Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism. The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond /Ed. I Dorfmann-Lazarev, 2021
In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palest... more In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palestine, which was conditioned by the population having different religions and belonging to different nations. Floor mosaics, characteristic of that very milieu, have a great importance among monuments created in it. Being created either by Christians of different confessions or by the order of the Jewish community, these pavements show amazing similarities in their common compositional solutions, as well as in their symbolic images and decorative elements. From this viewpoint we see an evident relationship between the mosaics of the Nirim Synagogue (538, Maꜥon-Nirim, Negev) and the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem (near the Damascus Gate, 6th–7th centuries). This circumstance allows speaking not only about a common cultural and artistic milieu but also about the existence of common workshops in this region. Either with the two mentioned monuments or in that of other similar monuments, the role of a common cultural basis has been decisive, namely the art of the Hellenistic period and the notions in the Holy Scripture about Paradise and its symbols.
Անիի Տիգրան Հոնենց եկեղեցին կառուցվել Է 13-րդ դարի սկզբին: Եկեղեցու որմնանկարների պատկերագրությու... more Անիի Տիգրան Հոնենց եկեղեցին կառուցվել Է 13-րդ դարի սկզբին: Եկեղեցու որմնանկարների պատկերագրությունը ունի բյուզանդական ուղղվածություն, իսկ տեսարանները ուղեկցվում են վրացերեն և հունարեն մակագրություններով: Այդ իսկ պատճառով ոմանք փորձում են ներկայացնել դրանք վրացական արվեստի համատեքստում: Церковь Тиграна Оненца в Ани была построена в начале XIII в. Иконографическая программа ансамбля в целом следует византийской традиции , а сцены имеют грузинские и греческие надписи, в силу чего ряд специалистов рассматривают их в контексте грузинского искусства.
The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden... more The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Rusisa, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Armenia. They explore the transmission of apocrypha in Ethiopia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Syria, Iran, Armenia, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Slavic world and Italy. Frequently rejected by Churches, apocryphal texts and legends had their own process of development, often becoming a medium of literary, artistic and ritual elaboration. Apocrypha also inspired esoteric thinking. Kindred apocryphal themes can be observed in Judaism since Late Antiquity. The book investigates the common roots of such traditions, as well as the interactions of Judaism and Christianity with Mystery cults and with the religions of Iran. Dissenting groups, such as the Samaritans, the followers of John the Baptist and the mediæval dualists, are also considered. Local adaptations of Biblical stories reveal the interests of the narrators, the painters and their intended audiences, which often conceived of themselves as living not in a post-Biblical era, but in direct continuity with Biblical heroes. For more informaiton and for ordering the book, please visit: https://brill.com/view/title/59404
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2021) (Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 600), 2021
Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism. The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond /Ed. I Dorfmann-Lazarev, 2021
In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palest... more In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palestine, which was conditioned by the population having different religions and belonging to different nations. Floor mosaics, characteristic of that very milieu, have a great importance among monuments created in it. Being created either by Christians of different confessions or by the order of the Jewish community, these pavements show amazing similarities in their common compositional solutions, as well as in their symbolic images and decorative elements. From this viewpoint we see an evident relationship between the mosaics of the Nirim Synagogue (538, Maꜥon-Nirim, Negev) and the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem (near the Damascus Gate, 6th–7th centuries). This circumstance allows speaking not only about a common cultural and artistic milieu but also about the existence of common workshops in this region. Either with the two mentioned monuments or in that of other similar monuments, the role of a common cultural basis has been decisive, namely the art of the Hellenistic period and the notions in the Holy Scripture about Paradise and its symbols.
