
that are yet in life, with one Head, Christ. The Church is
said to be Holy because she is cleansed from sin by the
Blood of Christ, and consists of a Head and members that
are holy; moreover she holds communion with all saints.
In this sense the Church is said to be " the City of God,"
"the incorruptible temple in which arose the Sun of
Righteousness ;" " the raised table of holiness ;" " that
wherein flows the river of life;" "a place of refuge;"
"the gathering of a rational flock;" "the dwelling-place
of Angels;" "the harbour of the righteous;" and "the
cleansing place for sinners." (Hymnal, Feast of the
Church, v. 452, sq.) The Church is also said to be "The
Catholic (universal) Holy Mother ;" " the Holy Virgin and
Bride of the Heavenly Bridegroom;" "Jerusalem above;''
" New Sion ;" " made up of incorporeal spirits," etc.
(Ibid v. 147.)
XIII. The Remission of Sins. — " In the Nicene Creed
we read " in the expiation and in the remission of sins,"
the former delivering from punishment, the latter from sin.

The Confession of Faith. 271
Both the one and the other are derived in the first place
from the expiation wrought by Christ for mankind ; but in
the second place through means instituted for that purpose.
These are : Baptism, Repentance, Faith, Confession,
Priestly Absolution, Oblation (of the Holy Eucharist),
Communion; all the good works of pious men; Prayers,
Alms, etc., through the mutual intercession of the several
Persons of the Most Holy Trinity among themselves, and
of the Saints with them, as it is plain from the Hymns,
Prayer Books, and Service of the Armenian Liturgy.
XIV. The Communion of Saints.—" The Communion
of Saints " in the Armenian Church is understood in a
twofold sense ; first, of the union of members of the
Church with the Head Christ . and, secondly, of the mutual
help and support of these same members in obtaining
enjoying, and preserving the common good things or
graces of the Church. (Hymns for the Feast of the Church,
v. 462, sq.)
XV. One of the Three came down. — " One of these
Three infinite Persons," says Gregory of Nareg, "begotten
of the Father without time before the worlds, of like
essence and glory with the Spirit, with their will and
consent, who are of like nature with Himself, humbles
Himself from ineffable glory and immense height to inquire
after the image [badgerin] created by Himself that had
deformed and corrupted itself; not by means of the power
natural to Him of creating afresh, but by a wisdom that is
able to do everything and that shows itself in various ways.
At the Annunciation of the Angel, He inhabited the womb
purified by the Spirit, of the Most blessed and glorious
Virgin Mary." " That same Word of God," adds Nerses
of Clajetsi "Who had made man after His Own image, and
appeared to him after his transgression, and to all the just

272 The Armenian Church,
men of old, to Noah and Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
and Aaron, to Joshua, and to the other prophets, and spake
with them, and Who in later times came down at the
Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel into the womb of the
Virgin Mary."
XV. Took of her blood — and " of her nature put on a
body with a spirit [soul] and mind." Gregory of Nareg
says : " He did it." Nerses of Lampron, " By not leaving
the bosom of the Father according to His divine nature,
which is not circumscribed, and by taking to Himself of
the body of the pure Virgin Mary, which is of the lump of
Adam, He united with His Own ineffable and unsearchable
Godhead." XVI. Nine Months. — " After a period of nine months
He was like a child, born perfect God and Man ;'" and
shortly after, " He was fed with milk like a man, and by
angels glorified as God ;" Gregory of Nareg and Nerses
of Lampron : " According to our reckoning this is the way
in which the union took place in the Virgin's womb, by
dwelling therein the space of nine months, with the
addition of five days for the first birth. Thus He who,
if He would, was able to be perfected in an instant,
grows from day to day increasingly, in order to con
tradict those who pretend that He was made man in
appearance only to the eye ; and He is born like a man,
God made man, while preserving whole the virginity of
His Mother.
XVII. And He was made perfect God and perfect Man.
— The Armenian Church invariably teaches that Christ the
Saviour is God-Man, that is, " perfect God and perfect
Man." And where, in consequence of the Eutychian
heresy bearing on this, a violent controversy arose, espe
cially in the East — the Armenian Church, in order boldly

The Confession of Faith. 273
to oppose it, introduced into her Confession of Faith the
following : —
XVII. Of a Spirit [Soul] Mind and Body thereby
declaring "that Christ consists of a spirit [soul], mind
[intellect], and body, that is, of all the essential parts
that constitute man, really and truly, and not in appearance
only." Stating at the same time that as spirit and mind
are understood as synonymous, they should naturally
explain each other. This term spirit [R. duch, A. hoqi] is
used for the uncreated spirit, and for the created spirit, or
soul,* the more noble part of man; while mind [R.'umm. A.
midq] is taken for the heart intellect, or the conscience, as in
Rom. ii. 5, the whole of which, together constitute a perfect
and true man. "For," as Gregory of Nareg says, " as our
human nature was not defiled by sin in part only, but
wholly, in spirit [soul], mind, and body, so also did the
Word put on the whole of it and united it with Himself."
This is held by the Armenian Church in opposition to the
Monothelite Apollinarius, as we read in Nerses Clayetsi
(Only Begotten Son, p. 253.) Neither is the body without
mind, as Apollinarius said, "that God the Word dwelt in
the body as a statue without spirit. But let us flee from
such tenets as from venomous snakes."
XVIII. One Person, One Aspect (fi[a v-n-oa-Taa^,
h Trpoa-WTTOv). Nerses Clayetsi declares in his answer

* [The difficulty, nay, frequently the impossibility of coming to a right under
standing of terms between men of different nations is again shown by the fact
that certain Armenians make a difference between hoqi and oqi, the first
being said of the Holy Ghost ; and the second of man's spirit. But not only
is hoqi constantly used for the spirit of man (irvevfia) ; but quite as often for
his soul also (if/uxh)- Here then, is one term only, to render two things which
tax aeverely the metaphysical intellect, not indeed, tc explain them fully, but
only given in part. How then is the discussion to be carried on ? — S. C. M.]

274 Tbe Armenian Church.
to Alexis, son-in-law to the Emperor E. Commenus, that
this clause in the Armenian Confession of Faith was
inserted against Nestorius and his followers. "Where
fore," says he, " do we not, like Nestorius, sever one Christ
into two natures and two as parts." Inasmuch as the
same Patriarch repeats out of S. Gregory of Nazianzus,
" He i? not one and another, but one by that mixture ;"
adding s lortly after, from the same Father, " that it is clear
that Christ is double in Nature but not in Personality."
Thus dp the Armenians not only acknowledge two [A.
Dznunts]* generations or births, the one from the Father
before the worlds, and the other from the Holy Virgin in
the fulness of time ; but they also confess the two natures
[as inseparable] when mention is made of either the one
or the other abstractedly ; for they believe that that which
is of the nature of the Father has also a human essence.
Thus Nerses Clayetsi says: "Thou who on making proof
of Thy human nature in that night wast greatly troubled
with fear," &c. — Ibid, p. 168.
But where mention is made of the Person of the Son
of God and of Man, in a concrete sens", Armenians declare
unflinchingly, that He has one nature by reason of the
intimate union [of the two natures within.] Wherefore is
there added in the Confession :
XIX. He is united in one nature. — All the controversies
that arose and have continued during so many centuries
between the Armenians and the Greeks, were about these
words ; whence the many calumnies on the side of the
Greeks, and the many Defences of the Faith on the side of
the Armenians ; so that the minds that have so long been

* See note above, p. 263.

The Confession of Faith. 275
embittered on both sides, are not yet at peace. The origin
of this quarrel and of this clause in the Confession is
assuredly to be looked for in the opposition made to the
heresy of Nestorius, regarding which Cyril of Alexandria
made use of the expression, " One nature of the Word
made flesh," in order the more entirely to refute Nestorius.
The Armenians adopted that phrase as coming from an
Orthodox Father, and with Nerses Clayetsi say : " One
Nature of the Word made flesh."
But as Eutyches also said that the Godhead and
humanity of Christ made up one nature only, these words
"one nature " acquired so suspicious a meaning, that the
Armenians found themselves under the necessity of de
fending this article of their faith against attacks from
the opposite side, by writing many letters to the
Greek Emperors in defence of this point ; whence we
gather the real doctrine and meaning of the Armenians
as follows : —
(1.) One is the nature of the Word made flesh, say the
Armenians, by reason of the indivisible union [of the two
natures]. Against the heresy of Nestorius, as Nerses
Clayetsi writes to the Emperor Emmanuel Commenus:
" The Orthodox Fathers, having established the indivisible
union of the two natures of God and of man, opposed
this to Nestorius and to those who with him said there are
two natures, but divided and not united in the one Christ.
But they have set aside this division of Nestorius, like
tares of bitterness." And anon he adds : " We anathe
matize those who, with Nestorius, divide the one Christ
into two natures, saying that the God is one and the man
is another ; that the man is He who suffered and died, and
the God He who cannot suffer, and who is immortal ; who
thus do not admit as united the two natures, the one that
T 2

276 The Armenian Church.
suffers and the one that is impassible; death and immor
tality." Wherefore does the same Patriarch discuss the objections
of the Nestorians, out of the second letter of the Orthodox
Father Cyril of Alexandria to the Bishop Succensus, when
writing to the Emperor Emmanuel Commenus, saying :
"Those who object to these words said by him, [S. Cyril
Alex.] that 'there is one nature only of the Word made
flesh,' for that if Emmanuel, say they, was a combination
of two natures, and one nature only appeared as a result
of that union, it follows necessarily that one must say He
was liable to suffering in His nature." To them does
S. Cyril, after other things, answer even thus . ' What
necessity was there (to say) that He might suffer in His
nature, since it is said that after the union the nature of
the Son made flesh was one : for if it had not been settled
in the economy of our redemption, that He should endure
sufferings, they would rightly say this, that it was absolutely
necessary that the nature of the Word made flesh should
accept sufferings." Again he says : " The adversaries say
that, if the nature of the Word made flesh be one, it must
then by all means be admitted that a confusion and a
mixture takes place, as if the human nature were absorbed
into the Godhead ; but they are ignorant, who wrest right
things, that according to truth the nature of the Word
made flesh is one." " And " says again S. Cyril soon after,
" one is truly said not only of things single as to their
nature, but also of those which are joined (or gathered) to
gether by composition."
(2.) In thus fleeing from the snares of the Nestorian
heresy, the Armenians did not, as they are supposed to
have done, fall into the opposite heresy of Eutyches ; but
every fair and attentive observer must see that they avoided

The Confession of Faith. inn
this one as well as they opposed the other. For Nerses
of Lampron says explicitly: " We do not say of the Word
made flesh that He has one nature, confounding the
property of essences, as they imagine, but according to
an ineffable union of those two natures in one Personality
and Godhead; [in one divine Person] ;" in his discourse
held at the Council of Tarsus, in the year 1195. And he
adds : " We say one nature in Christ, not by confusion
according to Eutyches, but according to what Cyril of
Alexandria says in his answer to Nestorius ; that the
nature of the Word made flesh is one, according to what
the Fathers declared ; and he quotes Athanasius and one
before him." So also does Nerses Clayetsi say in his
answer to the Emperor Emmanuel : " Neither do we,
like Eutyches and his followers, gather [two natures]
into one by confusion and alteration." And anon in the
same Apology : " Thus have they refuted and disproved the
mode of confusion held by Eutyches and his followers;"
and " they opposed this to Eutyches and to those who
before and after him said, wrongly, that in Christ is only
one nature — namely, that each nature, the Divine and the
human, continues ' undestroyed ' in the union of the two."
(Ibid.) And at last he concludes : " Wherefore, in accord
ance with what has been handed down to us by the Ortho
dox Fathers, do we anathematise those who say, that the
nature of the Word made flesh, is one, by means of con
fusion and alteration ; and that He did not take His human
nature of our lump, and united it with His Godhead, but
that He created for Himself a body in the Virgin's womb ;
or that He brought it from heaven ; or that He appeared
man only to the eye, and not really, [not in truth] ; and
all others who may hold one nature in any such wise." —
(Ibid.)

278

The Armenian Church.

(3.) We, therefore, gather the real meaning of "this
union of Christ in one nature," according to the Armenian
Church, both from what we have already seen and from
what Nerses again says : " But we believe thus, that God
the Word Who was begotten of the Father before all
worlds, who is invisible, impassible, and took our nature
perfectly from the Virgin, and united it with His divine
nature without confusion, in an indivisible union ; and He
became invisible as to His divinity, but visible according
to His human nature ; impalpable and palpable." (In his
Apology to the Emperor Emmanuel.) Like sentiments
occur in his treatise on the " Only Begotten Son " (p. 254),
where he explains it by a comparison with the union of our
mind and body thus :
And we confess a unity, that does not alter the nature. But the same Son
who is of the Father, was made Son of the Mother ; and thus we speak of
one nature, according to an ineffable combination. In like manner as our
Spirit and body are combined in one nature, though they two be one creature,
they together form the human nature unaltered ; and in an incomprehensible
way, nature is thus made of the immaterial and the material together.
(4.) Armenians argue that if we are not to speak of the
Nature of the Word made flesh as one, by reason of the
ineffable union between the two, it naturally follows, that
we must state the existence not of two, but of three
natures in the Son of God and man, by reason of their
being distinct, yet never confounded. Thus the Patriarch
Nerses Clayetsi, in the same treatise on the Only Begotten
Son, (p. 255), says :
Those who speak of two natures, and divide them into two, must of neces
sity either make the division into three or unite them all in one. That is,
into body and spirit, together with the divine nature; or else admit that the
mixture [of spirit and body] in the human nature, is stronger than that
of God.

The Confession of Faith. 279
Likewise does Nerses of Lampron speak in the discourse
above quoted :
So also in Christ, albeit it be said that there is one nature, it is said not by
reason of confusion, but by reason of an ineffable union between the two
natures respectively ; for if it may not he so stated, then must one understand
not two natures in Christ, but three ; namely, two human, the soul and the
body, and one divine. But after the union of the two natures their two
fold and distinct aspect [their duality] is done away, according to what the
«.oly Doctors have said.
(5.) To say there are two natures in Christ, except this
be done in the Nestorian sense, is not heterodox, in the
opinion of the Armenian Church. Thus Nerses writing to
the Emperor Emmanuel says :
We are led both righdy and freely into the twofold contemplation of these
words, calling " One " the nature of the Word made flesh according to S. Cyril,
by reason of an ineffable union, saying it is two-fold according to Gregory the
Theologian, inasmuch as the two natures, Divine and human, remain whole
and unexchanged [or unchangeable."]
The same Patriarch says again in his treatise on the
Only Begotten Son, p. 255 : —
Again to say there are [in Him] two natures, by reason of the union and
unity betwixt the two, is not foreign to Truth, so long as those who say so do
not thus divide Christ into two.
Thus also Nerses of Lampron : —
So then, those who on the one hand speak of one nature only by reason of the
indissoluble and inseparable union of the two, and not by reason of confusion ;
as well as those who speak of two natures by reason of their not being con
founded together or altered, or divided, are both within the limits of ortho
doxy. From all this Nerses of Lampron concludes that, " it is
all one to speak of Christ as God and man, and of the two

280 The Armenian Church.
natures." For it is evident that to confess Christ to be
God and man, is to affirm that the one nature and the
other are in one Person. " Inasmuch as, when we say that
the nature of the Word was made flesh, we understand it of
an ineffable union of the two natures, and not of the destruc
tion of each nature respectively. (Discourse at the Council
of Tarsus.)
XX. Without change, without alteration. — Add to this
from what has been said " without division, without confu
sion, and without separation." " The property of each
nature is preserved without confusion, and is ineffably
united above all mixture and union in the One Son, and
One Lord, Jesus Christ, of two perfect natures." (Gregory
of Nareg.)
Theorian himself bears witness to this being the opinion
of the Armenian Church, while giving their own words in
his Legat. Armen., p. 6 : —
We say that there is one nature in Christ, not confusing the two together
with Eutyches, nor yet reducing them with Apollinarius, but with Cyril of
Alexandria saying that the nature of the Word made Flesh is one.*
The words of Cyril, so often quoted by Armenian Fathers
and recorded in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus, p. 243,
are these : —
We say that the two natures are united, yet so that after the union the
division exists no longer. We believe the nature of the Son to be one when
made man and in the Flesh.* (See his Epistle to Eulogius, Ibid. p. 216, Lib.
ii. against Nestorius, p. 81, and the first and second to Bishop Secundus.)
Alio fiev (pilosis i}vuo-Qai ipafiev, fxera. r-})V evoio-iv 5e, &s avup'Ofi.&v'ns ^57? rrfs

* [heyofiev fiiav (piio-iv els rbv Xptcrrbti, ov Karct. rbv 'Evrv^ca trvyxeovrts,
oijK Kara rbv 'Airokii/dpiov 'e\arrovvres, a\\a Kara. KvpiWov rbv 'A\e£av-
ipeias '6ri fiia 'eo-rlv ft <pv<ris rov \6yov o-eo-apKwfxevri. — S. C. M.]

The Confession of Faith. 281
eh 5i5o Siarofirfs, fiiav %ivai iriffreliofiev r)]V rov vtov tpliuiv, ws evbs, tt\^i
evavBpuTTTio-avros, Kal o-eira.pKaifi.evov.
St. Athanasius, already alluded to by Nerses of Lampron
" On the Incarnation of the Son of God," torn. ii. p. 30,
says, in the same sense : —
We confess the Son of God to be God according to the Spirit, and Man
according to the Flesh; not two natures in the one, and only one nature to be
worshipped and another not, but one nature made flesh of the Word God, and
adored with His Flesh in one and the same worship.*
To Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, Abulpharaj (Hist.
Dyn. ed. Pocock, p. 148) attributes the same opinion
respecting the two natures, when he says : —
And at the same time the Greek Emperor Anastasius Severus Patriarch of
Antioch, became known, who wrote several books in order to inquire into the
question of the one nature out of the divine nature and the human one, without
mixture, and without confusion or corruption ; but so that they abide each in
its place, as the nature of man consists of a spiritual nature and of the body, and
the nature of the body consists of two natures, the one material and the other
of form, without the soul being turned into the body, or the material parts into
the form, or the contrary.
Therefore must we remark (1) That the Armenian terms,
khamel and kharnwnn, which are also taken to mean
mixing or mixture, are at times used by Armenians to ex
press the union of the two natures in Christ, as /tu^t? is by
Gregory of Nazianzus ; also mean "to join together,"
"conjunction," "and a very narrow bond of union," in
which sense it is used in Exod. xxvi. and Acts xxvii. 40 ;
as e.g. kharneliq, "joints," so also in this case, khamel,

['OfloXoyovflev eivai rbv aiirbv biov ®eov Kal dhov Kara irvevfia, vibv be
avOpdirov Kara ffdpKa, ov 5vo <pio-eis rbv eva vtbv, fdav -irpoaKWTjr^v, Kal fxiav
a-jrpoffKvvtjrov. aKKa fiiav tpliciv rov Beov \6yov o-eo-apKcafievriv, fxera rjjs
trapKbs avrov fuq irpoaKwifaei Kal Tvpoo-Kwovfievifv. — S. C. M.]

2Q2 The Armenian Church.
" to join together," and miavorel, "to unite;" and khar-
numn, " conjunction," and miavoruthiiin, " union," are
met with continually together, in all the above-named
Fathers. (2.) There seems to be some difference between the words
used by Armenian and by Greek Fathers ; while the Arme
nians say, and more clearly, "one nature of the Word made
flesh," of the Person of the Mediator; but the Greeks some
times also say, " one nature of the Word made flesh," and
sometimes, as it appears, from what has been said, in the same
sense yet not so plainly, and not without a certain doubtful
meaning ; they also declare, " one nature made flesh."
Hence Felix, Pope of Rome, took occasion in his letter to
Petrus Fullonus (in Zonaras, p. 540), to say that : " those
who say that of the union [of the two natures] there results
one nature made flesh, confirm the heresy of Apollinarius,"
which both the Armenians and the Greek Fathers they ap
prove of, cannot bear either to read or hear mentioned, and
against which their inmost soul revolts.
XXI. Conception without seed. — The Fathers of the
Armenian Church opposed these words to the Ebionites,
Cerinthians, Corpocratians, and other such.
XXII. There is no end to His humanity. — That much as
is indivisible from His divine nature, and after the union
with it, incorruptible. Hence Nerses of Lampron, says :
" He whose beginning is incorruptible, His end is also incorrupt!* le,
because His body in the grave saw no corruption ; therefore is it necessary
that in the intermediate time, between His birth and His death, His body
should have been incorruptible."
This is drawn from the words of the Apostle, Heb. xiii. 8.
XXIII. After having walked about in the earth thirty
years, He came to [His] baptism. — " He walked about in the

The Confession of Faith. 283
earth in silence, and' did not reveal the glory of His God
head, until the perfection of His Manhood ; and then He
came to be baptized, He who was entirely free from sin,
and who was in no need of cleansing, is baptized by the son
of that barren one [Elizabeth], to show us the grace of purifi
cation. He receives from the Father the witness that He is
the Beloved Son, and He who fulfils the Father's will, and
about to bring us to Him as adopted sons. He also re
ceives the witness of the Spirit, who is of the same essence
with Him, in the likeness of a dove, descending thus mys
tically." (Gregory of Nareg.)
XXIV. He was tempted of Satan. — " He was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness. He fasted forty days, and He
overcame the tempter in our [nature] ; vouchsafing unto
us the grace of overcoming temptation and the prize he
won thereby, teaching us to overcome the Tempter by
fasting." (Ibid.)
XXV. He preached salvation to men. — " He then made
a beginning of signs and of teaching, whereby He
took back all the prey from him who held it captive."
(Ibid.) XXVI. He laboured in the body. — "And Himself bare
all human infirmities, except sin ; for instance, He hungered,
He who gives food unto all living things ; He thirsted, He
who gives the water of life to all his faithful ones ; He
toiled, He who is the rest of all them that are weary ;
He slept, He who kept Israel without slumbering ; and He
shed tears, He who wipeth all tears from every face."
(Gregory of Nareg.) " He was an hungered and athirst,
and slept, and wept and toiled, as being subject to the law
of the body; and He also wrought wonders and signs, and
made proof of His divine power as perfect God." (Nerses
Clayetsi.)

284

The Armenian Church.

XXVII. He came willingly to His sufferings. — " And in
the fulness of those [times} according to the predictions of
the Prophets, He came to the sufferings He willingly un
dertook. Because, although by taking a body, and by His
innocence of sin, He cleansed our nature and justified it
before God and His Angels, and before the pretended
Prince of this world, who, however, found nothing of his
own in Him, yet the debts of sin before committed by Adam
were still standing against our nature ; wherefore He gives
His own sinless body in drink offering, in sacrifice of
reconciliation between the Father and His creatures, He
the Fatted Calf (S. Luke, xv. 23 ) ; and He the innocent Lamb
without blemish, taketh the sins of the world." And as
it was impossible that His divine nature, which is both in
capable of suffering and immortal, should suffer, and die, for
this very reason did He put on a body, in order that He,
Himself incapable of suffering, should suffer in a nature
capable of suffering ; and that He who is immortal should
die in that which is mortal, and that He should thus deliver
from the liability of debts those who were condemned for
their transgressions. Not that He was other, He who
suffered, than He who did not suffer; or He who died,
other than He who remained immortal ; but being one and
the same, He was impassible in the midst of sufferings, and
immortal in death." (Gregory of Nareg. )
And Nerses Clayetsi adds in his letter to the Emperor
Emmanuel :
"For this reason do we speak of the Blood of God, of His sufferings, of
His immortality, and of God crucified, and other such expressions, which we
do not attribute separately to the Godhead, but only by an ineffable union. For
example, God's nature is incapable of suffering and of death, and likewise,
human nature alone is incapable by death of giving life to men, that by uniting
the Word of God with the rational nature of man, that which was impossible,
then became possible."

The Confession of Faith. 285
Thus (1), is an answer given to the objections of the
Nestorians, mentioned above, and the means are explained
whereby Christ having the office of Mediator, was enabled
to take upon Himself both sufferings and death. And (2)
the imputation of those who accuse the Armenian Church
of the Theopaschitan* heresy is refuted and disproved, not
only by the expression '•' one nature God-man after the
union," but also by the insertion in the Trisagion which is
wont to be sung in the Armenian Church ; the words of
which are : " Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy and Immortal,
Thou wast crucified for our sakes, have mercy on us" (on
Easter Eve, on the Feast of the Cross, and every Friday) ;
as if the Armenians held the Most Holy Trinity to have
been crucified. And Nerses of Lampron, with many other
Fathers, affirms, that on those occasions the Trisagion is
addressed only to the Word made flesh; an assertion proved
true by the fact that this addition to the Trisagion is always
to be uttered according to the festival on which it is sung.
For at the Feasts of the Nativity and of the Circumcision is
said : '' Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal,
who was manifested for our sakes, have mercy on us." At
the Feast of the Purification and on Palm Sunday: " Who
didst come, and Who art to come, have mercy on us." On
the night of the Lord's betrayal : " Who wast betrayed for
our sakes." On the great Sabbath : " Who wast buried for
our sakes." On Easter day (the day of the Resurrection),
and every Sunday : " Who didst rise again from the dead."
On Ascension Day : " Who didst go up in glory to the
Father." On the day of the Transfiguration : " Who wast
manifested on Mount Tabor." On the Feast of the Assump
tion of the Blessed Virgin : "Who didst come at the death

* I.e. God suffering.

286 The Armenian Church.
of thy Mother and Virgin." And on the day of Pentecost,
the Feast of the Holy Ghost, they sing : " Holy God, Holy
and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, who didst come and rest
upon the Apostles, have mercy on us." And as regards the
conjunction " and," it is added they say, only for the finish
of the sentence ; the Armenian word (surp) "holy," being
very short, and not conveniently joined on to another noun
without a conjunction."*
XXVII. He died in the body, as regards the body. — " He
died on the Cross, Who was in nowise liable to death of the
body, that He might quicken our nature dead in sins.''
(Neres Clayetsi, in his Confession of Faith for the Armenian
Church.) XXVII. — His body was laid in the grave, and united with the
Godhead. — " The nature that was confined neither to place
nor to space, was both on the the Cross and on the right hand
of the Father ; in the sepulchre and on the four-sided
throne (Ezek, i. 5 ; Rev. vii. n); in the boundless realms of
hell, and yet exalted above the highest heavens ; reviled by
the Scribes and Pharisees, and praised as Holy by Sera
phim together with the Father and the Spirit ; in the body,
in the grave, and in spirit in the dwellings of darkness, the
prisons of hell, His Godhead was not separated from His
body, nor yet from His Spirit." (Gregory of Nareg.)
XXIX. He set free the Spirits— ¦" He spoiled hell in two
ways : first, by granting liberty to the Spirits that were in
hell, by means of the human Spirit [or soul] being united
to the Godhead ; and secondly, by giving to our mortal
nature a hope of resurrection through His divine resurrec
tion in the body." Nerses Clayetsi, who states the same
thing in his treatise on the Only Begotten Son," p. 183,

• Here Schroder refers to Galani. Hist. — Arm. c. xxii.

The Confession of Faith. 287
where he thus prays to the Son of God : " Thou shalt
again set me free as thou didst set free the Spirits that were
in prison."*
XXX. After three days He rose again. — " He rose again
from the dead with power on the third day, and appeared
unto His twelve disciples and to the seventy, and to the
five hundred, and to many others who are His witnesses
and preachers all over the world ; and for forty days He ap
peared unto them and conversed with them." (Nerses
Clayetsi.) " He rose again," says Gregory of Nareg, as
God, and by His own power, in the same body, in which
He suffered and died ; and appeared to His disciples, and
confirmed them in the belief that He was risen indeed,
when they saw Him, handled Him, and heard Him speak,
and saw Him eat food !" " By whom we, who are His
body, were quickened, and were thus made members joined

* [Here Schroder has the following, which is passed over by the Arch
bishop :
" Into hell —tjokhq proprie locum vel cognitu, vel, ob gravissimas in eo
pcenas impiis infligandas, aditu dijpcilem significat ; idem quod tjwarin, cujus
opponendum est turin, facilis. Hinc compositum tjokhasharjei, difficulter
mobilis, Svo-Ktvinros tiira sharjeli facile mobilis, evKiv-rfros Arist. categde qual.
In Sacra Scripturaconstanterrespondet Hebraorum 7lNK> Gr^corum qsSrjr apud
LXX et in Novum Testamentum vide loca ; modo sepulchrum ; modo gra-
•vissimas afflictiones modo locum inferorum denotans. Casterum, tria Armenis
statuuntur loca, animorum a corpore migrantium receptacula ; cesium seu
¦paradisus ccelestis destinatus piis inferorum; impiis, et gayong, stationes,
vel otheiianqa tarots, mansiones justorum, qui et pank, career audit
Niersesi Clajensi, in quo recipiuntur anima; defunctorum, Sanctis interim
precibus suis apud Deum pro illis intercedentibus, est die judicii extremi justi-
ficats, sternum salventur. Hinc Nierses Patriarcha precatur, Horol. p. 536:
Lux vera, Christe, dlgnam redde animam meam, qute in Itetitia rjideat
lucem gloria tuo; in iiocatione diet illius : et acquiescat in spe bonorum, in
mansionibus justorum, usque ad diem magni ad-ventus tui. — S. C. M.]

288 The Armenian Church.
to and incorporate with our living and quickening Head
Christ, who is blessed for ever, world without end. Amen."
(Nerses Clayetsi.)
XXXI. He went up into Heaven. — " He went up into
Heaven, in the Father's own glory." (Gregory of Nareg.)
XXXII. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. —
" Of the Father on High, in our own nature, from which He
was inseparable in His Godhead." (Nerses Clayetsi.)
XXXIII. And He shall come — or rather, "He is to come;"
" He is to come in the same body in the glory of His God
head and of the Father, to raise the dead, and to judge the
world in righteousness, by giving to those who have done
well the inheritance of good things, but to those who have
done evil, everlasting shame, and torments, according to
every man's work." (Nerses Clayetsi.)
Such is the Confession of Faith of the Armenian Church,
and the Confession also of me, poor Joseph, Archbishop.
Having thus brought it to light, I am bound to remark upon
it, that the Armenian Church confesses these truths as
being pure, her spring of the Christian faith, drawn from
the preaching of the Holy Apostles themselves, and con
firmed by the Canons of the Holy Fathers of the first three
General Councils. Thus does this Church continue pure
unto this day, cherishing all the dogmas of the Ancient
Orthodox Church of that time, having been, among her
children, free from all imputation of heresy, or of contra
diction, or of any divisions, known under the name of
" Sects ;" but, as it becomes a flock redeemed by the Blood
of our Saviour Christ, this Church keeps herself among all
the nations of the earth wherein her children are scattered,
without any change, as the unanimous confessor in oneness
of spirit, of all those saving truths, and as the keeper also
of all Church ceremonies of that time.

The Confession of Faith. 289
But if in the Confession of Faith of the Armenian
Church, thus laid before the world in a few words yet with
open heart, I nave either withheld anything, or if, from
worldly motives and considerations, I have made aught
appear to greater advantage than it really deserves, and
that is not found in the writings of the Pastors and Doctors
of our Church before quoted, then let me, with infidels and
heretics, incur judgment before the throne of God ; for
whatever in articles of faith, is either hidden or stated with
dissimulation is not far from unbelief. And whosoever
after this statement of mine, is scandalised at what I have
said, let him give himself answer to Christ in the day of
His Judgment, as scatterer of His members. But on the
other hand, he who once hears what I have said, and gives
faith to it without finding fault, let him according to the
words of the Searcher of hearts, receive together with the
true believers the reward of happiness from Christ our
God ; to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, belong
glory, honour, and worship unto all ages. Amen.
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me,
as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and
another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed
how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation, can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor.
iii. 10, n.

U

( 29* )

THE RITE OF HOLY BAPTISM.

THE ORDER OF HOLY BAPTISM* OF
CATECHUMENS.f

The Catechumen is brought to the door of the church ; and
then is said:
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, true God. Amen.
The Reader then reads
Psalm LI.
UAVE mercy upon me, 0 God, after Thy great good
ness : according to the multitude of Thy mercies do
away mine offences.

