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Papers by Ani Shahinian

The oldest Armenian manuscript held at the Library of Congress is an exemplar of the Four Gospels... more The oldest Armenian manuscript held at the Library of Congress is an exemplar of the Four Gospels, originally copied in Jerusalem in 1321 A.D., at the Armenian monastery of Holy Archangels, by a monk named Nerses Abeła Krakts‘i. This manuscript tells the fascinating story of the transmission of not only the artifact itself, but the unique connections between those who encountered the Gospel in their diverse socio-political and inter-religious cultures over the course of seven centuries. What was in the content of the manuscript that interested the diverse parties to secure and transfer this artifact? How does this one manuscript connect the stories of Christian communities from Jerusalem to the provinces of Van and to Kharpert in Ottoman Turkey, to Clifton Springs, New York, before it made its home at the heart of western civilization and the capital of the United States of America in Washington D.C? This paper investigates the stories of the Christian communities connected through this manuscript and their engagements with timeless societal questions of politics, religions, languages, and cultures. This single manuscript carries not only its ordinary contents, but also the history of the peoples who have interacted with this treasure.

The phenomenon of ‘light’ and ‘divine light’ in Armenian theological thought becomes a focal poin... more The phenomenon of ‘light’ and ‘divine light’ in Armenian theological thought becomes a focal point of discussion from the times of Grigor Lusavorič onwards. Undoubtably ‘light’ is a prevalent theme in Christianity, but especially in Armenian Christian thought. In the tenth century, Grigor Narekac‘i’s prayers are saturated with the light imagery to speak of the divine light in various ways, most often evoking the radiant, brilliance rays of the sun light as metaphor. Some of the themes include the sacrament of baptism as light; the holy myron as light; God’s grace and mercy as lights; the altar as light; the cross as light, to list a few. Many of the adjectives accompanying the expressions of light speak of the longings of humanity to be whole. The use of the “inextinguishable” and “inexhaustible” divine light reflect the work of healing and restoration as an illuminative guide and protection for our journey on earth. Most notably, the “unapproachable light” becomes a powerful image and yearning as Narekac‘i reflects on the Scriptures to reimagine in his prayers what it means to obtain the fullness of what it means to be human.

The aim of this paper is to engage with the theology of light in Narekac‘i’s prayers and study the impact it had on later generation of vardapets. For example, Grigor Cerenc‘ Xlat‘ec‘i (1350-1425), copying Narekac‘i’s prayers re-imagined the divine light for his context in relation to Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Lake Van region. In Islam, light is strictly a divine attribute of God, and not of Christ. Especially in the period of Arab Muslim and later Turkic Muslim rule in Armenia, the ‘divine light’ and ‘Christ as light’ becomes means of witnessing to the Christian God for the Muslim world. Narekac‘i’s theology of light become context and background to the development of how Christ, “Light of the world” (John 8:12), becomes the guiding force for Armenian Christians in the medieval world.

UCLA ARMENIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE SERIES Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 15, MAZDA PUBLISHERS Costa Mesa, California, 2021

Present-day Salmās (Armenian: Salmast) is situated northwest of Lake Urmia in modern-day Iran. 1 ... more Present-day Salmās (Armenian: Salmast) is situated northwest of Lake Urmia in modern-day Iran. 1 While formerly Armenian Christians lived in the Salmās district, today Muslim Azeri Turks and Kurds make up the great majority of the population. 2 Salmast has undergone significant changes in history, prompted by numerous factors. Throughout these challenges-from invasions to plundering, population exchanges to forced deportations and emigrations, earthquakes to diseases-Salmast has had a continual presence of Armenian, Assyrian, and Chaldean Christian populations. These changes in the region were at times gradual and other times abrupt. This survey is concerned with the historical site of Salmast and the inhabitants of this region primarily up to the Russo-Persian War of 1826-28, which prompted mass immigration of Salmast Armenians to 1 The present city of Salmās is situated around the historic site of Salmast. The precise location of the historic city is subject to debate. In this survey, the name "Salmast" has generally been used as default to refer to the region in Armenia's history. The author wishes to thank Professor Richard Hovannisian for extending an invitation to contribute to this volume and for his meticulous editing of drafts of this article. She is in debt to Marco Brambilla, Andreh Maroutian, and Vartan Matiossian for their readiness to make resources on Salmast available and for their feedback on a draft of this article. Finally, the author would like to acknowledge Professor S. Peter Cowe and to honor the late Onik Hayrapetian from Mahlam, Salmast, who for many years faithfully labored in the field of Armenian language and history. 2 See Iran's 2016 Census at http://www.amar.org.ir, Modern-day Salmās is situated 42.6 kilometers (26.5 miles) southwest of the city of Khoy and 76 kilometers (47 miles) northwest of Lake Urmia, at an elevation of 1,370 to 1,400 meters (4,500-4,600 feet). 3 The events of the nineteenth century in northern Iran and the Ottoman Empire require separate investigations to present properly the complexity of the era and its impact on the Armenian population in Salmast.

Banber Matenadarani

Abstract: The concept of անձնիշխանութիւն (self-governance) in Late Medieval Armenian philosophic... more Abstract: The concept of անձնիշխանութիւն (self-governance) in Late Medieval Armenian philosophical thought engages with the questions of what it means to be fully human. Yovhan Orotnec‘i’s philosophy on the freedom of the human will contextualizes the martyrdom account of T‘amar Mokac‘i found in Grigor Xlatec‘i’s Yaysmawurk‘. In that account, the characters of T‘amar and P‘ašaxat‘un present a contrast between the exercise of one’s freedom to control the self against the use of freedom and authority to control another. For the author, T‘amar fully exemplifies what it means to be անձնիշխան, possessing the full ability to bridge human rationality and responsibility in her circumstances as displayed in her words, actions, and decisions. The idea that accumulation of one’s prior free choices and the pattern that emerges from those choices shape one’s character and provide direction for future actions is observed in T‘amar’s courage and in P‘ašaxat‘un’s judgement.

