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 .
Mesrop Mashtots (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
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Oshakan-Mesrop1.jpg/170px-Oshakan-Mesrop1.jpg)
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 | |
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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 |