* Translated from the Armenian of the Medz Mashdots .- Constant. 1867.
t The same word in Armenian 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.
The Catholicos Joseph thus enlarges this rubric in his Russian translation of
the Order of Holy Baptism :
Ceremony wherewith to make a Catechumen. [This word has not a
double meaning in .Russian.] The Priest, apparelled in his ecclesiastical
vestments, looses the girdle of him who wishes to be enlightened, [admitted
to Holy Baptism,] strips him of his clothing, and places him on the east
side, clad in a single shirt, without girdle, outer-covering, or shoes, his
hands hanging down ; the Priest then makes the sign of the Cross three
times upon his forehead and breast ; and placing his hand upon his head,
says the Lord's Prayer :
Our Father, etc.
Deacon. Blessed be, etc. U 1

292 The Armenian Church.
2 Wash me throughly from my wickedness : and cleanse
me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my faults : and my sin is ever
before me.
4 Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil
in Thy sight : that Thou mightest be justified in Thy
saying, and clear when Thou art judged.
5 Behold, I was shapen in wickedness : and in sin hath
my mother conceived me.
6 But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts : and
shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
7 Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean : Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than
snow. 8 Thou shalt make me to hear of joy and gladness : that
the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Turn Thy face from my sins : and put out all my mis
deeds. 10 Make me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a right
spirit within me.
n Cast me not away from Thy presence : and take not
Thy Holy Spirit from me.
12 O give me the comfort of Thy help again : and
stablish me with Thy Free Spirit.
13 Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked : and
sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that
art the God of my health : and my tongue shall sing of
Thy righteousness.
15 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord : and my mouth
shall show Thy praise.
16 For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it
Thee : but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 293
17 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit ; a broken
and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.
18 O be favourable and gracious unto Sion : build Thou
the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice
of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and obla
tions : then shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine
Altar. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Deacon. Let us also pray to the Lord in peace.
Priest. Blessing and glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, world without
end. Amen.
Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Glory be to Thee,
0 God. {Three times.) Psalm CXXXI.
I ORD, I am not high-minded : I have no proud looks.
2 I do not exercise myself in great matters : which
are too high for me.
3 But I refrain my soul, and keep it low, like as a child
that is weaned from his mother : yea, my soul is even as a
weaned child.
4 0 Israel trust in the Lord : from this time forth for
evermore. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Deacon. Let us also pray to the Lord, in peace.

294 The Armenian Church.
Priest. Blessing and glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, world without
end. Amen.
Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Glory be to Thee,
O God. {Three times.) Psalm XXV.
TTNTO Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul ; I have put
my trust in Thee : O let me not be confounded, neither
let mine enemies triumph over me.
2 For they that hope in Thee shall not be ashamed : but
such as transgress without a cause shall be put to confu
sion. 3 Shew me Thy ways, O Lord : and teach me Thy
paths. 4 Lead me forth in Thy truth, and learn me : for Thou
art the God of my salvation ; in Thee hath been my hope
all the day long.
5 Call to remembrance, O Lord, Thy tender mercies :
and Thy loving-kindnesses, which have been ever of
old. 6 O remember not the sins and offences of my youth :
but according to Thy mercy think Thou upon me, O Lord,
for Thy goodness.
7 Gracious and righteous is the Lord : therefore will
He teach sinners in the way.
8 Them that are meek shall He guide in judgment :
and such as are gentle, them shall He learn His way.
9 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth :
unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
io For Thy Name's Sake, O Lord: be merciful unto my
sin, for it is great.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 295
11 Whatman is he, that feareth the Lord: him shall
He teach in the way that He shall choose.
12 His soul shall dwell at ease : and his seed shall
inherit the land.
13 The secret of the Lord is among them that fear Him :
and He will shew them His covenant.
14 Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord : for He
shall pluck my feet out of the net.
15 Turn Thee unto me, and have mercy upon me : for I
am desolate and in misery.
16 The sorrows of my heart are enlarged : O bring
Thou me out of my troubles.
17 Look upon my adversity and misery : and forgive
me all my sin.
18 Consider mine enemies, how many they are : and they
bear a tyrannous hate against me.
19 0 keep my soul, and deliver me : let me not be
confounded ; for I have put my trust in Thee.
20 Let perfectness and righteous dealing wait upon me :
for my hope hath been in Thee.
21 Deliver Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Deacon. Let us also pray to the Lord, in peace.
Priest. Blessing and glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, world without
end. Amen.
Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Glory be to Thee,
0 God. [Three times.)

296

The Armenian Church.

Then Psalm CXXXI. is said in full, as above ; after which
is read,
Psalm XXVI.
DE Thou my Judge, O Lord, for I have walked inno
cently : my trust hath been also in the Lord, there
fore shall I not fall.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me : try out my reins
and my heart.
3 For Thy loving-kindness is ever before mine eyes : and
I will walk in Thy truth.
4 I have not dwelt with vain persons : neither will I
have fellowship with the deceitful.
5 I have hated the congregation of the wicked : and
will not sit among the ungodly.
6 I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord : and so
will I go to Thine Altar ;
7 That I may show the voice of thanksgiving : and tell
of all Thy wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house : and
the place where Thine honour dwelleth.
9 O shut not up my soul with the sinners : nor my life
with the blood-thirsty;
10 In whose hands is wickedness : and their right hand
is full of gifts.
11 But as for me, I will walk innocently: O deliver me,
and be merciful unto me.
12 My foot standeth right : I will praise the Lord in the
congregations. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Deacon. Let us also pray to the Lord, in peace.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. iqn
Priest. Blesssing and glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, world
without end. Amen.
Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Glory be to Thee,
0 God. {Three times.)
Then is Psalm CXXXI. said again ; after which follows :
Psalm XXVII.
'PHE Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then
shall I fear: the Lord is the strength of my life; of
whom then shall I be afraid ?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies, and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh : they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host of men were laid against me, yet
shall not my heart be afraid : and though there rose up
war against me, yet will I put my trust in Him.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will
require : even that I may dwell in the House of the Lord
all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of the
Lord, and to visit His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His
tabernacle: yea, in the secret place of His dwelling shall
He hide me, and set me up upon a rock of stone.
6 And now shall He lift up mine head : above mine
enemies- round about me.
7 Therefore will I offer in His dwelling an oblation with
great gladness : I will sing, and speak praises unto the
Lord. 8 Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto
Thee: have mercy upon me, and hear me.
9 My heart hath talked of Thee, Seek ye My face : Thy
face, Lord, will I seek.

298

The Armenian Church.

10 O hide not Thou Thy face from me : nor cast Thy
servant away in displeasure.
11 Thou hast been my succour: leave me not, neither
forsake me, 0 God of my salvation.
12 When my father and my mother forsake me : the
Lord taketh me up.
13 Teach me Thy way, O Lord : and lead me in the
right way, because of mine enemies.
14 Deliver me not over into the will of mine adver
saries : for there are false witnesses risen up against me,
and such as speak wrong.
15 I should utterly have fainted : but that I believe
verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. 16 0 tarry thou the Lord's leisure : be strong, and He
shall comfort thine heart ; and put thou thy trust in the
Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. The Priest then twists the thread,* and sings from the
Hymnal,
Hymn 62.
O Indivisible Trinity, and power of heavenly light that
shines upon the world ; unto Thee do we ascribe power

* Joseph Catholicos here adds the following explanatory rubric : " While
the Choir sings, the Priest takes two threads, one white and the other red,
in remembrance of the water and blood that floiued from the side of the
Saviour of the world ; he lifts them up under the Holy Cross, and then
lays them upon the catechumen, or child, to be baptized.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 299
and strength, and Thee do we bless in our songs of
thanksgiving. 0 Thou Holy Ghost, Who didst as on this day, come
down and rest upon the Apostles ; unto Thee do we ascribe
power and strength, and Thee do we bless in our songs of
thanksgiving. 0 Thou Who, announced by the Prophets, didst on this
day come down upon the Apostles ; in this saving Sacra
ment do we ascribe unto Thee power and strength, and
Thee do we bless in our songs of thanksgiving.
Deacon. By the Holy Cross, let us ask the Lord to
save us from our sins, and to quicken us through His
mercy. 0 Almighty Lord God, quicken us and have mercy
upon us.
Priest. Preserve this thread, O Christ our God, in
peace, under the protection of Thy Holy and Noble Cross :
and deliver it from the enemy both visible and invisible ;
and make us worthy to glorify Thee with praises, together
with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Our Father, Which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that
tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation ;
But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Then the Priest says three times, " Lord, have mercy upon
us," after which he repeats this prayer:
0 Lord our God, our Beneficent God, Who wouldest
not cast aside from Thyself the race of man, estranged
though it were and gone astray, driven from Paradise and
fallen ; but Who, having had pity on it, didst humble Thy-

300 The Armenian Church.
self from Thy Majesty on high to our mean estate, wholly
taking all that is ours, except sin ; and Who, after having
saved and redeemed us by Thy sufferings and Thy Death
on the Cross, didst again vouchsafe unto us life — accept,
we pray Thee, O Beneficent Lord, the good intentions of
Thy creature, who ventures to draw nigh unto Thee, Holy
and only-true God, by inscribing upon himself the name of
" Christian ;" and give him also both strength and help, to
be made fit to obtain the cleanness of the Holy Ghost,
in an innocent and unsullied life, so as to inherit the
adoption to the Kingdom of Heaven ; through our Lord
Jesus Christ, unto Whom, with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, belongs worship, honour and glory, for ever. Amen.
The Deacon then proclaims, aloud :
Again let us pray to the Lord, in peace.
We beseech the Beneficent God in behalf of this Cate
chumen, that of His great mercy He will have pity on
him, and vouchsafe unto him the washing of the second
birth, the garment of purity; and that He will number him
among those who believe in His Name, and quicken him
with the gift of His mercy.
O Almighty Lord God, quicken us, and have mercy
upon us.
Then the Priest says three times, " Lord, have mercy upon
us," after which he offers this prayer :
Receive, O Beneficent Lord, this Catechumen now pre
sented unto Thee ; cleanse his mind and his thoughts
from all fraud of the adversary ; and vouchsafe unto him
through Holy Baptism, to wash away his old sins, and to
be renewed by the light of Thy Grace ; so that he, together
with us, may glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 301
The Deacon then proclaims, aloud :
Let us again pray to the Lord, in peace.
And let us entreat Him that He will blot out the sins
of this Catechumen, forgive him his trespasses, and cause
His mercy to alight upon him from above.
Then the Priest says three times, " Lord, have mercy upon
us," and then this prayer :
0 Lord God, Who art great and glorified by all Thy
creatures — Thy servant, who has taken refuge in Thine
awful Name, bows his head to Thy Holy Name, O Thou,
unto Whom every knee bows, of things in heaven, in earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confesses that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Let
him receive a measure of participation in this Thine awful
and victorious Name, whereby he may defeat the wiles of
Satan, and guard against all his snares. Look upon him,
0 Lord, in Thy mercy ; and through the calling upon him
this day of Thy victorious Name, ward off and remove
from him all hidden thoughts, words, and deeds, and all
manner of fraud of such impurities, whereby Satan is wont
to deceive and destroy man ; so that he (Satan) being
afraid of Thine awful and victorious Name, will flee and
be tormented with unseen torments, and leaping off from
him in terror, may not even come near him. Fulfil this
Catechumen, O Lord, with Thy heavenly gifts ;
strengthen him when called, as he now is, with the best
of all names, that of " Christian," and fit him for the new
birth of washing in the holy font ; so that, by receiving
Thy Holy Spirit, he may become flesh and member of
Thy Holy Church ; and that after leading an innocent life
in the form and character of a Christian, he may reach
unto the good things to come with all Thy saints ; and