Ոսկանեան Աստուածաշնչի հրատարակութեան 350-ամեակը (1666-2018), Ս. Էջմիածին, 2018

Thesis Chapters by Ani Shahinian

Conference Presentations by Ani Shahinian

Abstract The relationship, if any, between Armenian and Byzantine apologetic and polemic texts on... more Abstract
The relationship, if any, between Armenian and Byzantine apologetic and polemic texts on Christian and Muslim discourse, in the late fourteenth century, has not been investigated. Furthermore, Armenian Christian apologetic texts have not been translated and have not been a subject for scholarly inquiry. In 1392, Matt‘ēos vardapet J̌ułayec‘i (1350 – 1411?), composed an apologetic texts addressing practical questions raised by a local qāḍī in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogue. Few years later, in 1397, Grigor vardapet Tat‘ewac‘i (1346 – 1409), included a more comprehensive apologetic and polemic text on Islam in his multi-volume Book of Questions (1397). These are the two most important texts amongst other smaller, contemporary compositions. In the Byzantine tradition, some apologetic and polemic text on Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Palaeologian Era (1391-1398), have been translated into German and French and studied by Trapp and Khoury. The most important Greek text of the period is the collection of twenty-six “controversies” or “dialogues” between the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and the Persian Muslim - Mūderris, composed between 1391-1395. The parallel development of Christian and Muslim discourse in the Palaeologian Era in Constantinople and in Lake Van region and Tat‘ew Monastery, warrants a comparative study to understand whether there was contact or mutual influence. This paper studies the above-mentioned texts, bringing together the Armenian apologetic texts in conversation with this existing scholarship on Byzantine apologetic and polemic texts.

The role and function of material forms and objects in the history of the Lake Van region is an i... more The role and function of material forms and objects in the history of the Lake Van region is an innovative approach and a thought experiment into the idea of how the events of martyrdom and the lives of the saints could be illustrated in Armenian Christianity. In my doctoral research, the access foci to the history of martyrs and the events of martyrdom have been written manuscripts – namely, the Yaysmawurk‘ [Menologium] and textual sources. But the Yaysmawurk‘ is not only a written manuscript. It is also an artifact of a material culture in its specific historical context. In addition to presenting this distinct perspective on the Yaysmawurk‘, the aim of this paper is to study the representations of martyrs and the events of martyrdom as depicted through miniature paintings found in manuscripts and archeological studies of martyria. The recognition of the presence and absence of an object contributes to a better understanding and imagination of how the local cultures in the late medieval Lake Van region perceived martyrdom. The presence or absence of miniature paintings, martyria, and pilgrimages to martyria shed light on the cultures that remembered and celebrated the lives of the martyrs. In Armenia, the transmission of the memory of martyrs as represented in art and script reflect a sense of continuity with Christ, the protomartyr St. Stephen, the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia, and the ancient martyrs. This investigation seeks to identify the presence and absence of miniature paintings and martyria in the Lake Van region to provide a fuller picture of the concept of martyrdom in its historical context.

Armenia has had a deep, elongated, and complex histories with the Muslim world. As part of the f... more Armenia has had a deep, elongated, and complex histories with the Muslim world. As part of the first Christian encounter with Islam in the Christian East, Armenia continued its interactions with the Muslim world as it emerged and re-emerged in different periods under diverse rules. The relationship between Armenia and the Muslim world continues today as Armenia shares borders with Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran - all Muslim countries.

At the fall of the Ilkhanate in 1335, the Armenian Highlands witnessed a wave of Muslim settlements in their historic homeland. Armenia’s long history with Islam allows for an informed and sophisticated study of the emergence and evolution of exchange between the two communities. This talk focuses on a Christian apologetic text in question-answer form produced in the Lake Van region at the end of the fourteenth century by a highly esteemed Vardapet (archimandrite) named Matt‘ēos Jˇułayec‘i (1350-1411) which contributes to our understanding of how Christians and Muslims interacted in late medieval Armenia in the Lake Van region.

This chapter of my thesis engages with the paradoxical idea of apologetics as communicative discourse through words at one level, and at another level the ‘embodiment’ of an apologetic discourse or the ‘enfleshment of the word’ as exemplified in the martyrdom of Catholicos Zak‘aria II of Ałt‘amar. Matt‘ēos was alert to the concerns of the Muslims and was prepared to addressed the questions raised by the Muslim community in his days. Matt‘ēos addresses seven questions raised by the Muslims, providing illustrations and examples relevant for his audience. The first two questions deal with Christians’ understanding of their faith and God as distinct from Islam. The third question raises historical disputes about prophethood and what purpose prophets served in Christian history. The last four questions address social and cultural ways of being and how faith was expressed through certain practices. The last four questions address circumcision, ablution, fasting, and positions of genuflection – practices that translated belief into action through each religions’ customs. Customs, defined as a way of life and expression of beliefs, defined the character of difference in practice between the Christian settled population and the emerging Muslim polities and settlements in the Armenian populated Highlands. What was customary for the Christians in Armenia followed a long history of Christian practices. As Islam grew stronger in the region, it obtained a higher profile; the contrast between their and Christian customary practices was noticeable. We see in Matt‘ēos’ text how the difference between the two communities are highlighted, and how the Christians understood the Muslim customs.

UCLA ARMENIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE SERIES Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 15, MAZDA PUBLISHERS Costa Mesa, California, 2021

Banber Matenadarani

Ոսկանեան Աստուածաշնչի հրատարակութեան 350-ամեակը (1666-2018), Ս. Էջմիածին, 2018