ТРУДЫ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ЭРМИТАЖА XСIX TRANSACTIONS OF THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM, 2019
The peculiar monuments of early medieval art – the tetrahedral stelae and memorial columns
– are ... more The peculiar monuments of early medieval art – the tetrahedral stelae and memorial columns – are preserved on the territory of Transcaucasus and, in particular, of historical Armenia. Those monuments are strongly tied with the art of the Eastern Christian world and through it with the traditions of late Antique art. Armenian memorial columns have much in common with late Antique triumphal columns, and their depictions are present in early Christian pavements and miniatures. As for tetrahedral stelae with reliefs, they have something in common with early Byzantine minor architecture. The style and iconography of reliefs covering tetrahedral stelae give every reason to date them back to the seventh century. Moreover, we consider that the erection of the above-mentioned monuments was related to certain historical events: the liberation and restitution of the True Cross to Jerusalem (628). The sacred war of Emperor Heraclius, which took place on the territory of historical Armenia, was seen as an event of Armenian history and left a tangible trace in its history and literary tradition. So, it’s not surprising that the geographical location of tetrahedral stelae on the territory of Armenia, and Transcaucasus in general, determines a certain ‘way’ which coincides with the ‘itinerary’ of Heraclius’ army, along which churches and monasteries were founded and dedicated to the Holy Cross.
Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism. The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond /Ed. I Dorfmann-Lazarev, 2021
In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palest... more In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palestine, which was conditioned by the population having different religions and belonging to different nations. Floor mosaics, characteristic of that very milieu, have a great importance among monuments created in it. Being created either by Christians of different confessions or by the order of the Jewish community, these pavements show amazing similarities in their common compositional solutions, as well as in their symbolic images and decorative elements. From this viewpoint we see an evident relationship between the mosaics of the Nirim Synagogue (538, Maꜥon-Nirim, Negev) and the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem (near the Damascus Gate, 6th–7th centuries). This circumstance allows speaking not only about a common cultural and artistic milieu but also about the existence of common workshops in this region. Either with the two mentioned monuments or in that of other similar monuments, the role of a common cultural basis has been decisive, namely the art of the Hellenistic period and the notions in the Holy Scripture about Paradise and its symbols.
Անիի Տիգրան Հոնենց եկեղեցին կառուցվել Է 13-րդ դարի սկզբին: Եկեղեցու որմնանկարների պատկերագրությու... more Անիի Տիգրան Հոնենց եկեղեցին կառուցվել Է 13-րդ դարի սկզբին: Եկեղեցու որմնանկարների պատկերագրությունը ունի բյուզանդական ուղղվածություն, իսկ տեսարանները ուղեկցվում են վրացերեն և հունարեն մակագրություններով: Այդ իսկ պատճառով ոմանք փորձում են ներկայացնել դրանք վրացական արվեստի համատեքստում: Церковь Тиграна Оненца в Ани была построена в начале XIII в. Иконографическая программа ансамбля в целом следует византийской традиции , а сцены имеют грузинские и греческие надписи, в силу чего ряд специалистов рассматривают их в контексте грузинского искусства.
The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden... more The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Rusisa, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Armenia. They explore the transmission of apocrypha in Ethiopia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Syria, Iran, Armenia, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Slavic world and Italy. Frequently rejected by Churches, apocryphal texts and legends had their own process of development, often becoming a medium of literary, artistic and ritual elaboration. Apocrypha also inspired esoteric thinking. Kindred apocryphal themes can be observed in Judaism since Late Antiquity. The book investigates the common roots of such traditions, as well as the interactions of Judaism and Christianity with Mystery cults and with the religions of Iran. Dissenting groups, such as the Samaritans, the followers of John the Baptist and the mediæval dualists, are also considered. Local adaptations of Biblical stories reveal the interests of the narrators, the painters and their intended audiences, which often conceived of themselves as living not in a post-Biblical era, but in direct continuity with Biblical heroes. For more informaiton and for ordering the book, please visit: https://brill.com/view/title/59404
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2021) (Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 600), 2021
Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism. The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond /Ed. I Dorfmann-Lazarev, 2021
In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palest... more In the period of the 5th–7th centuries, an original and rich cultural milieu was formed in Palestine, which was conditioned by the population having different religions and belonging to different nations. Floor mosaics, characteristic of that very milieu, have a great importance among monuments created in it. Being created either by Christians of different confessions or by the order of the Jewish community, these pavements show amazing similarities in their common compositional solutions, as well as in their symbolic images and decorative elements. From this viewpoint we see an evident relationship between the mosaics of the Nirim Synagogue (538, Maꜥon-Nirim, Negev) and the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem (near the Damascus Gate, 6th–7th centuries). This circumstance allows speaking not only about a common cultural and artistic milieu but also about the existence of common workshops in this region. Either with the two mentioned monuments or in that of other similar monuments, the role of a common cultural basis has been decisive, namely the art of the Hellenistic period and the notions in the Holy Scripture about Paradise and its symbols.
ТРУДЫ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ЭРМИТАЖА XСIX TRANSACTIONS OF THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM, 2019
The peculiar monuments of early medieval art – the tetrahedral stelae and memorial columns
– are ... more The peculiar monuments of early medieval art – the tetrahedral stelae and memorial columns – are preserved on the territory of Transcaucasus and, in particular, of historical Armenia. Those monuments are strongly tied with the art of the Eastern Christian world and through it with the traditions of late Antique art. Armenian memorial columns have much in common with late Antique triumphal columns, and their depictions are present in early Christian pavements and miniatures. As for tetrahedral stelae with reliefs, they have something in common with early Byzantine minor architecture. The style and iconography of reliefs covering tetrahedral stelae give every reason to date them back to the seventh century. Moreover, we consider that the erection of the above-mentioned monuments was related to certain historical events: the liberation and restitution of the True Cross to Jerusalem (628). The sacred war of Emperor Heraclius, which took place on the territory of historical Armenia, was seen as an event of Armenian history and left a tangible trace in its history and literary tradition. So, it’s not surprising that the geographical location of tetrahedral stelae on the territory of Armenia, and Transcaucasus in general, determines a certain ‘way’ which coincides with the ‘itinerary’ of Heraclius’ army, along which churches and monasteries were founded and dedicated to the Holy Cross.
Հոդվածների ժողովածու նվիրված Ֆելիքս Տեր-Մարտիրոսովի հիշատակին
Сборник статей посвященный памяти Ф... more Հոդվածների ժողովածու նվիրված Ֆելիքս Տեր-Մարտիրոսովի հիշատակին Сборник статей посвященный памяти Феликса Тер-Мартиросова Collected articles in memory of Felix Ter-Martirosov
(Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity; XXI), Postscript by Hartmut Leppin., 2021
The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden... more The studies composing this book are written by twenty nine scholars from USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and Armenia. They explore the transmission of apocrypha in Ethiopia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Syria, Iran, Armenia, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Slavic world and Italy. Frequently rejected by Churches, apocryphal texts and legends had their own process of development, often becoming a medium of literary, artistic and ritual elaboration. Apocrypha also inspired esoteric thinking. Kindred apocryphal themes can be observed in Judaism since Late Antiquity. The book investigates the common roots of such traditions, as well as the interactions of Judaism and Christianity with Mystery cults and with the religions of Iran. Dissenting groups, such as the Samaritans, the followers of John the Baptist and the mediæval dualists, are also considered. Local adaptations of Biblical stories reveal the interests of the narrators, the painters and their intended audiences, which often conceived of themselves as living not in a post-Biblical era, but in direct continuity with Biblical heroes.
Reviews: P. Lanfranchi, in Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa 58/1 (2022), 139-42; M.H. Sellew, in Church History. Studies in Christianity and Culture 92/2 (2023), 417-19; Network for the Study of Esotericism in Antiquity (17.06.2021).
