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KORIUN
THE LIFE OF
MASHTOTS
THE STORY OF
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE BLESSED MAN ST.MASHTOTS VARDAPET OUR TRANSLATOR
[WRITTEN] BY HIS PUPIL KORIUN VARDAPET
I
I had been thinking of the God-given alphabet of the
Azkanazian[1]
nation and of the land of Armenia - when, in what time, and through what kind of
man that new divine gift had been bestowed, as well as the luminous learning and
angelic, virtuous piety of the person, so as to cause memorials to blossom in an
individual volume. And while I was striving to remember [the facts], there came
the command of an excellent man named Hovsep[2],
a disciple of that person, as well as the encouragement of others, our fellows
of student days. Therefore, I, who had had the fortune of being [his] special
pupil, even though the youngest [among his pupils], and the task beyond my
capacities, [nevertheless] hastened to write without delay that which was
suggested, compelled by the clear mandate which had been addressed to me. And we
ask them all that they assist us in our tasks by their prayers, and to commit us
to the divine grace, so that we may sail successfully and unerringly over the
boundless waves of the sea of doctrine.
II
But let me make an introductory statement whether it is
permissible to write concerning the lives of men of (269) perfection. We on our
part do not wish to engage in disputatious eloquence, relying on our own
thoughts; but through examples we simply wish to prove the contrary[i].
For God the bountiful has been so gracious to His beloved as not only to deem
them worthy of the splendid and high reward in endless cternity for their virtuous lives, but has caused them to be
extolled to the heavens here in this world, in the course of this transitory
life, so that they may in general shine with spiritual and earthly lustre.
And in the Mosaic story manifest is the nobility of
blessed men and the firmness of [their] true faith, the beauty of godly and
god-fearing life, and the radiance of a marvelous life. For one of them by
virtue of acceptable sacrifice has been called just; another, because of his
pleasing work, disdaining all-devouring death, has remained alive; a third,
because of his perfect righteousness has been preserved in a ship for a period
of one year on the god-sent scourge of a boundless, mountain-high sea, along
with every breathing thing; a fourth, has been justified through [his]
suddenly-found faith, and drawing nigh unto God, has become an oracle and ally
of God and has inherited the promise of the bounties to come. Many others
similarly have come to know God, and whose nobility all the divine books have
described.
Similar to those I have mentioned, blessed Paul in his
[epistle] to the Hebrews praises by name the true faith of such persons, whereby
each one has received, according to his attainments, rewarding consolation from
God the Bountiful, giver of all things. He even offers as an example the
hospitality of Raab the evildoer [which she had shown]
to the spies. However, upon noting how numerous such persons are, he actually
has revealed the names of but a few of them, omitting others, deeming the time
insufficient to recount them all in their proper order. He then records in a
general manner the tribulations of such persons and their martyrdom without
resistance, which he considers preferable to all the wealth of the world.
Thus, all the inspired books have recorded the brave
deeds of men of war; the victory of some, in accordance with the divine
religion, the bravery of some in the course of encounters and wars, in the
manner of the world, as those of Nimrod, Samson, and David. A few are praised,
moreover, for their natural as well as godly intelligence, as that of joseph, in
But what to say concerning the praise whereby comrades
honored each other, whose nobility the Lord Him-sell loudly proclaimed before
the angels and men, revealing not only their known works, but also the radiance
in the recesses of their hearts. How He represented hospitable Abraham as an
intimate servant, and after the promise he had received, related to him what was
to befall to
And thus, through divine tradition there shine the good
works of all the devout masters~whose blessed names no
one can completely record. And He has caused to blossom forth not only the noble
deeds of those who had come before, but also of those who came after the Only
Begotten Son, the Saviour of all, even crowning them
with beatitudes in His luminous gospel, lauding not only His own twelve or the
Forerunner[3],
but also praising the rectitude of the faith of the others who had come nigh
unto the truth. of the faith. Thus concerning Nathanael He states that in him there was no guile, and the
greatness of the faith of the patrician, which He says, was not to be found in
As for Paul, who had determined to spread the luminous
order that was established by Christ, he was designated as a chosen vessel who
could bear His won4rous name in the world. Therefore, the blessed one, upon
beholding the loftiness of the grace [which had been’ bestowed] for his faith
and for that of all the saints, begins loudly to glorify [by saying] that "the
grace of God which is proclaimed in everything, concerning us in Christ, and
(272) the savor of His knowledge is made manifest everywhere through us." Yet he
adds even more boldly: "Who shall lay anything 10 the charge of God's elect'!"
