Mesrop Mashtots
Mesrop Mashtots ( Armenian Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց , scientific transliteration Mesrop Maštoc '; * around 360 in Hatsik , Taron Province in Armenia ; † February 17, 440 in Echmiadzin ) was an Armenian saint and developer of the Armenian alphabet . The inscription according to the western Armenian pronunciation is Mesrob Maschdods .
Life
His place of birth Hatsik (Hatsekats) in today's Muş province in eastern Turkey was near the ancient Armenian cult site Ashtishat , where, according to tradition, Gregory the Illuminator founded the first Armenian church at the beginning of the 4th century. After a Hellenistic training in Antioch and a time as a soldier in the service of the Armenian king in Vagharschapat , Mesrop became a monk and was ordained priest in 392 . Since no Bible was available in the Armenian language and the Armenian language was not a written language until then, Mesrop began with the help of other church scholars to develop a 36-letter alphabet for the Armenian language, which was based, among other things, on the Greek alphabet . He later translated parts of the Bible from Syrian texts together with the Catholicos Sahak (387-439) and others into his Armenian alphabet. The first Armenian Bible was completed in 435, and additional translations from the Greek followed. In addition, he played a key role in the missionary work of Armenia.
Honors
Mesrop's tomb is venerated in the church named after him in the village of Oshakan (about 15 kilometers northwest of Yerevan ). There are 36 modern chatschkars on the church premises , each of which is designed according to a letter of the alphabet.
In downtown Yerevan there is his monument on Matenadaran . Stamps were issued in Mesrop's honor in both the Soviet Union and independent Armenia. An Order of Armenia founded on July 26, 1993 is the Order of Saint Mesrop Mashtots .
Source edition
- Gabriele Winkler : Koriwns Biographie des Mesrop-Maštoc '. Translation and commentary (= Orientalia Christiana Analecta 245). Pontificio Istituto Orientale, Rome 1994
literature
- Valentina Calzolari: Mesrop. In: Real Lexicon for Antiquity and Christianity . Volume 24, Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-7772-1222-7 , Sp. 749-758
- Johannes Madey : Mesrop. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 1359-1361.
Web links
- Description of the life and death of St. Lehrers Mesrop Online text of the German translation of Koriun's biography of Mesrop in the library of the church fathers
Individual evidence
- ^ Mesrob K. Krikorian: The Armenian Church. Materials on Armenian history, theology and culture. Peter Lang, Frankfurt 2002, pp. 28f
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mashtots, Mesrop |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mashtots, Mesrob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Armenian saint and developer of the Armenian alphabet |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 360 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hatsik , Taraun Province Armenia |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 17, 440 |
| Place of death | Etchmiadzin |