302 The Armenian Church.
there glorify Thine unchangeable Godhead, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Here the Godfather bows the knee three times, and thrice says:
Psalm XXII. 10.
I have been left unto thee ever since I was born : thou
art my God even from my mother's womb.
He then takes the child in his arms, {or Catechumen by the
hand,) turning to the west, and says {three times) :
We renounce Satan and all his devices, all his seduc
tions, all his thoughts, all his ways, all his evil intentions,
and his evil angels, all his wicked worship, all his wicked
seductions, and all his wicked power and influence, do we
heartily and wholly renounce.
Then turning to the east, the [Priest] says, [and after him
the Godfather] :
We believe in the Most Holy Trinity, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost; in the salutation of Gabriel;
in the conception of Mary ; in the Birth of Christ. We
believe the Holy Baptism ; the saving Crucifixion ; the
Burial of Three Days ; the happy Resurrection, the Divine
Ascension, and the sitting at the Right Hand of the
Father. We also confess and believe the awful and
glorious Second Coming.
Deacon {aloud). Alleluiah to the Son.
Priest. Peace be with you.
Choir. And with thy spirit.
Deacon. Hear with awe the Holy Gospel.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
Deacon. Let us attend.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 303
The Priest then reads :
S. Matthew XXVIII. 16-20.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee.
into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him : but
some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All
power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing then.
in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost :
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
Choir. Glory be to Thee, O Lord our God.
Then follows the Creed:
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth, and of things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Only-begotten of God the Father: thus of the essence
of the Father ; God of God, Light of Light, true God of
true God ; begotten and not made ; of the self-same nature
as the Father; by Whom all things came into being in
heaven and in earth, both visible and invisible. Who for
the sake of us men, and for our salvation, came down from
heaven ; was made flesh, was made man, was born per
fectly of the Holy Virgin Mary, by [virtue of] the Holy
Ghost; of whom He took His body, soul, and mind, and
everything that is in man, really and not apparently. Who
suffered, was crucified and buried ; rose again the third
day; went up into heaven in the same Body, and sat down
at the right hand of God. He is to come in the

304 The Armenian Church.
same body in the glory of the Father, to judge the quick
and dead ; to Whose Kingdom there will be no end.
We also believe in the Holy Ghost, uncreated and
perfect ; Who spake in the Law, and through the Prophets,
and in the Gospel; Who came down at the Jordan ; Who
preached [taught or proclaimed] the Apostle, {i.e., the one
sent — Shiloh,] and dwelt in the saints.
We also believe in one universal and Apostolic Church ;
in one Baptism ; Repentance, Expiation, and Remission of
sins ; in the Resurrection of the dead ; in the Eternal con
demnation of souls and bodies; in the Kingdom of heaven,
and in the Life everlasting.
But those who say, there was a time when there
was no Son, or there was a time when there was
no Holy Ghost, or that they came into existence of
things that were not ; who say that the Son of God or the
Holy Ghost be of a different essence, and that they are
changeable or alterable — such men does the Catholic and
Apostolic Church anathematize.*
But we, we will glorify Him Who was before the worlds ;
worshipping the Holy Trinity and the One Godhead of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and ever,
world without end.-f- Amen.
Deacon. Again let us pray to the Lord, in peace.
Let us also beseech in faith, and entreat our Lord God
and Saviour Jesus Christ, at this time of worship and
prayers : that He will make them worthy of His accept
ance, and that the Lord may hear the voice of our sup
plications. Let Him receive the requests of our hearts ;

* See note to the Nicene Creed, in the " Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox
Armenian Church," p. 33.
t See " Life of St. Gregory the Illuminator," p. 357.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 305
forgive us our trespasses ; and have mercy upon us. Let our
prayers enter at all times into the presence of His exalted
Majesty ; and let Him give us all together, with one faith
to be diligent in doing good works of righteousness; that
the Lord Almighty will vouchsafe to us the gifts of His
mercy ; that He will keep us in life ; and that He will
have mercy upon us.
Choir. Save us, O Lord.
Deacon. We pray the Lord that we may pass this hour
and this day in peace.
Choir. Grant it, O Lord.
Deacon. We pray the Lord to send His angel of peace
to guard our souls.
Choir. Grant it, O Lord.
Deacon. We pray the Lord to grant us remission and
forgiveness of sins.
Choir. Grant it, O Lord.
Deacon. We pray the Lord to grant the great support
and power of His Holy Cross, for the defence of our souls.
Choir. Grant it, O Lord.
Deacon. We also pray the Lord for union in our true
and Holy Faith.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Deacon. We commit ourselves, one another and every
one for himself, to the Almighty Lord our God.
Choir. To Thee, O Lord, do we commit ourselves.
Deacon. Have mercy upon us, O Lord our God, accord
ing to Thy great mercy ; we pray Thee with one accord.
Choir. Lord, have mercy upon us. {Thrice.)
While they sing the Priest says the following prayer,
privately :
0 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who art great in mercy and rich
in the blessings of Thy goodness : Who at this hour, didst of Thine Own
X

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accord endure the sufferings of the Cross and of death on account of our s)n»j
and didst abundantly bestow the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit on Thy blessed
Apostles ; make us also, O Lord, we beseech Thee, partakers of these Thy
divine gifts, the forgiveness of our sins, and the receiving of Thy Holy Ghost.
{Aloud). So that we may be made worthy with thanks
givings to glorify Thee, with the Father and with the
Holy Ghost now and ever. Amen.
Then, turning towards the people, he says :
Peace be to all.
Choir, And with thy spirit.
Priest {aloud). In Thy peace, O Christ our Saviour,
which is above all thoughts and words, strengthen us and
keep us from fear of all evil ; and reckon us among Thy
true worshippers, who worship Thee in spirit and in truth.
Because unto Thee, Most Holy Trinity, belong glory,
power, and honour, now and ever. Amen.
Our Father, Which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that
trdspass against us, And lead us not into temptation ;
But deliver us from evil.
Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah.
Then is sung :
Psalm CXVIII.
r\ GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious.
because His mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now confess, that He is gracious : and that
His mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now confess : that His mercy
endureth for ever.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 307
4 Yea, let them now that fear the Lord confess : that
His mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called upon the Lord in trouble: and the Lord
heard me at large.
6 The Lord is on my side : I will not fear, what man
doeth unto me.
7 The Lord taketh my part with them that help
me : therefore shall I see my desire upon mine ene
mies. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord : than to put any con
fidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord : than to put any con
fidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me round about : but in the
Name of the Lord will I destroy them.
11 They kept me in on every side, they kept me in, I
say, on every side : but in the Name of the Lord will I
destroy them.
12 They came about me like bees, and are extinct even
as the fire among the thorns : for in the Name of the
Lord I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me, that I might fall : but
the Lord was my help.
14 The Lord is my strength, and and my song : and
is become my salvation.
15 The voice of joy and health is in the dwellings of
the righteous : the right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty
things to pass.
16 The right hand of the Lord hath the pre-eminence :
the right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to
pass. 17 I shall not die, but live : and declare the works of
the Lord.
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308 The Armenian Church,
18 The Lord hath chastened and corrected me : but he
hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open me the gates of righteousness : that I may
go into them, and give thanks unto the Lori\
Here they enter the church, saying:
20 This is the gate of the Lord : the righteous shall
enter into it.
21 I will thank Thee, for Thou hast heard me : and
art become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders refused : is become
the head-stone in the corner.
23 This is the Lord's doing: and it is marvellous in our
eyes. 24 This is the day which the Lord hath made : we will
rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Help me now, O Lord : O Lord, send us now pro
sperity. 26 Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord :
we have wished you good luck, ye that are of the house of
the Lord.
27 God is the Lord Who hath showed us light : bind
the sacrifice with cords, yea, even unto the horns of the
Altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will thank Thee : Thou art
my God, and I will praise Thee.
29 O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious : and
His mercy endureth for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Choir. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah ; Glory be to Thee,
O Lord. Thrice.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 309
Then is sung:
Psalm C.
Q BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands : serve the Lord
with gladness, and come before His presence with a
song. 2 Be ye sure that the Lord He is God : it is He that
hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we are His people,
and the sheep of His pasture.
3 O go your way into His gates with thanksgiving, and
into His courts with praise : be thankful unto Him, and
speak good of His Name.
4 For the Lord is gracious, His mercy is everlasting:
and His truth endureth from generation to genera
tion. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost ; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. And the Deacon proclaims :
Let us entreat the Lord, through the Church, that
through her He will save us from our sins ; and quicken us
by the grace of His mercy. Lord God Almighty, save
us, and have mercy upon us.
Then the Priest says this prayer :
In the midst of the temple and in presence of the sacred
and bright emblems, and of the Holy place, do we worship
Thee, humbled with fear before Thee ; we glorify Thy
marvellous and awful Godhead, and we offer unto Thee,
blessing and glory, with the Father and with the Holy
Ghost, now and ever, world without end. Amen.

1 3 ! ° The Armenian Church.
¦¦ Then they sing the following hymn, turning towards the
font :
O Christ, Thou art the Sun of Righteousness, Who didst
arise upon this world and dispel the darkness of ignorance;
Who after Thy Death and Resurrection didst go up unto
the Father, from Whom Thou didst at first beam forth ;
Thou art worshipped by things in heaven and in earth,
together with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Where
fore do we also worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
Thou Spirit of Truth, art He Who, instead of the Word
begotten of the Father that went up to heaven, wast
sent, as Messenger from the Father on high, to comfort
those who suffer by reason of Adam's transgression, and
to arm the chosen band of the Apostles. Wherefore do we
also worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
This day, the painful and mighty travail of our first
mother is put an end to : inasmuch as what was born of
flesh unto death and corruption, is now born anew [or
from above] of the spirit in a child of light of the Heavenly
Father. Wherefore do we also worship the Father in
spirit and in truth.
The Priest then takes in his hand the holy Chrism, and the
Deacon says, aloud :
Let us pray to the Lord in peace. Let us entreat the
Lord, that the grace of the Holy Ghost may come down
through this Chrism.
Then the Priest thrice says, " Lord, have mercy upon us,"
and after that, this prayer :
Blessed be Thou, Lord God Almighty, Who didst
choose unto Thyself a new company of priests and kings,

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 311
a holy nation, a royal priesthood ; according to which Thou
didst at first anoint priests and kings and prophets with
this most holy oil. And now we beseech Thee, O Benefi
cent Lord, send the grace of Thy Most Holy Spirit, in
order that he who is to be anointed with this holy oil,
may thereby be sanctified with spiritual wisdom ; may be
enabled to resist and overcome the adversary, and be
strengthened to keep Thy commandments in innocency of
life ; to receive perfect instruction, and to exercise himself in
the service of God. So that, having his understanding en
lightened, he may so live in this world, as to save his soul
alive, to the honour and praise of the Most Holy Trinity;
and to be made worthy to attain unto the inheritance of
the saints in light ; there to glorify the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
He then pours water into the font cross-wise, after which he
says :

