It is impossible to imagine the Armenian medieval literature without theology. Its spirit penetrated almost all spheres of Armenian science and culture.
As a science Christian theology appeared in the bosom of Church, as it was necessary to comment, to systematize and to make understandable the biblical and traditional theophany to listeners and readers. One can distinguish four main spheres of the medieval theology: exegetics, dogma, ethics and liturgy.
The object of the exegetics is the interpretation of the Bible, explanation of its obscure and hardly understandable passages. From the 5th century and after the translation of the Bible into Armenian Fathers of the Armenian Church tried to give its interpretation in order to satisfy the spiritual needs of the society. Eghishe, Mambre Vertzanogh (5th century), Stepanos Siunetsi († 735), Timotheos Vardapet (9th century), Grigor Narekatsi (10th century), Nerses Shnorhali, Ignatios Sevlernetsi, Sarkis Kound (12th century), Sarkis Shnorhali (12th -13th centuries), Barsegh Mashkevortsi (13th century), Vardan Areveltsi (1198-1271), Essaie Nchetsi († 1338), Hovhan Vorotnetsi (1315-1386), Grigor Tatevatsi (1346-1409) and Petros Bertumian Nakhijevantsi (18th century) are among the most prominent representatives of this genre.
In order to avoid excesses imposed by the Antioch exegetic school with its historical-philological methodology and its literal interpretations, as well as by the allegories proper to the Alexandrian school, Armenian authors preferred the golden mean. They allowed themselves to be guided by the exigencies of the commented biblical book contents; they gave interpretation of the historical books by the historical-philological method, while they applied the allegoric method to prophesy and books of wisdom. Doing so they aimed, on one hand, to explain clearly the contents of the Bible, enriching the knowledge of the readers, and, on the other hand, to educate their mind by the method of theological generalization.
On can separate two main branches in the dogmatic or doctrinal theology: the apologetics and the refutation. The aim of the dogmatic theology is to present in a classified and systematized form the divine truth manifested in the revelation and cognitive experience acquired in the bosom of Church, in order to make it useful for the Christian spiritual life.
It is well known that strict classification of the theological facts is mostly proper to the western Middle Ages. However, we don’t want to say that Armenian dogmatic thought was stranger to this circle of problems (gnoseology, theology, knowledge of the Creation, Christology, anthropology, Mariology, pneumatology, angelology, ecclesiology, mystics, charismatic and eschatology). In this scope particularly valuable are the works attributed to Gregory the Illuminator: Faithful Speeches, Doctrine and Questions, as well as the Refutation of Heresies by Eznik Koghbatsi (these two works of the 5th century are of great importance for the study of the apologetic theology), the Seal of the Faith (7th century), Book of Epistles (5th–13th century). One must also mention the treaty On the Iconoclasm by Vertanes Kertogh, the treatises Against the Docetism and Against the Paulicians by the Catholicos Hovhan Odznetsi (717-728), the work About Those Who Say That the Nature of Christ is Amorphous by Khosrowik the Translator (5th century), as well as Against the Dyophysits by Anania Sanahnetsi (11th century), About the Purity of the Corpse by Siunetsi, dogmatic works by Hovhannes Sarkavag and Vardan Aygektsi and the Book of Questions by Grigor Tatevatsi. This last work resumes and classifies with encyclopedic universality all the theological knowledge of the Armenian Middle Ages. It is written in the scholastic style in form of questions and answers (Questiones disputatae). Basing himself on the rich experience of the past theologians, Tatevatsi distinguishes four main spheres of the dogmatic science: impression, causality, symbolism and mystics. In the modern conception, these four spheres correspond to the fundamental, analogical (analogia entis), symbolic and mystic or meditative theology.
The most prominent authors of the ethic theology are: Catholicos Hovhan Mandakuni (478-490), Eghishe, Anania Narekatsi, Vardan Aygektsi, Hovhannes Yerzynkatsi Plouz, archimandrite Tiratur, Grigor Tatevatsi, Matheos Jughaesti, Simon Yerevantsi, Hacob Nalian, Petros Bertumian Nakhijevantsi, the speeches and sermons of whom are dedicated to feasts or to ethic problems.
Liturgy constitutes an important part of the medieval Armenian theoretical legacy, its main spheres being the Interpretations of the Hours and the Mass, as well as works like About the Church, About the Sacraments of the Church, About the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy by Movses Kertogh, Hovhan Mayragometsi, Stepanos Siunetsi and Hovhan Odznetsi, which are of great importance for the study of ecclesiology, symbolism and the theological thought as a whole.
