Dissertation by Jesse S Arlen
PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 2021
This dissertation revolves around the literary works and activities of a significant but little k... more This dissertation revolves around the literary works and activities of a significant but little known figure of the tenth century AD, Anania of Narek. To date, no monograph has been written on him in a Western language, nor have any of his books been translated. The goal of this project is to contextualize his works and recover his impact on several of the primary developments in the Near East and Mediterranean that marked his era and in so doing offer a novel view into the multifaceted and interconnected worlds of the period’s various and competing ethnoreligious communities. Anania was the first abbot of Narek monastery, which was founded during a regional explosion of cenobitic monastic institutions. Through a reading of his Book of Instruction and other sources, I present a picture of the intellectual and ascetic-mystical educational system he initiated there. This system became the crucible that formed several of the leading figures of the next generation, including Uxtanēs of Sebasteia and Grigor of Narek. One of the first of the major medieval monastic academies, Narek became a model for later ones that endured throughout the Armenian oikoumené as intellectual and artistic centers into the early modern period. Anania also was caught up at the center of the Tʿondrakian controversy, which had its origins in a Christian community existing outside the structure of the official church in the borderlands between the Byzantine Empire and ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. Through a careful reexamination of the sources, I offer a new perspective on the development of “Tʿondrakecʿi” as a heretical epithet and explain how ascetic figures such as Anania could be denounced as such by the official church hierarchy. Anania was also at the forefront of the Armenian Church’s self-defense vis-à-vis the assimilationist agenda of the Byzantine Church and Empire in its eastward expansion. Reading his Root of Faith alongside other contemporaneous texts, I reconstruct the vardapets’ (theological doctors) defense of their church’s right to autonomous existence and their self-presentation as preservers of the faith of early Christianity, in universal consensus and communion with the other Christian communities living outside of the Byzantine Empire in Egypt, Ethiopia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, India, and China.
Articles (Peer-Reviewed) by Jesse S Arlen
St. Nersess Theological Review, 2024
Armeniaca: International Journal of Armenian Studies, 2023
Making use of theoretical insights from “History of the Book” scholarship, this paper examines th... more Making use of theoretical insights from “History of the Book” scholarship, this paper examines the way in which Mkhit‘ar of Sebastia made use of paratexts (title pages, frontispieces, dedications, epigraphs, prefaces, illustrations, headings, epilogues, appendices, etc.) in his ‘publishing mission’ (to use Sahak Djemdjemian’s appelation) to shape readerly taste and influence the way in which his books were read, received, and interpreted. Through introductory poems, illustrations, and playful word games, he presented himself as a second Mashtots and his own students like the famous 5th-c. disciples of that vardapet, who were meant to transmit and create in the same Armenian Christian literary tradition, under the aegis of the Roman Catholic Church.
Revue des études arméniennes, 2022
A contribution for a Festschrift in honor of Fr. Levon Zekiyan, this article presents the first E... more A contribution for a Festschrift in honor of Fr. Levon Zekiyan, this article presents the first English translation and study of Anania Narekac῾i’s “Instruction to Priests (Xrat k῾ahanayic῾).” Preceding the translation is a brief discussion of Anania’s life and literary works, highlighting his central role in several of the major ecclesiastical developments affecting tenth-century Armenia, as well as a discussion of the main contents of the instruction, including correspondences between its language and the service for the ordination of priests as it was known in the tenth century.
Saint Nersess Theological Review, 2023
E-SAS: Entries of the Society for Armenian Studies, 2022
Journal of the Society for Armenain Studies, 2020
The major developments of the early modern period had an uneven impact on urban and rural dweller... more The major developments of the early modern period had an uneven impact on urban and rural dwellers, leading to divergences in worldview and mentality between the two demographics. This article reflects upon these differences through a microhistorical study of an episode in Joseph Emin’s Life and Adventures, where Emin, an eighteenthcentury “port Armenian” encounters Armenian villagers in the Ottoman town of Jinis. My reading of this episode provides a focus for broader reflections on the growing divergences between the viewpoints of a port Armenian like Emin, who was connected to the developments taking place in the early modern world, and that of rural dwellers like the local villagers and priest of Jinis, who were largely disconnected from the same developments.
Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies , 2018
Most surviving texts from late antique and medieval Christianity reveal a profound preoccupation ... more Most surviving texts from late antique and medieval Christianity reveal a profound preoccupation with asceticism. Many authors viewed their literary work as an ascetic discipline in its own right, and some texts were composed specifically to be used in conjunction with the performance of an ascetic practice. This paper centers on two such texts, written in different languages, centuries, and ascetic contexts, but bearing the similarity that they were both written to be used while performing vigil or keeping watch. The first are hymns (madrāše) of the fourth-century Syriac author Ephrem of Nisibis (d. 373). Seven of these are preserved only in Armenian, and bear the superscript Գիշերոյ կցուրդ (Gišeroy kc‘urd, “Hymn of the night”). There are other hymns written for vigil in Ephrem’s extant Syriac corpus. The second is the Մատեան Ողբերգութեան (Matean Ołbergut‘ean, Book of Lamentation) of the tenth-century Armenian author Gregory of Narek (Grigor Narekac‘i, ca. 945 – 1003), intended for the private, solitary watching of a medieval monk. I will focus in on the nexus between text and performative context, first illuminating the particular ascetic environment each author presupposed, before showing how our understanding of these texts is enriched when read with their ascetic, performative context in the background.
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, 2018
This paper treats the collection of fifty-one hymns (madrāše) of Ephrem the Syrian that survive i... more This paper treats the collection of fifty-one hymns (madrāše) of Ephrem the Syrian that survive in Armenian translation (Arm. kc‘urdk‘), with a particular focus upon one cycle of seven, the Hymns of the Night (Gišeroy kc‘urdk‘), which treat the topic of vigil. After a brief discussion of the collection as a whole, an annotated English translation of the Hymns of the Night (kc‘urdk‘ 10-16) is made for the first time. Following this is a commentary that discusses linguistic, historical and thematic evidence that supports the attribution to Ephrem and points towards a fifth-century date for the translation from Syriac to Armenian.
Manuscripta: A Journal for Manuscript Research , 2018
This article treats the Armenian manuscripts housed in the Vatican Library, offering an overview ... more This article treats the Armenian manuscripts housed in the Vatican Library, offering an overview of their main contents and principal value, as well as surveying the scholarly work undertaken on the collection. After a brief sketch of some general facts and characteristic features of Armenian manuscripts in general, the main value of the Vatican Library's collection is discussed in relation to Armenian studies at large. Significant individual manuscripts are highlighted and situated in the larger context of Armenian history. Materials bearing upon Roman Catholic missionary efforts among the Armenians and Armenian Catholic communities are discussed, as well as "hybrid" manuscripts that combine Armenian elements with other linguistic, cultural, and confessional traditions.
Studia Patristica Vol LXXXIII, Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015, 2017
This article presents John Chrysostom’s views on mourning and tears with some of his Graeco-Roman... more This article presents John Chrysostom’s views on mourning and tears with some of his Graeco-Roman philosophical predecessors in the background (Aristotle, Seneca and Plutarch). While Chrysostom’s views on mourning over the dead have much in common with the consolatory and philosophical writings of his pagan predecessors, his teaching on mourning over the living bears witness to an early Christian transformation in mourning. While Chrysostom urges his congregation to avoid excessive mourning over the dead, as advised many Graeco-Roman philosophers before him (although Chrysostom gives the additional reason that it compromises the Christian belief in the resurrection), he actively encourages mourning over the living. It is not the dead whom one should mourn for, but sin and sinners, because mourning over the dead can do nothing for them, while mourning with tears over sinners – both oneself and others – provides tremendous benefit both for the one who mourns and the one who is mourned for. Chrysostom identifies the proper place for such mourning to be not in public for outward display, but in private prayer. This alteration in the context (private rather than public) and objects of mourning (the living rather than the dead) qualifies it as an emotion– according to Aristotle’s definition (who himself had not considered mourning to be an emotion) – in that it is tied up with the interpersonal ramifications of actions,
alters one’s judgements, is ‘action-ready’; and is accompanied by pleasure and pain. Mourning was largely viewed as an obstacle to the philosophical life in pre- and non-Christian contexts, but due to the transformation of its understanding and function in the early Christian world, it was given a central role in the ‘philosophical’ life among Christians, as witnessed in the writings and preaching of John Chrysostom, who was influenced by contemporary ascetic thought and practices, in which mourning with tears had a central role. It holds such an important place in the preaching and ascetic program of John Chrysostom that he would have his hearers live in perpetual mourning.