And the blessed apostles had received from the Lord permission put into writing
the virtues of all their co-workers. A few [of them] can be seen in the Holy
Gospel, and a few others are found in the Acts, written by blessed Luke, and
there are others who are better presented in the general epistles.
At the same time St. Paul tells in fourteen epistles
concerning his fellow apostles and co-workers, making [them] participalits in his joy, and at the end of his epistles
extends greeting to each one of them, inquiring [concernmg them] by name, and quotes the gospel in praise of
one of them. But he is thankful not only for the assistance to the blessed one,
but gives much praise for the Christian hospitality of his hosts, and pleadingly
applies to God, asking recompense for their kindness. And he declares in all the
synagogues the nobility of the chosen, not only of the men, but also of the
women disciples who preached the truth of the gospel.
And he has declared all this not for the sake pf praise
or pride, but so that it may serve as an example for those who were to come
later. So that they all should be zealous in good deeds, he says: "Follow after
charity and desire spiritual gifts." In relating in
Again, he strives to live with them all by Christ's
example. "Look unto Jesus," says he, "the author and perfector of our faith," and again, "remember them which
(273) have rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith
follow." And finally, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
Thus states also Luke at the beginning of the book of "The Acts," while beloved
James, brother of Jesus, taking as his example the entire phalanx of the saints
as well as the Lord, lover of the saints, states in his epistle: "Take my
brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example
of suffering, affliction and patience. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and
have seen the end of the Lord."
It is evident from what has been stated that praise of
the God-loving chosen is from the Lord Himself, some from the angels, and some
from others, not for the sake of pride, but for the purpose of arousing each
other's envy, so that encouraged by each other, we may succeed in the
accomplishment of good works, the goal set up by blessed Paul, "to come.., unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,"
whose freedom is in heaven, to await The Saviour, the
great God.
We have also the gracious canonic writings which came
after the apostles indicating how they honored and praised one another for their
tnIe faith and evangelical life and have been
similarly tie'ated to this very day.
And thus we have from them both permisaion to commit to writing the life of the just man.
Therefore, that which we have promised shall hence forth
be produced, to the best of our ability; the biogmphy
of the father shall be duly completed and their[ii]
sweet command shall be elaborately carried out.
III
Mesrop Mashtots was the name of the
person to whom we referred at the beginning of our account, whose story we have
been eager to write. He was from the
IV
And subsequently, in compliance with the precepts of the
gospel, he devoted himself to the service of God the lover of men. Thenceforward
he was divested of princely passions, and taking the exalted cross went after
the all-sustaining Crucified. And in obedience to the commands of [faith],
joined the crusading legion of Christ, and soon entered the monastic order. He
experienced many kinds of hardships, in keeping with the precepts of the gospel.
He subjected himself to all types of spiritual discipline - solitude,
mountain-dwelling, hunger, thirst, and living on herbs, in dark cefls, clad in sackcloth, with the floor as his bed. Often,
in the twinkling of an eye, he would end in standing vigil, a night's pleasant
rest and much needed sleep. And he did all this not a few times. And having
(275) found a few persons, he caused ilieni to adhere
to him, making them pupils in the same evangelical exercise.
And thus, bearing with a courageous will all the temptations that came upon him, and growing in radiance, became known and beloved of God and men.
V
Taking along with him his faithful pupils, the blessed
one went to the disorderly and uncultivated regions of Goghtan[7].