Seventy years ago Sirarpie Der Nersessian published a translation into French of a little known A... more Seventy years ago Sirarpie Der Nersessian published a translation into French of a little known Armenian treatise in defence of icons. Claimed by some to be the earliest example of this genre of writing to survive intact and imagined by others to have had a decisive influence on the theology of John of Damascus, it remains fundamentally unstudied. “Concerning Iconoclasm” is an extraordinary seventh-century treatise in support of the veneration of holy images. The author offers an extended argument (against an unnamed opponent) with ample textual citations from biblical and historical sources. This work offers a robust sense of the position of images within contemporary theology and culture. It also offers precious insight into a range of issues, including the relations (particularly regarding image-making) between the Armenians and Byzantines, and regarding the subject matter, and materials used to make, paintings. Amid the flood of icon studies in recent decades, Vrt‘anēs’ contribution goes unexamined and virtually unmentioned. It is the purpose of the present Workshop to offer to the scholarly community a fresh translation into English of this critical document and to open the field to new scholarship, to which the scholars mentioned below cordially were invited to contribute from their own valuable background in the field. The new translation prepared by Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Chair of Art History, Tufts University, with Theo Maarten van Lint, Calouste Gulbenkian Chair of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford, will be circulated in advance among the contributing participants. The place of the treatise in the history of the Armenian language and literature, the theological premises of its argument in the debate among Orthodox and Monophysite theologians, its background in earlier writings – Jewish, pagan and Christian – its contribution to the Byzantine dialogue on icon cult and its long-range impact on the history of art will all be under discussion in the two day conference. The workshop will convene at Pembroke College, University of Oxford 30-31 October as part of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Calouste Gulbenkian Professorship of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford. The workshop is convened by: Dr Jaś Elsner, Professor Thomas F. Mathews, Professor Christina Maranci, and Professor Theo Maarten van Lint.
The workshop is hosted by Theo van Lint, incumbent of the Calouste Gulbenkian Professorship of Armenian Studies and Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Oxford.
The workshop is made possible by a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
(Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha; 19), Postface par Jean-Pierre Mahé, Postscript by George Hewitt. Review by Stephen H. Rapp, in Church History. Studies, in: Christianity and Culture 92 (2023), 413-15., 2022
This volume is one of the few collections of studies that look at the South Caucasus—from the Bla... more This volume is one of the few collections of studies that look at the South Caucasus—from the Black Sea in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east—as a shared cultural space. Twelve studies explore contacts between Armenians, Georgians, Kurds and Muslims of the former Caucasian Albania (in the present-day Azerbaijan), as expressed in texts, figurative arts and rituals. While focusing on the ancient Christian civilisations of Armenia and Georgia, the book also investigates the interactions of Christianity with the ancestral religions of the South Caucasians, with Zoroastrianism, Islam and Yazidism. Apocryphal traditions represent a particularly convenient lens through which to observe cultural exchanges and blending.
The first two chapters analyse the perception of sacred objects and sanctuaries in Armenia and Georgia and the representation of fabulous animals in the iconography of both countries. The next six investigate the contacts between Armenians and Georgians in the transmission of hagiographic texts relating to Christ's Nativity, the early Christian saints and their images, as well as the Evangelisation of the Armenian and Georgian kingdoms. The penultimate two chapters study places of worship shared by diverse religions, the role of religious syncretism in the Islamisation of the southeastern Caucasus and the function of apocrypha in the resistance to Islam. The final chapter examines the contextualisation of Islamic legends of Biblical origin in the topography of the Caucasus. The volume ends with a detailed index.
***
Over millennia, numerous peoples that have inhabited the South Caucasus have preserved, or have gradually acquired, profound cultural affinities. Attempts to account for this shared repository, and for its numberless regional and national shades, have seldom been undertaken. This region is thus regarded in this volume as an organic cultural space. For the sake of transcending formal religious and denominational boundaries dividing the South Caucasian nations, as our starting point we have chosen apocryphal and mythological themes in texts, in worship and in visual arts.
ISBN: 9789042947146
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Papers by Zaruhi Hakobyan
– are preserved on the territory of Transcaucasus and, in particular, of historical Armenia.
Those monuments are strongly tied with the art of the Eastern Christian world and through it
with the traditions of late Antique art. Armenian memorial columns have much in common with
late Antique triumphal columns, and their depictions are present in early Christian pavements
and miniatures. As for tetrahedral stelae with reliefs, they have something in common with early
Byzantine
minor architecture. The style and iconography of reliefs covering tetrahedral stelae
give every reason to date them back to the seventh century. Moreover, we consider that the erection
of the above-mentioned monuments was related to certain historical events: the liberation
and restitution of the True Cross to Jerusalem (628). The sacred war of Emperor Heraclius,
which took place on the territory of historical Armenia, was seen as an event of Armenian history
and left a tangible trace in its history and literary tradition. So, it’s not surprising that the
geographical location of tetrahedral stelae on the territory of Armenia, and Transcaucasus in
general, determines a certain ‘way’ which coincides with the ‘itinerary’ of Heraclius’ army, along
which churches and monasteries were founded and dedicated to the Holy Cross.