I

Psalm XXIX. 3-10.
T is the Lord that commandeth the waters : it is the
glorious God, that maketh the thunder.
4 It is the Lord that ruleth the sea; the voice of the
Lord is mighty in operation : the voice of the Lord is a
glorious voice.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedar-trees : yea,
the Lord breaketh the cedars of Libanus.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf : Libanus
also, and Sirion, like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of Lord divideth the flames of fire ; the
voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness : yea, the Lord
shaketh the wilderness of Cades.
8 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth

312 The Armenian Church.
young, and discovereth the thick bushes : in his temple
doth every man speak of His honour.
9 The Lord sitteth above the water-flood : and the Lord
remaineth a King for ever.
10 The Lord shall give strength unto his people : the
Lord shall give His people the blessing of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the
Holy Ghost; both now and ever, and world without end.
Amen. Then is read the Lesson from
Ezekiel xxxvi. 25 — 28.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall
be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and
a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will you give an heart
of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause
you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judg
ments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that
I gave to your fathers ; and ye shall be My people, and I
will be your God. After that this Epistle.
Galatians iii. 24 — 29.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For
ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For
as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female : for
ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's,

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 313
then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise. Clerks. Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah.
Priest. The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore can I lack
nothing. Then the Priest reads the Gospel :
S. John iii. 1 — 8.
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night,
and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art
a Teacher come from God ; for no man can do these
miracles that Thou'doest, except God be with him. Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can
a man be born when he is old ? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born ? Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, ana
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the
Spirit. The Deacon. {Aloud.) Let us also pray to the Lord, in
peace. Let us entreat Him for His peace that comes from above,
and for His Salvation.
Let us pray for the peace of the whole world, and for the
confirmation of the Holy Church.

314 The Armenian Church.
Let us pray for our Patriarch N., and for the life and
salvation of his soul.
Let us pray that the Lord will vouchsafe to prosper the
work of our hands, and of the Priest who administers this
Baptism. Let us pray for the coming down of the Holy Ghost,
and that He will give efficacy to this water now before us.
Let us pray that it may receive the blessing given to the
Jordan, and be for the healing of both body and soul.
Let us pray for the new birth [or from above] of those to
be baptized therein, that they may be made children of
light and children of the day.
Making mention of the ever virgin Mary, Mother of
God, and of St. John the Baptist, and of all the saints ;
and through them let us entreat the Lord.
And for the unity of our faith let us pray the Lord :
Committing ourselves and one another unto the Lord.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord our God, according to Thy
great Mercy, we beseech Thee with one accord.
Then the Priest thrice says, " Lord, have mercy upon us;"
after which he repeats this prayer :
Thou, O Lord, with Thy great power didst make the sea
and the dry land, and all that in them is ; Thou didst
sever the waters that are above for the abode of luminous
powers, which abide to Thine everlasting praise and glory.
Thou didst also send Thy Holy Apostles, giving them the
order to teach all nations, [heathens,] and to baptize them
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost ; Thou didst also decree by Thy Holy Word, that
such as are not born of water and of the Spirit, cannot
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; by which sentence,
Thy servants being made afraid and made to long for life

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 315
everlasting, come of their free will to this baptism of
spiritual water.
We therefore beseech Thee, O Lord, send down Thy
Holy Spirit upon this water, and sanctify [purify, cleanse]
it, as thou didst sanctify [purify] the Jordan by Thy going
down into it, Thou, Lord Jesus Christ, wholly clean from
sin, as a figure of this washing in this font of a new birth
for all men. Grant, therefore, that this water may be for
the remission of sins, and for the receiving of the Holy
Ghost, unto him who is now to be baptized therein ; unto
the adoption of sons by Thy Heavenly Father, and unto
the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. So that being
cleansed from sin, he may live in this world according to
Thy good pleasure, and that in the world to come he may
receive unspeakable happiness with all Thy saints ; with
joyfulness praising Thee, and for ever glorifying Thee,
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Amen. Priest. Peace be to you all.
0 Lord God, Who art to be feared, God Almighty,
Maker of all things, both visible and invisible ; Who with
Thy great power didst create the heavens and the earth,
at whose rebuke the waters roar and are troubled ; Who at
Thine awful bidding didst shut up the deep, and fasten the
ountains thereof by the word of Thy mouth ; Thou didst
make the waters, and place them above the heavens ; Thou,
Lord, with Thy great power didst make the sea and the
dry- land, and didst break in pieces the head of the dragon
in the waters ; Thou art to be feared, and who can abide
before Thee ? Now, therefore, O Lord, we beseech Thee
of Thy great pity and mercy to look down upon Thy
creatures and upon these waters, and send the gift of Thy
salvation, and the great and powerful blessing that fell on

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the Jordan, that does good and that gives life, and Thy
most merciful strength : so that foul and impure Satan,
with his evil desires, be scared and flee from him, and be
driven out of this creature of Thy hands. Wherefore let
us call upon Thy great Name, O Lord, which is glorified,
and doing wonders against our adversary. By the fear
thereof, and by the sign of the Holy Cross, the enemy will
flee, and the wicked Son of Evil will be driven away from
him ; the power of the enemy will be overcome and brought
low by Thy triumphant Name. Let not the demon of dark
ness lurk hidden within these waters, neither let him have
the power to go down therein together with Thy servant
now to be baptized therein ; we therefore pray Thee,
O Lord our God, scatter and drive away from him the
evil spirit of deceit, that it be let go and weakened by Thy
sovereign power; and that being thus frightened away, it
may never again come near him. That this Catechumen,
together with us, may glorify the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, now and ever.. Amen.
The Priest then takes the holy oil in his hand, and makes
the sign of the Cross, saying:
Alleluiah, Alleluiah, Alleluiah. This water is blessed and
sanctified, by the sign of the Holy Cross, and by the holy
Chrism, and by the Holy Gospel, and by the grace given on
this day. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost. {He makes the sign three times.)
Then is said :
Blessing and glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost, now and for ever. Amen.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 317
Then the Priest pours three drops of the holy oil on the
water, while the Choir [or Clerks] sing the following
hymn :
When the Dove sent from above, came down with the
sound of a mighty voice from heaven, in the form of a
bright light, and clothed with an armour that did not
burn the Apostles while they were sitting in the upper
chamber ;
Dove immaterial, unsearchable, Who searchest into the
deep things of God, Who, sent from the Father,
announcest the awful Second Coming, which the Godhead
in One Essence have taught us to look to ;
Blessing on high be to the Holy Ghost, Who comes
from the Father, through Whom the Apostles drank of the
cup of immortality, and called heaven and earth to keep
the same feast.
The Priest then strips the child, [or Catechumen,'] and says
this prayer :
We pray Thee, O Lord, Who hast called this Thy ser
vant to the cleansing [sanctifying, or purification] and
enlightening of Baptism, to make him fit to receive Thy
great grace. Strip him of the contact [or covering] of
sin ; renew him unto newness of life ; and fill him with the
power of Thy Holy Spirit, to the increase [renewing] of
the glory of Thy Christ. For unto Thee belong honour,
praise, and glory, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost,
now and ever. Amen.
Then the Priest asks the Godfather :
What does this Child [or Catechumen] seek?

3 1 8 The Armenian Church.
And the Godfather answers :
Faith, hope, charity, and Baptism. To be baptized and
made righteous, to be cleansed from sin, to be set free
from devils, and to serve God. {He repeats this three
times.) Then the Priest asks the Child's name, gives it him, and lets
him down into the water, saying :
This N., servant of God, who is come from the state of
childhood [or of a Catechumen] to Baptism, is baptized in
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Bought by the Blood of Christ, from the
bondage of sin, he receives the adoption of a child of the
Heavenly Father ; to be joint-heir with Christ, and the
temple of the Holy Ghost.
While saying the above, the Priest buries the Child [or
Catechumen] three times in the water, as a figure of
Christ's three days' burial. Then taking the Child out
of the water, he thrice pours a handful of water on his
head, saying:
As many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have
put on Christ : Alleluiah. As many of you as have been
enlightened by the Father, the Holy Ghost is put into
you. Alleluiah. Then they say :
Psalm XXXIV. 19—22.
/'IREAT are the troubles of the righteous : but the Lord
delivereth him out of all.
20 He keepeth all his bones : so that not one of them
broken.

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 319
21 But misfortune shall slay the ungodly: and they that
hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22 The Lord delivereth the souls of His servants :
and all they that put their trust in Him shall not be
destitute. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son ; and to the
Holy Ghost : both now and ever, and to ages of ages.
Amen. Alleluiah to the Son.*

* [On a sheet printed with the Order of Holy Baptism from this rubric to
the end of it, and given me by the Armenian Archbishop Zacharias, at Jeru
salem, in 1842, this part of the Baptismal Service is explained in greater
detail, thus :
After the preceding prayers, the Priest asks .- What seekest thou?
Then the Catechumen, or the Godfather, answers .¦ To be baptized.
The Priest then replies .¦ Seekest thou it in truth ?
Then the Godfather says : I seek in faith to be baptized and cleansed from
sin, and to be set free from devils, and to be made a servant of God.
The Priest then says .- According to thy faith be it done unto thee.
He then asks the Child's name, and with his left hand takes the Child's
neck, or his two hands, and with the right hand his two feet, and
dipping him three times in the Holy Font, his face turned to the east, the
Priest then says :
N.N., servant of God, who came willingly to be made Catechumen, and
from being a Catechumen unto Baptism, is now baptized through my hands,
in the Name of the Father,
Here he pours a handful of water with his right hand upon the Child's
head; then says :
And of the Son,
Here he again pours a handful of water upon the Child's head; then
says :
And of the Holy Ghost.
Here he again pours a handful of water upon the Child's head. (This is
the essential part of Baptism.)

320 The Armenian Church.

Then follows the Holy Gospel :
St. Matthew iii. 13 — 17.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John,
to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him, saying, I
have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to
me ? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be
so now : for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness.

After this the Priest takes with his right hand the two feet of the Child,
and with his left hand his two hands, his face turned to the east, his
head up and his feet down, and then he dips him into the holy water,
saying .-
Bought by the Blood of Christ from the bondage of sin, by receiving the
adoption of son of the Heavenly Father, and becoming joint-heir with Christ,
and a temple of the Holy Ghost;
And again dipping him, he says .-
Bought by the Blood of Christ from the bondage of sin, by receiving the
adoption of son of the Heavenly Father, and becoming joint-heir with Christ
and a temple of the Holy Ghost ;
And again dipping him, he says ;
Bought by the Blood of Christ from the bondage of sin, by receiving the
adoption of son of the Heavenly Father, and becoming joint-heir with Christ*
and a temple of the Holy Ghost.
The Priest dips him thrice, burying the old sins ; thus signifying the three
days' burial of Christ. Then, in token of communion [with Christ], the
Priest washes the whole body, and says aloud :
As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.
Alleluiah. And as many of you as have been enlightened into the Father,
the Holy Ghost shall be attached [given] to' you. Alleluiah.
We have printed this for the greater ease of the officiating priests ; 2£-
cording to the order prescribed in our excellent Mashdots. Zacharias, Archbisho >
Jerusalem, 1 841 . — S. C M.]

