Year: 2024

The eminent ethnographer Yervand Lalayan, in his article “Sacred Rites Among Armenians,” explored the origins and evolution of the “ritual of offering,” perpetuated among Armenians and other peoples around the world since time immemorial. