As part of celebrations held on the occasion of the 1600th anniversary of the translation of the Bible into Armenian, a day long conference was held at Woodbury University in Burbank on Saturday, February 25, 2006, sponsored and organized by the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America.
Organized by Prof. Barlow Der-Mugrdichian and Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian, Vicar General, the conference featured presentations from seven experts who analyzed the translation of the Bible into Armenian from various points of view. The symposium began at 9:30 a.m. and concluded at 4:30 p.m.
The program opened with the welcoming remarks of Dr. Kenneth Nielsen, President of Woodbury University, following which Prof.
Barlow Der-Mugrdichian, Lecturer in Armenian Studies, at CSU Fresno, who also served as moderator during the symposium, gave an introduction to the day’s presentations.
“The Bible has played a central role in the life of the Armenian people since its translation into Armenian in the fifth century,”
said Prof. Der Mugrdichian in his lecture. “The Bible has influenced Armenian art, literature, and music.”
Dr. Claude Cox, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Old Testament and Hebrew at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario spoke on the theme, “Little Words are Important Too: Use of Particles in the Armenian Translation of Job.” His presentation centered around the “treatment of particles in the Armenian translation of Job: how did the translator treat all the little words?”
On the topic of*/ “The Prophecy of Jeremiah as it is Found in the Hebrew, Septuagint, Syriac, and Armenian”, /*Rev. Dr. Manuel
Jinbachian* *said, “When we study the text of the book of Jeremiah in the Armenian and compare it with the Hebrew, the Septuagint and the Syriac, we note that the Armenian Jeremiah, on the whole, is closer to the Syriac than to the Septuagint, when it comes to the order of chapters, verses and events. Given the fact that chapter and verse divisions are of medieval origin, the important thing to consider are the succession of events.”
The next presenter was Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Vahan Hovhanessian, St.
Nersess Armenian Seminary, New Rochelle, NY, whose topic was “The Reading is From Third Corinthians-A Glance at the Lectionary of the Armenian Church.”
Fr. Hovhannessian said, “Scholars have long noticed the existence of an apocryphal correspondence attributed to the apostle Paul and the Corinthian community, known as Third Corinthians (3 Cor.), in many Armenian manuscripts of the Bible. However, except for a very few and brief remarks, nothing has been said about the incorporation of this apocryphal document in the Armenian Church lectionary and the daily Scripture readings.” Exploring 10 different manuscripts of Armenian lectionaries Fr. Hovhannesian traced the various readings from 3 Cor.
in the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Church and examined their contexts.
Vicar General of the Western Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Yardemian, lectured in Armenian on the topic, “Armenian Exegesis or Armenian Commentaries on the Books of the Holy Bible: 5th – 18th centuries.”
Fr. Dajad explained the significance of the Bible, as a book that bears the “Breath of God,” and thus clarifies its importance and meaning. He then moved on to the translation of the Bible into Armenian in the beginning of the 5th century, also noting the viewpoint of works from Greek and Syriac Church Fathers, including exegetical and dogmatic essays. He also referred to the depth of Armenian exegetical works and to their rich spirituality, and provided an evaluation from the theological, ecclesiastical and dogmatic point of view, emphasizing at the same time their high value of moral instruction within the spiritual life. Fr. Dajad concluded by saying that today the exegetical works of the Armenian Church Fathers still maintain their contemporary value, as they are a living history of the Christian faith, which is directly connected to our current life of faith.
Following a lunch break Dr. Peter Cowe, Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies, UCLA, spoke on “Literary and Theological Considerations Governing the Strata of the Armenian Version of Scripture”
He discussed a number of issues relating to the Armenian translation of the Bible. contextualizing the undertaking within the evangelization of Southern Caucasia and exploring examples of the exegesis of the School of Edessa, which proved a formative influence on Armenian Christianity.
The next lecture was provided in Armenian by Archpriest Fr. Dr.
Zaven Arzoumanian, Pastor, St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church, Pasadena, on “The Armenian Bible and the Early Formation of the Armenian Church.”
In his presentation Fr. Zaven mentioned, “The translation of the Bible into Armenian during the 5th century Golden Age, soon after the invention of the Armenian Alphabet by St. Mesrob Mashtots, ushered in the classical ecclesiastical literary language by which earliest translations of liturgical and canonical books were either translated or written originally. In both cases the vocabulary and the grammar of the Golden Age Armenian were ultimately based on the Armenian version of the Holy Bible.
The Armenian Bible thus became the first textbook par excellence to teach the Holy Translators the correct grammar of the classical Armenian, following which, they accomplished marvelous works immediately, writing the earliest polemics and commentaries on the books of the Bible, and writing the history of the Armenian church and nation.”
The final speaker of the day was Dr. Kevork Bardakjian, Marie Manoogian Professor of Armenian Language and Literature, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, whose topic was “Modern Armenian Translations of the Bible: Some Lexical-Textual and Religious –Cultural Observations.” On that theme the speaker compared a few translations of the Bible into both modern Eastern and Western Armenian, with the Classical version as background and point of reference. He also attempted to illustrate linguistic change and changing cultural contexts in the differences observed between these versions.”
Following a question and answer period His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, delivered the closing remarks. The Primate expressed his sincere gratitude to Dr.
Kenneth Nielsen, President of Woodbury University, for graciously agreeing to open the doors of the University for the Symposium.
His Eminence also thanked Prof. Barlow Der-Mugrdichian and Very Rev.
Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian, for their meticulous efforts in ensuring the success of the symposium.
Lastly, the Primate extended words of appreciation to the speakers of the day, for their time and for sharing with the community their expert knowledge.
In his remarks Archbishop Derderian mentioned several plans and projects in reference to the symposium. The first was that such symposia are to become an annual tradition within the Western Diocese. His Eminence continued that next year’s day-long conference will be dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Western Diocese.
In order for the Symposium dedicated to the translation of the Bible into Armenian to reach its ultimate goal, the Primate also made several announcements regarding future publications. First that the articles presented during the day are going to be published separately, as part of the publications of the Western Diocese. The Western Diocese will also undertake the publication of Bibles and the New Testament, to be utilized within the Diocese. Continuing the list of publications the Primate also announced the future publication of Sunday Readings, to be used in churches.
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