– are preserved on the territory of Transcaucasus and, in particular, of historical Armenia.
Those monuments are strongly tied with the art of the Eastern Christian world and through it
with the traditions of late Antique art. Armenian memorial columns have much in common with
late Antique triumphal columns, and their depictions are present in early Christian pavements
and miniatures. As for tetrahedral stelae with reliefs, they have something in common with early
Byzantine
minor architecture. The style and iconography of reliefs covering tetrahedral stelae
give every reason to date them back to the seventh century. Moreover, we consider that the erection
of the above-mentioned monuments was related to certain historical events: the liberation
and restitution of the True Cross to Jerusalem (628). The sacred war of Emperor Heraclius,
which took place on the territory of historical Armenia, was seen as an event of Armenian history
and left a tangible trace in its history and literary tradition. So, it’s not surprising that the
geographical location of tetrahedral stelae on the territory of Armenia, and Transcaucasus in
general, determines a certain ‘way’ which coincides with the ‘itinerary’ of Heraclius’ army, along
which churches and monasteries were founded and dedicated to the Holy Cross.
Сборник статей посвященный памяти Феликса Тер-Мартиросова
Collected articles in memory of Felix Ter-Martirosov
(ed.) Zaruhi Hakobyan, Lilit Mikayelyan
Երևան /Ереван/ Yerevan 2015
Reviews: P. Lanfranchi, in Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa 58/1 (2022), 139-42; M.H. Sellew, in Church History. Studies in Christianity and Culture 92/2 (2023), 417-19; Network for the Study of Esotericism in Antiquity (17.06.2021).
Amid the flood of icon studies in recent decades, Vrt‘anēs’ contribution goes unexamined and virtually unmentioned. It is the purpose of the present Workshop to offer to the scholarly community a fresh translation into English of this critical document and to open the field to new scholarship, to which the scholars mentioned below cordially were invited to contribute from their own valuable background in the field.
The new translation prepared by Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Chair of Art History, Tufts University, with Theo Maarten van Lint, Calouste Gulbenkian Chair of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford, will be circulated in advance among the contributing participants. The place of the treatise in the history of the Armenian language and literature, the theological premises of its argument in the debate among Orthodox and Monophysite theologians, its background in earlier writings – Jewish, pagan and Christian – its contribution to the Byzantine dialogue on icon cult and its long-range impact on the history of art will all be under discussion in the two day conference.
The workshop will convene at Pembroke College, University of Oxford 30-31 October as part of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Calouste Gulbenkian Professorship of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford.
The workshop is convened by: Dr Jaś Elsner, Professor Thomas F. Mathews, Professor Christina Maranci, and Professor Theo Maarten van Lint.
The workshop is hosted by Theo van Lint, incumbent of the Calouste Gulbenkian Professorship of Armenian Studies and Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Oxford.
The workshop is made possible by a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
The first two chapters analyse the perception of sacred objects and sanctuaries in Armenia and Georgia and the representation of fabulous animals in the iconography of both countries. The next six investigate the contacts between Armenians and Georgians in the transmission of hagiographic texts relating to Christ's Nativity, the early Christian saints and their images, as well as the Evangelisation of the Armenian and Georgian kingdoms. The penultimate two chapters study places of worship shared by diverse religions, the role of religious syncretism in the Islamisation of the southeastern Caucasus and the function of apocrypha in the resistance to Islam. The final chapter examines the contextualisation of Islamic legends of Biblical origin in the topography of the Caucasus. The volume ends with a detailed index.
***
Over millennia, numerous peoples that have inhabited the South Caucasus have preserved, or have gradually acquired, profound cultural affinities. Attempts to account for this shared repository, and for its numberless regional and national shades, have seldom been undertaken. This region is thus regarded in this volume as an organic cultural space. For the sake of transcending formal religious and denominational boundaries dividing the South Caucasian nations, as our starting point we have chosen apocryphal and mythological themes in texts, in worship and in visual arts.
ISBN: 9789042947146