The Rite of Holy Baptism. 321
Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water : and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of
God descending like a Dove, and lighting upon Him :
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my Beloved
Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
Our Father, Which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ;
"3ut deliver us from evil. Amen.
Here ends the Sacrament of Baptism ; after which begins
the second, third, and fourth Sacraments of the Chrism, of
the Greater Anointing, and of the Communion of the
newly baptized [Child or Catecnumen.]

( 322 )

NOTES.

Note A. — Page 51.
The Fast of Nineveh is also called " That of the Fore
runner." Armenian writers are divided as to its origin ;
some consider it a commemoration of the fast of the
Ninevites ; others as a remembrance of the expulsion of our
first parents from Paradise; while some think it had its
origin in a fast kept by the nation previous to their baptism,
after the return of King Chosnes. The best explanation
seems, however, to be the one here adopted, and which
in itself explains the name. " The Fast, the Forerunner"
i.e., of Lent. The observance of this season has always
been a great source of contention between the Greeks
and Armenians ; and the former, among many others,
have invented the following absurd story regarding its
institution. " A Jacobite monk, named Serb, had a fa
vourite dog, which always ran before him, and so was
called " Forerunner." On its death Serb instituted this
fast, and gave it the name of his dog.
Note B. — Page 94.
It may be worth noticing when the saints commemorated
in the Liturgy lived ; the reader cannot fail to see the great
difference between the " Remember them, O Lord, and have
mercy upon them " of the Orthodox, and the " have mercy
upon us " of the Latin Rite.

Notes. 323
In the First Century.
The Blessed Virgin Mary.
S. John Baptist.
S. Stephen. In the Third Century.
S. Onephore. (Onephorus.) Hermit of Africa.
The Abbot S. Mark. Hermit of Africa.
S. Seraphion. Hermit of Africa.
S. Evachre. Archdeacon to S. Basil the Great.
In the Fourth Century.
S. Gregory the Illuminator. An early Bishop of Armenia,
S. Aristaces. (Youngest son of S. Gregory.) „
S. Vertanes. (Eldest son of S. Gregory.) „
S. Husick (or Oscan, son of S. Vertanes.) „
S. Daniel. Martyr. „
S. Gregory. Martyr (Grandson of S. Gregory), and
Bishop of the Agooans.
S. Nierces I. (The Great-grandson of S. Husick.) Pa
triarch of Armenia.
S. Isaac. (Son of Nierces.) Patriarch of Armenia.
S. Khat. (Archdeacon of S. Nierces.)
S. Mesrop. (Translator of the Holy Bible.)
S. Paul. (Egyptian Hermit.)
S. Antony. (Egyptian Hermit.)
S. Pogose (or Paul, a disciple of S. Antony.)
S. Machrins. (Macarius.)
S. Barsumas. (Bishop of Edessa, not to be confounded
with the Monk of the same name who opposed S. Leo at
the Council of Chalcedon.)
S. Nilos. (Author of many works on Aceticism.)
S. Arsenee. (Arsenius.)
Y 2

324 The Armenian Church.
In the Seventh Century.
S. John of Odsentsi. (Patriarch; not commemorated
;n the Uniat rite.) In the Tenth Century.
S. Gregory of Narighon. (A Vartabed, celebrated for his
theological writings.) In the Twelfth Century.
S. Nierces V. (The Gracious.)
SS. Gregory and Nierces. (Two well-known writers of
theology among the Armenians ; neither of them are com
memorated in the Uniat rite.)
In the Fourteenth Century.
SS. Gregory and Moses of Tarivan. (Both doctors, held
in much esteem among the orthodox Armenians ; not
commemorated in the Uniat rite.)
Note C. — Page 96.
After the petitions for the " faithful departed " are
finished, all the deacons who have sung these petitions on
what we call the Gospel side of the Altar move to the
Epistle side, and there chant the prayers for the living. I
am quite unable to conjecture the meaning of this act of
ritual, unless it is that the unconsecrated oblations were
formerly offered, especially for the dead, on the Table of
the Prothesis ; and the consecrated elements more par
ticularly for the living on the Altar ; the latter are placed
towards the Priest's right hand, and consequently on the
Epistle side. The act of ritual was first introduced in
the ninth century by the great Armenian ritualist Bishop
Chosroes.

Notes. 325
Note D. — Page 135.
Bishops wear a Pall of the same shape as the Oma-
pharion worn by Greek Metropolitans. It answers to the
Latin vestment except in its being very much broader; one
end of it passes over the left shoulder, and hangs down
behind. When a Bishop celebrates, the two senior Dea
cons, besides the Priest's Cap, wear the Deacon's stole
crossed in the Greek manner.

Note E. — Page 141.
"The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs" is believed
tt have been the composition of a converted Jew, at the
end of the first century of the Christian era. This book
was translated into Armenian with the Canonical Scrip
tures. A Bishop of Lincoln in the thirteenth century
translated it into Latin, and his version may be found in
the Abbe Migne's " Encyclopedie Theologique."
The Apocryphal account of the death of S. John is found
in all editions of the Armenian Bible ; it seems to have
been translated most likely from Greek into Armenian
during the eleventh century, but it is not at present
known to exist in any language except Armenian. This
book has always been considered as a work of great value
by Armenian Theologians, and Archbishop Nierces of
Lampron composed a commentary upon it in the twelfth
century. Note F. — Page 194.
"The Uniat Armenians." — Paragraphs about the United
Armenian Patriarch, his election, on the one hand, his de
position, his flight to Rome, and his reception by the Pope,
have lately constantly appeared in the daily papers, and

326 The Armenian Church.
must have puzzled many who are not acquainted with the
noble stand which these Easterns are -riaking against the
new pretensions of Rome. And little as we are able to
sympathise with them in their schism from their own
Church, still the stand they are making on Catholic prin
ciples in refusing to accept the heresies propagated by the
Vatican Council, cannot fail to be a matter of great interes
to all members of the English Church, and it consequently
seems advisable, even at the risk of some repetition, to add
the following to what has already been said on the subject.
Since the failure of the Council of Florence to effect a
union between the East and West, Rome has never ceased
in her endeavour to conquer the East, and to hold her ii
the same state of subjection as she does the greater part of
the West. Among other means, she has at various times
nominated certain prelates who hold office about the Papal
Court as titular Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alex
andria, and Constantinople ; the latter claiming, without any
shadow of a succession, to be the representative of that Latin
Patriarchate which was founded by the Venetians after the
conquest of Constantinople in 1204. And strange incon
sistency, notwithstanding that one of these titular eccle
siastics claims to be the successor of S. Peter at Antioch,
Rome actually allows another Prelate within her pale to
occupy the same throne, viz., he who is known as the
Uniat Chaldean Patriarch, the head of those Christians,
who, having abandoned the Nestorian and Eutychian
heresies, have made their submission to Rome instead of
to the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.
These appendages to the Papal Court flatter the pride of
the Latins by representing to them the slavery in which
they would fain hold the East ; and on occasions when the
Pope makes his appearance accompanied by these eccle-

Notes.

327

siastics, Italian priests feast their eyes on the sight oi
them, even as did the mob of old on the captive kings in
the triumph of a victorious Roman general.
Notwithstanding this pseudo-restoration of the Oriental
Patriarchates, the Court of Rome, utterly regardless of the
anathemas which have been hurled by General Councils
against those who intrude Bishops into dioceses already
occupied (and these dioceses occupied by Prelates of her
own Communion, not by those whom she calls schismatics),
has at different times recognised as distinct bodies not
even nominally dependent on the soi-disant Oriental Pa
triarchs, various national Churches under Patriarchs of
their own. One of these, the Primate of the Maronite
Church, submitted to Rome as early as 1182, driven to do
so by the tyranny of the heretical Patriarch of Antioch,
and hoping by so doing to obtain some Western aid against
the Mahometans. This body of Christians has always re
mained extremely loyal to Rome, while she in her turn has
never interfered with them, and to the present day they
retain the right of an absolutely free election of their Pa
triarch, his nomination being merely notified to Rome, and
her consent not being considered necessary for his instal
lation. This little national Church has its eight diocesan
Bishops, and retains the use of its own Liturgy (an adapta
tion of the Syriac of S. James), Offices, and Rites.
Another National Church under a Latin Patriarch of
their own is that of the Uniat Armenians. When, for
political reasons, the Armenians became separated from
their own Patriarchate of Constantinople, they found them
selves leaning more and more towards the Pope, hoping
through his influence to obtain assistance against the
Eastern Emperor on the one hand, and the Mahometans
on the other; and the natural consequence was that before

328 The Armenian Church.
the twelfth century they had adopted many Latin customs,
which separated them much more from their own Patri
arch than any question of doctrine would be likely to
have done ; and notwithstanding many noble efforts of the
ecclesiastical authorities on both sides, the Mahometan
conquest of Upper Armenia in the thirteenth century pre
vented any reunion from taking place. Ever since the
rupture with Constantinople the Armenian Church, doubt
lessly as a punishment for her withdrawal from the juris
diction of her own Patriarch, has been rent with internal
schisms. Catholicos has frequently been set up against
Catholicos, Patriarch against Patriarch, Bishop against
Bishop, and even parish priest against parish priest, and
towards the end of the fourteenth century Upper and
Lower Armenia found themselves under the jurisdiction of
two rival prelates, one the Catholicos of Armenia, and the
other the Patriarch of Cilicia. This latter prelate and
the ecclesiastics who adhered to him being subjects of
the Latin kings of Lesser Armenia, they consequently
were more influenced by Rome than their brethren in
Upper Armenia; and, indeed, there seems little doubt but
that at times some of the Patriarchs of Cilicia acknow
ledged the quasi-authoritative position claimed over them
in those days by the Bishop of Rome, but the idea was
always repudiated by the whole Armenian Church, although
the idea of Rome as the centre of Christian unity continued
to be held by individual members of the Church, not indeed
as a matter of faith, but merely as a pious belief; and those
who held it were not refused communion by their brethren,
nor did they refuse to communicate with them. With the
fall of the Lesser Armenian kingdom fell the Patriarchate
of Cilicia; and after some little time the jurisdiction of the
Catholicos at Etchmiadzine was acknowledged by all the

Notes.

