Agathangelos
Encyclopedia
Agathangelos appropriately so named, was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia
, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator
, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us in Armenian
and in Greek
. The text of this history has been considerably altered, but it has always been in high favor with the Armenians. Von Gutschmid
maintains that the unknown author made use of a genuine life of St. Gregory, also of a history of his martyr
dom and of that of St. Ripsime and her companions. Historical facts are intermingled in this life with legend
ary or uncertain additions, and the whole is woven into a certain unity by the narrator, who may have assumed his significant name from his quality of narrator of "the good news" of Armenia's conversion. It has been translated into several languages, and Greek
and Latin translations are found in the Acta Sanctorum Bollandistarum, tome viii.
See: Agathangelos, History of the Armenians, Robert W. Thomson, State University of New York Press, 1974
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator
Gregory the Illuminator
Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church...
, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us in Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
and in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. The text of this history has been considerably altered, but it has always been in high favor with the Armenians. Von Gutschmid
Alfred von Gutschmid
Hermann Alfred Freiherr von Gutschmid , German historian and Orientalist, was born at Loschwitz near ....
maintains that the unknown author made use of a genuine life of St. Gregory, also of a history of his martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
dom and of that of St. Ripsime and her companions. Historical facts are intermingled in this life with legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary or uncertain additions, and the whole is woven into a certain unity by the narrator, who may have assumed his significant name from his quality of narrator of "the good news" of Armenia's conversion. It has been translated into several languages, and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Latin translations are found in the Acta Sanctorum Bollandistarum, tome viii.
See: Agathangelos, History of the Armenians, Robert W. Thomson, State University of New York Press, 1974