"I Confess With Faith" Saint Nerses Shnorhali – the Gracious (1102 – 1173) "ՀԱՎԱՏՈՎ ԽՈՍՏՈՎԱՆԻՄ" Ս. ՆԵՐՍԵՍԻ ՇՆՈՐՀԱԼԻՈՅ

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Armenian illuminated manuscripts

A collection of the best known and most characteristic illuminated manuscripts of the Armenian Church

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Armenian illuminated manuscripts form one of the most beautiful traditions of the Medieval Armenian art. The earliest surviving examples date from the 5th century, following the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Masrop Mashtots Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց (362-440). Very few fragments dated from the 5th-7th centuries have been survived. The oldest preserved in its entirety dates from the 9th century. 13th-14th centuries form the golden age of the Armenian calligraphy. Among the greatest Armenian miniaturists is Toros Roslin Թորոս Ռոսլին (1210-1270), who lived and worked in the Armenian kingdom of CIlicia.

Armenian Illuminated manuscripts are remarkable for their festive designs based on the Armenian  religious life and culture. lluminated manuscripts mostly recount the Holy Bible, in particular the Holy Gospels, as well as many aspects of the religious life and teachings of the Armenian Church. Most of the manuscripts were written and illustrated by monks. Armenian monasteries have been for centuries the centres of religious art and literature. Most of those manuscripts are exquisitely elaborated, covered in gilt and brilliant colors. It was a common belief that the beauty of the illustration could refresh the human mind and spirit.

Of the 31,000 Armenian manuscripts currently listed around the world, about 10,000 of them are ornamented, with 5,000 – 7,000 of them containing miniatures. Most of these manuscripts are preserved in the Matenadaran Institute of Yerevan (more than ten thousand manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts).

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»   The Resurrection of our Lord

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The Resurrection of the Lord, Holy women at tomb, by Evargis the priest, 1038, Gospel of Taron, ms6201 Matenadaran collection

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 Christ Appears to the Apostles after the Resurrection, by Toros Roslin, 1268, ms32.18 Freer Gallery of Art, Washington

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Holy Women at the Empty Tomb,by Toros Roslin, Malatia Gospels, 1268, Hromkla monastery, ms10675 Matenadaran collection

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The resurrection of our Lord, by Hovhannes monk, 1287, Akner monastery, ms197 Matenadaran collection

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The Resurrection of our Lord,  by Vardan monk, Artskeh, Vaspurakan, 1319, ms7456 Matenadaran collection

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Artist Zakaria Akhtamartsi, The Descent into Limbus and the Resurrection, by Zakaria Akhtamaratsi, 1357, Akhtamar, Van, ms5332 Matenadaran collection

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The Resurrection of our Lord, by Smbat sparapet, 1376, Crimea, ms7644 Matenadaran collection

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Jesus Christ is risen, 14th century, Matenadaran collection

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Jesus Christ is Risen, by Astvatsatour presbyter, 1419, Ardjesh, Vaspurakan, ms2670 Matenadaran collection

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The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Mesrop Khzanetsi, 1609, The Bodleian Library

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The Resurrection of the Lord, 1678, Constantinople, by priest Yakob Pēligratci, commissioned by Clav, son of Nawasard, as dedication to his sons, Astuacatur and Sahak, W.547 Walters collection

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The Resurrection of the Lord, artist Hovnatan Hovnatanian, 1760s, Echmiadzin Cathedral

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»  The incredulity of Thomas

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The incredulity of Thomas, by Toros Roslin, Malatia Gospels, 1268, Hromkla monastery, ms10675 Matenadaran collection

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The incredulity of Thomas, 1272, Gospel of Queen Keran, ms2563 Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate

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