Written in the form of a letter, the Proof is a manual of theology designed to serve as a guide to salvation and a way to refute heretics. It was composed in Lyons and dates from the end of the second to the beginning of the third century.

The conversion of Armenia is traditionally dated to 314 when Gregory the Illuminator (c. 240-332) baptized King Trdat (298-330) and the royal family. Not until the fifth century did there develop both a Christian literature for Armenians in the Armenian languages, and the beginnings of a literary tradition in several genres which provided a coherent argument against the old religion of Zoroastrianism and made for the creation of Armenia as a Christian nation. Eznik of Kolb, later bishop of Bagrewand, studied in Edessa and in Constantinople among that first generation of Armenian Christians who made available in the newly established Armenian script translations of Greek and Syriac texts, including the Bible and other early Christian writings. Armenian which has survived untitled in one manuscript. Modern editors and translators have titled this treatise On God or Against the Sects. Eznik addressed perceived threats to Christianity in Armenia from heretical and non-Christian movements, among them Valentinian Gnosticism and the schools of Greek philosophy, Marcionism, Manichaeism and Zoroastrian Zurvanism. Eznik's sources include the Bible; ancient Greek, non-Christian literature; earlier Greek patristic treatises and other works; Syriac patristic texts; and Iranian works either written or oral, concerning the Zurvanite form of Zoroastrianism and Armenian paganism. to contrast the monotheistic Christian God with the dualistic or polytheistic deities and religions of his opponents. Eznik's book is unusual in several aspects. It is the first apologetic treatise composed in Armenian, and it also provides a summary of early Christian doctrine as Eznik understood it. It contains unique information on the fifth-century teachings of Zurvanism and Marcionism. It attests to an Armenian theology conversant with both Syriac and Greek sources. It also opens a window into pre-Christian Armenian mythology and folklore. based on the critical edition of Louis Maries and Charles Mercier (Peeters 1998)

Old Armenian Songs: A Nineteenth Century Collection by Ghewond Alishan, edited by Andy Nercessian. Hardback, iii + 90pp, ISBN 1-904303-00-5, EAN 9781904303008, 22 x 14cm, £29.50, $39.00. Includes introduction by Andy Nercessian, songs in original Armenian, songs in original English translation, original and new footnotes, and index. The collection of songs presented here was first published in 1852 in Venice, as part of a project to preserve Armenian culture. The collection was made from Armenian manuscripts held at the Armenian monastery in San Lazzaro, dating from the 14th to 18th centuries, and is therefore of great value for historical ethnomusicologists, historians, and Armenologists in general. Andy Nercessian introduces the collection, and puts the contents in perspective through annotations which complement the original footnotes made by Ghewond Alishan. Some of the songs are well-known folk songs commonly performed by singers and folk musical ensembles in Armenia today, for example, Groung (Crane). In addition, there are wedding songs, laments, songs about foreign oppression, and love songs.

Efronia Katchadourian was born in 1894 to a Christian Armenian family living in the Ottoman Empire. In her late eighties, she finally wrote the long-secret story of her ill-fated youthful love for a Persian Moslem during the era of the Armenian genocide. Her daughter-in-law Stina introduces the memoir and interweaves an affectionate narrative that brings together the historical, biographical, and cultural elements of her indomitable mother-in-law's tumultuous world.

Western Armenian New Testament and Psalms. M343 UBS

Western Armenian Bible fresh from the press! Black Hardcover!