The object of the exegetics is the interpretation of the Bible, explanation of its obscure and hardly understandable passages. From the 5th century and after the translation of the Bible into Armenian Fathers of the Armenian Church tried to give its interpretation in order to satisfy the spiritual needs of the society. Eghishe, Mambre Vertzanogh (5th century), Stepanos Siunetsi († 735), Timotheos Vardapet (9th century), Grigor Narekatsi (10th century), Nerses Shnorhali, Ignatios Sevlernetsi, Sarkis Kound (12th century), Sarkis Shnorhali (12th -13th centuries), Barsegh Mashkevortsi (13th century), Vardan Areveltsi (1198-1271), Essaie Nchetsi († 1338), Hovhan Vorotnetsi (1315-1386), Grigor Tatevatsi (1346-1409) and Petros Bertumian Nakhijevantsi (18th century) are among the most prominent representatives of this genre.
In order to avoid excesses imposed by the Antioch exegetic school with its historical-philological methodology and its literal interpretations, as well as by the allegories proper to the Alexandrian school, Armenian authors preferred the golden mean. They allowed themselves to be guided by the exigencies of the commented biblical book contents; they gave interpretation of the historical books by the historical-philological method, while they applied the allegoric method to prophesy and books of wisdom. Doing so they aimed, on one hand, to explain clearly the contents of the Bible, enriching the knowledge of the readers, and, on the other hand, to educate their mind by the method of theological generalization.
On can separate two main branches in the dogmatic or doctrinal theology: the apologetics and the refutation. The aim of the dogmatic theology is to present in a classified and systematized form the divine truth manifested in the revelation and cognitive experience acquired in the bosom of Church, in order to make it useful for the Christian spiritual life.
It is well known that strict classification of the theological facts is mostly proper to the western Middle Ages. However, we don’t want to say that Armenian dogmatic thought was stranger to this circle of problems (gnoseology, theology, knowledge of the Creation, Christology, anthropology, Mariology, pneumatology, angelology, ecclesiology, mystics, charismatic and eschatology). In this scope particularly valuable are the works attributed to Gregory the Illuminator: Faithful Speeches, Doctrine and Questions, as well as the Refutation of Heresies by Eznik Koghbatsi (these two works of the 5th century are of great importance for the study of the apologetic theology), the Seal of the Faith (7th century), Book of Epistles (5th–13th century). One must also mention the treaty On the Iconoclasm by Vertanes Kertogh, the treatises Against the Docetism and Against the Paulicians by the Catholicos Hovhan Odznetsi (717-728), the work About Those Who Say That the Nature of Christ is Amorphous by Khosrowik the Translator (5th century), as well as Against the Dyophysits by Anania Sanahnetsi (11th century), About the Purity of the Corpse by Siunetsi, dogmatic works by Hovhannes Sarkavag and Vardan Aygektsi and the Book of Questions by Grigor Tatevatsi. This last work resumes and classifies with encyclopedic universality all the theological knowledge of the Armenian Middle Ages. It is written in the scholastic style in form of questions and answers (Questiones disputatae). Basing himself on the rich experience of the past theologians, Tatevatsi distinguishes four main spheres of the dogmatic science: impression, causality, symbolism and mystics. In the modern conception, these four spheres correspond to the fundamental, analogical (analogia entis), symbolic and mystic or meditative theology.
The most prominent authors of the ethic theology are: Catholicos Hovhan Mandakuni (478-490), Eghishe, Anania Narekatsi, Vardan Aygektsi, Hovhannes Yerzynkatsi Plouz, archimandrite Tiratur, Grigor Tatevatsi, Matheos Jughaesti, Simon Yerevantsi, Hacob Nalian, Petros Bertumian Nakhijevantsi, the speeches and sermons of whom are dedicated to feasts or to ethic problems.
Liturgy constitutes an important part of the medieval Armenian theoretical legacy, its main spheres being the Interpretations of the Hours and the Mass, as well as works like About the Church, About the Sacraments of the Church, About the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy by Movses Kertogh, Hovhan Mayragometsi, Stepanos Siunetsi and Hovhan Odznetsi, which are of great importance for the study of ecclesiology, symbolism and the theological thought as a whole.