Chapters in Edited Volumes by Jesse S Arlen
Western Armenian in the 21st Century: Challenges and New Approaches. Edited by Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Bedross Der Matossian. The Press at California State University, Fresno., 2018
Discovering the Septuagint: A Guided Reader. Edited by Karen H. Jobes. Grand Rapids: Kregel., 2016
Interest in the Septuagint today continues to grow stronger. Despite that interest, students have... more Interest in the Septuagint today continues to grow stronger. Despite that interest, students have lacked a guidebook to the text similar to the readers and handbooks that exist for the Greek New Testament. Discovering the Septuagint: A Guided Reader fills that need. Created by an expert on the Septuagint, this groundbreaking resource draws on Jobes's experience as an educator in order to help upper–level college, seminary, and graduate students cultivate skill in reading the Greek Old Testament.
This reader presents, in Septuagint canonical order, ten Greek texts from the Rahlfs—Hanhart Septuaginta critical edition. It explains the syntax, grammar, and vocabulary of more than 700 verses from select Old Testament texts representing a variety of genres, including the Psalms, the Prophets, and more.
The texts selected for this volume were chosen to fit into a typical semester. Each text (1) is an example of distinctive Septuagint syntax or word usage; (2) exemplifies the amplification of certain theological themes or motifs by the Septuagint translators within their Jewish Hellenistic culture; and/or (3) is used significantly by New Testament writers.
Papers by Jesse S Arlen
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, 2021
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, 2021
Book Reviews by Jesse S Arlen
St. Nersess Theological Review, 2024
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Dissertation by Jesse S Arlen
Articles (Peer-Reviewed) by Jesse S Arlen
alters one’s judgements, is ‘action-ready’; and is accompanied by pleasure and pain. Mourning was largely viewed as an obstacle to the philosophical life in pre- and non-Christian contexts, but due to the transformation of its understanding and function in the early Christian world, it was given a central role in the ‘philosophical’ life among Christians, as witnessed in the writings and preaching of John Chrysostom, who was influenced by contemporary ascetic thought and practices, in which mourning with tears had a central role. It holds such an important place in the preaching and ascetic program of John Chrysostom that he would have his hearers live in perpetual mourning.
Chapters in Edited Volumes by Jesse S Arlen
This reader presents, in Septuagint canonical order, ten Greek texts from the Rahlfs—Hanhart Septuaginta critical edition. It explains the syntax, grammar, and vocabulary of more than 700 verses from select Old Testament texts representing a variety of genres, including the Psalms, the Prophets, and more.
The texts selected for this volume were chosen to fit into a typical semester. Each text (1) is an example of distinctive Septuagint syntax or word usage; (2) exemplifies the amplification of certain theological themes or motifs by the Septuagint translators within their Jewish Hellenistic culture; and/or (3) is used significantly by New Testament writers.
Papers by Jesse S Arlen
Book Reviews by Jesse S Arlen
alters one’s judgements, is ‘action-ready’; and is accompanied by pleasure and pain. Mourning was largely viewed as an obstacle to the philosophical life in pre- and non-Christian contexts, but due to the transformation of its understanding and function in the early Christian world, it was given a central role in the ‘philosophical’ life among Christians, as witnessed in the writings and preaching of John Chrysostom, who was influenced by contemporary ascetic thought and practices, in which mourning with tears had a central role. It holds such an important place in the preaching and ascetic program of John Chrysostom that he would have his hearers live in perpetual mourning.
This reader presents, in Septuagint canonical order, ten Greek texts from the Rahlfs—Hanhart Septuaginta critical edition. It explains the syntax, grammar, and vocabulary of more than 700 verses from select Old Testament texts representing a variety of genres, including the Psalms, the Prophets, and more.
The texts selected for this volume were chosen to fit into a typical semester. Each text (1) is an example of distinctive Septuagint syntax or word usage; (2) exemplifies the amplification of certain theological themes or motifs by the Septuagint translators within their Jewish Hellenistic culture; and/or (3) is used significantly by New Testament writers.