329

Bishops in Cilicia, including the Patriarch himself, whose
descendant continues to this day to sit as a member of the
National Synod, retaining the titular title of the Patriarch
of Sis. Although the Court of Rome well knew that a large
number of Armenians believed that communion with her
as the centre of unity was necessary, she still allowed them
to continue to receive the sacraments from those she must
have held to be schismatical bishops and clergy; and this
state of affairs was allowed to continue for many years
until the Dominicans, who had formerly had much influ
ence in Cilicia, began to collect together and minister
to those who now called themselves Catholic Latin or
Uniat Armenians. These Fathers used their own (the
Dominican) Mass translated into the Armenian language ;
and as soon as a few Armenian priests joined them, an
edition of the Orthodox Armenian Liturgy was published
by the congregation of Rites at Rome, with the alterations
already mentioned. For the next hundred years this state
of affairs continued. The Armenians who recognised the
Papal claims continued to resort to the national clergy for
baptism, marriage, and indeed for all the sacraments except
penance and communion, which they received from Latin
priests, or from such of their own clergy as had submitted
to Rome, if any were to be found in the neighbourhood ;
the latter do not in any case seem to have had churches,
but at Smyrna and other places altars in the Latin churches
were set apart for their use, and indeed at times they were
allowed to administer the Holy Communion in the national
churches. But now to go back to the conquest of Constan
tinople by the Turks. The Mahometans, always on the
conquest of any Christian province or town, governed the

330 The Armenian Church.
different communities or sects each by means of its own
chief ecclesiastical authority, who was held responsible for
the good behaviour of his flock ; and after the final over
throw of the Greek empire and the conquest of Constanti
nople, each body of Christians in the Turkish dominions
had its Patrik (or Patriarch) at the court of the Sultan.
For this reason then, as has been already stated, an Ar
menian Patriarchate was founded in Constantinople in
1453, who, although recognised by the Government as
temporal head of all the Armenians in the empire, yet was
spiritually subject to the Catholicos at Etchmiadzine. A.
the Turkish Government only acknowledged the Patriarch
as head of all the Armenian nation, and as he of course
looked on the Uniats as deserters and schismatics from his
jurisdiction in spiritual things, he could not be expected to
attend to their wants in temporal matters, and finding
it almost impossible to obtain justice in the Patriarch's civil
courts, they were accustomed to place themselves under
the protection of foreign ambassadors. Another very
serious difficulty was that all the priests of the Uniat rite
had been ordained by the Orthodox Bishops, and conse
quently were unfaithful to their ordination vows in reject
ing the authority of the Catholicos, and in acknowledging
that of a foreign prelate.
To remedy this, as well as to increase the Papal influence
in the East, Pope Benedict XIV. created a Uniat Armenian
hierarchy, and claimed to restore the Patriarchate of Cilicia,
although, as we have already seen, the real Patriarch still
existed, although in course of time the title had changed
from Patriarch of Cilicia to that of Sis. The Uniat body
continued to have no legal status until 1830, when, owing
to the pressure put by France upon the Turkish Govern
ment, they were allowed the right of electing a Civil Chief

Notes. $$ i
to be independent of the National Patriarch. As their
spiritual head was not resident in Constantinople, a priest
was appointed to this office ; but it sometimes happened
that the Latin Armenian Bishop in Constantinople (who
had been appointed, as were other Bishops when the Uniat
Patriarchate was founded,) became Civil Patriarch.
By the Bull of Pope Benedict the strictest possible rules
regarding the free election of Patriarchs, Bishops, and
Clergy, were laid down, and were (until Bishops and
Priests educated at the Propaganda were forced upon the
Armenian congregations) strictly observed; indeed their
sentiments towards Ultramontanism is clear from the fol
lowing expression of opinion on the question of the supre
macy, given to the author by a learned Vartabed of this Rite,
and which he declared to be the doctrine always held by all
Uniats until the influence of the Propaganda clergy began
to be felt: — "Rome now happens to be the centre of the
Unity of the Church, and as such it is necessary to be in
communion with her. This centre might have been, or may
yet be, removed from the successor of S. Peter (under cer
tain conditions) ; and although, for the sake of continuing
in communion with Rome, we have for the time submitted
to certain alterations of our national rite, and to acts
of despotism, yet there is a boundary to all submission,
which we cannot allow to be passed. On this question of
the Papal Supremacy alone are we separated from our
brethren, the question of the Procession of the Holy Ghost
being a question of words, not of real difference of doctrine;
and we consider the National Church as quite free from
heresy on the question of Eutychianism, the false charge of
which aided so much their separation from the Greeks."
Owing to the foundation of the Civil Chiefship at Con
stantinople the Bishop there, either himself or by his

332 The Armenian Church.
nominee, became a far more important person than the
Patriarch of Cilicia, who continued to reside in his monas
tery on Mount Lebanon ; and in consequence of the evident
inconvenience of this arrangement, a few years ago, on the
promotion of Archbishop Hussain (who was at once the
Uniat Bishop in Constantinople and the civil Chief) to the
Patriarchate, he transferred the seat of the Patriarchate to
Constantinople, and so united both the chief civil and
spiritual authority in one person.
During the present century the Propaganda in Rome has
educated and trained for the Priesthood a large number of
young Armenian boys, and has filled them with the
most extreme Ultramontane ideas, and impressed them with
the idea that the strong national sentiments of their coun
trymen amount to grave heresy, which it is their duty to
root out to the best of their ability. Monsignor Hussain
the ex-Patriarch, (himself a pupil of the Propaganda) was,
soon after he left Rome, appointed as Vicar to the Uniat
Bishop at Constantinople, and being sent on a mission to
Rome on some business connected with the affairs of the
Church, managed secretly to obtain the reversion of the
Bishopric for himself; and some years afterwards on the
See becoming vacant the clergy and the laity met together
as usual to elect a new Bishop. To the astonishment of
all present Hussain produced his appointment to the See.
The electors absolutely refused to allow it to be even read,
and proceeded with the election according to the right
allowed them by the Bull of Pope Benedict XIV. But
most foolishly they allowed themselves to be persuaded to
elect Hussain, partly because they were not prepared to
quarrel with the court of Rome, without having consulted
their Patriarch and brethren at a distance, and partly
through French influence, which has never failed to assist

Notes. 333
the Roman Curia in any dispute with the Oriental.
But at the same time the electors made Hussain sign a
document, declaring that he held the See not in right of
the Papal brief, but as having been elected according to the
custom of the Church and nation. He at the same time
also executed a deed and took a solemn oath that he would,
to the day of his death, maintain the national rights and
privileges which had been granted by the Bull of Bene
dict XIV. The documents were placed in the archives of
the Church in Constantinople.
Hussain had no sooner obtained the Bishopric, than he
set to work to fill every post that became vacant with
pupils of the Propaganda ; and he managed so cleverly that
on a vacancy occurring in 1869 in the Patriarchate, he suc
ceeded, as we have seen above, in uniting in his own per
son the chief civil and ecclesiastical authority. He then
procured from Rome and accepted on behalf of the Church
five propositions, which absolutely abolished all the rights
guaranteed by Pope Benedict, and soon afterwards he de
clined to withdraw, as did the other Armenian Bishops,
from the Vatican Council. The sacrifice of their ecclesi
astical independence was mqre than the clergy or laity
could bear, and the disputes began, which now in the year
1872, have resulted in Hussain's deposition from the
Ecclesiastical Patriarchate by the Church, and his conse
quent deprival of the civil authority by the Turkish Govern
ment, and the appointment of the new Patriarch, who has
succeeded to both the Spiritual and Civil Chiefship. Mon
signor Hussain retired to Rome, where he was warmly
received by his Jesuit masters, who welcomed him as a
second S. Chrysostom. The parallel would have been more
correct if that great saint had fled to the wilds of Armenia,
with the treasure of the Church of Constantinople in his

334 The Armenian Church.
possession, and found there a palace and suite awaiting
his arrival. The feeling regarding the Uniat Armenians
about him generally may be pretty well summed up in a
letter the author lately received from an ecclesiastic of that
body, in these words : — " Our late Patriarch has left Con
stantinople. May God be with him, and may strangers
reward him for the way in which he has always served
their interests to the injury of his own nation." It remains
to be seen if the Pope will, in face of the opposition he has
met with from Cardinal Antonelli and others, venture to
issue a Bull of Excommunication against the new Patri
arch and his adherents.
Many charges of tyranny and abuse of patronage have
been brought against the ex-Patriarch, but he seems to have
been acting under instructions from Rome in filling up
every bishopric that became vacant with pupils of the
Propaganda. This gave the more offence, as the Mechi-
taristic seminaries at Venice and Constantinople, and the
patriarchal school at Mount Lebanon would have been quite
sufficient to provide men of learning and position for these
bishoprics, and if given in moderation no one would have
objected to some of the patronage falling to the pupils of
the Propaganda.
Another very serious charge against the late Patriarch
was that he allowed, without any remonstrance, Armenians
to be ordained as priests for the Latin Rite, a thing most
strictly forbidden in former times by different Popes, more
especially by Benedict XIV. He also has seen without
remonstrance several Bishops consecrated in Rome at the
hands of Latin Bishops, and by the Latin Rite ; and in fact,
has left no stone unturned to destroy the little independence
remaining to the Uniat Armenian Church.
Whether he has been right or wrong in so doing may

Notes. 3 3 £
possibly be a question ; but there can be no doubt that he
has repeatedly broken the solemn vows he took at his
installation as Patriarch. He has now been deposed by his
own Synod, sitting at Constantinople, who have elected in
his stead Monsignore Joannes Kipelian, titular Uniat
Bishop of Diabekir, who was installed on the 30th April of
the present year, 1872.
Thus the Uniat Armenian Church, as a punishment
for its own schism, finds itself divided into two parts ;
the one, consisting of most of the Propaganda Bishops,
but not all (for some have been true to the Faith their
fathers died for), holding to Monsignore Hussain and
the decrees of the Vatican Council ; the other consisting
of the remaining Bishops, about eight, a large majority
of the clergy and laity, acknowledging the new Patriarch
and consequently out of communion with Rome. Tnis
latter party have the sympathy of the majority of those
Uniat Armenians who are not actually affected by this un
happy division, i.e., those in Italy and in Austria ; and
although the Propaganda at the commencement of the
quarrel intended to have insisted on these latter acknow
ledging the jurisdiction of Hussain, they have now
allowed the question to drop, finding it would be impossible
to effect it.
There now remain three courses open to the Uniat
Armenian Church : first, to remain equally separated from
their own Church and from the Latin Communion, which
considering their comparatively small number hardly seems
possible ; secondly, to return to their allegiance to Rome,
which will, humanly speaking, lead in a few years to the
utter abolition of their rite : thirdly, to come to some such
terms as this with their national and proper ecclesiastical
chief at Etchmiadzine : — " That the Orthodox Armenian

3 j6 The Armenian Church.
Patriarch at Constantinople should consent to the Uniat
Patriarch's retaining all his jurisdiction over the bishops,
clergy, and laity who now acknowledge him, and that the
survivor should succeed to the Patriarchate over both parties,
and if the present Uniat prelate be the survivor that he
should acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Catholicos at
Etchmiadzine in the same manner as does the present
Patriarch, and that the same agreement should be come to
in all places which have Bishops of both rites." If some
such reunion could be carried out, the so-called Uniats
would for their part gain much in spiritual graces, which
the healing of a schism must bring ; and the Orthodox
would profit much by the learning and knowledge of the
West that would be engrafted into it. May God put it into
the hearts of His servants to further such a good work !

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