He was met by the ruler of Goghtan, a pious man whose
name was Shabit. A gracious and hospitable man, who
devoutly served him in a manner worthy of an apostle of Christian faith. And the
blessed one at once exercising the art of evangelism, with the faithful
cooperation of the ruler, began [to preach] in the province, and capturing them
all away from their native traditions and satanic idolatry, turned them to
obedience to Christ.
And as he implanted in them the word of life, there
appeared many miracles that are known to all the people of the province. Evil
spirits[8]
ill various aspects took flight and fell in the regions of the Medians[9].
He resolved to have greater concern for the consolation of the people of the
entire land; [therefore] he increased his moanful
prayers to God with upraised hands and ceaseless tears, remembering the words of
the Apostle who said: "I am sorrowful and constant in my heartache for my
brethren and my kin."
He was thus surrounded and ensnared with sad worries and
engulfed by waves of apprehension as to how he might find a solution to the
problem. (276)
VI
And after being occupied with the same [problem] for
many days; he rose and came to the Holy Catholicos of
Armenia Major. whose name was Sahak[10],
and whom he found predisposed and sharing in the same concern. Cordially they
came together, and with earnest prayers early every morning [besought] God that
all men attain the salvation brought by Christ. And they did this many days.
Then as a boon from God the gracious, the council of
blessed monks, devoted to the service of the land, gathered to secure letters
for the Armenian nation. They conducted much inquiry and exploration, and much
toil. Later they disclosed the foremost object of their search to the King of
the Armenians whose name was Vramshapouh.
The King told them of a man named Daniel, a Syrian
bishop of noble lineage, who unexpectedly had come into the possession of
letters of Armenian alphabet. And when the King told them concerning Daniel's
discovery, they prevailed upon him to do what was needful. He then dispatched a
man named Vahrij along with messages to a priest
called Habel, who was an intimate of Bishop Daniel.
As for Habel, upon hearing it,
he hastened to Daniel, and first became familiar, through Daniel, with the
letters, then taking them from him sent to the King in the
Then the blessed stewards taking the unexpectedly
discovered object of their search, requested of the King young children through
whom they 'night experiment with the alphabet. And when many of them had been
taught, the King commanded that everywhere the in- (277) struction be effected through the same [letters]. Thus the
blessed one attained the noble rank of teacher, and taught for two years with
the use of the same letters.
Yet when they became aware of the fact that those letters were insufficient to form all the syllables of the Armenian language, especially since the letters essentially proved to have been buried and then resurrected from other languages, they found themselves once more in the same anxieties and for some time were engaged in search of a solution.
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Áèáëèîòåêà «Âåõè»
[1] Azkanazian nation - The
Armenian nation. Our Translators so designated the Armenians, based on the
passage in the Bible: "Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz". Jeremiah
51:27
[2] Hovsep - One of the foremost
pupils of Sahak and Mesrop,
who named him (Hovsep) Locum Tenens of the Cathulicate before
their death. He became Catholicos and played a
prominent role during the Vardanants period. Soon
after the Battle of Avarair (451 A. D.) he was taken
to
[3] The Forernnner -
[4] Taron - A district in the
[5] Hatsekats - This village was
still in existence up to the massacre of the Armenians in
[6] Hazarapet - The highest civil
official in
[7] Goghtan - The
[8] Evil spirits (In Aimenian,
dev) - Pagan priests who escaped along with their idols the persecution of the
Christians were so designated by ancient Armenian and non-Armenian writers.
(357)
[9] Medians are not to be confused with Media or the people
of Media. Koriun has reference to an area on th north-east of Ararat, along both banks of River Araxes. In ancient times Medians had lived in the area which
was known as Mark or Medians.
[10] Sahak - A dcscendant of Gregory the illuminator and son of Catholicos Nerses the Great He
became Caitholicos around 390-395. He had received a
Greek education and possessed great learning, which qualified him as one of the
principal translators of the Bible. When the last Arsacid king of
[11] The fifth year of Vramshapnah - The dates relative to the arrival of the “Danielian alphabet” as well as Mesrop’s subsequent journey to Mesonotamia have been distorted. According to Prof. Ajaran, this passage may have originally read “third” instead of the “fifth” year of Vramshapouh.