Krikor Vardapet MAKSOUDIAN
( n. 1941 )

The early fifth-century invention of the Armenian alphabet is a major turning point in the history of the Armenian people, yet much of the information readily available on it in English is contradictory and confusing. Modern writers have ascribed all kinds of motives ranging from evangelization to socJoeconomic, cultural, and other secular factors to the invention of the Armenian alphabet. Some authors have even asserted that there was some kind of writing system for Armenian before the fourth-century adoption of Christianity by the Armenian state and people. This volume is based on the historical sources tor the invention. It views the invention within the context of the accompanying dramatic political events of the division of the kingdom of Armenia between the rival Persian and Roman empires and the fall of the Arshakuni dynasty; and the history of the Armenian Church from the mid-fourth to the mid-fifth centuries; and presents the main personalities associated with the invention and the spread of literacy. It portrays the foundation of the consequent literary1 tradition that made the Bible accessible in Armenian, preserved many important works of the Classical world in Armenian translation, and created much of the basis of Armenian cultural identity for centuries to come.
This volume is intended for a general readership, and includes an album of relevant illustrations and a historical map.

The present work draws information from the original sources about the traditions, rules and procedures governing the election of the catholicos of Greater Armenia—an office which, in the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, took on the title "Catholicos of All Armenians," a designation which has been in use ever since.
Fr. Maksouclian charts the history of the office from St. Gregory the Illuminator —who converted Armenia to Christianity, and established the line of catholicoi in the fourth century—through the political and doctrinal complexities of the medieval period, up to the present day. Special attention is given to elections which introduced a new process or demonstrated an existing pattern. Intended for the general public as well as for students and scholars, Chosen of God provides the reader with an understanding of the historical developments that serve as a background to the present-day electoral process.

---

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ix
1. Early Evidence of the Episcopate in Armenia 1
2. The Election of Catholicoi in the Fifth Century 72
3. The Election of Catholicoi
During the Sixth and Seventh Centuries 20
4. The Election of Catholicoi
During the Period of Arab Domination 30
5. The Election of Catholicoi Under the Bagratid Kings 35
6. The Election of Catholicoi Under Byzantine Rule 40
7. The Succession of the Pahlawuni Catholicoi 44
8. The Election of Catholicoi During the Cilician Kingdom 47
9. The Election of Catholicoi
After the Fall of the Cilician Kingdom 60
10. The Transfer of the Catholicate to Holy Etchmiadzin 69
11. The Succession of Catholicoi from 1443 to 1629 76
12. Elections During the Period 1629-1843 82
13. The Election of Catholicoi from 1843 to 1911 109
14. The Election of Catholicoi Since 1932 124
15. The Election of 1995 138
16. Epilogue 140
Notes to the Text 143
Appendices 763
1. The Text of the Polozhente in Classical Armenian 164
2. The Text of the Polozhenie in Modern Armenian 167
3. Original Armenian Text of the Oath of Office 170
4. Original Armenian Text of the Special Bylaws (1925) 171
5. Original Armenian Text of the Special Bylaws (1945) 175
6. The Catholicoi of All Armenians 178
7. Present-day Patriarchates and Dioceses 182
Bibliography 185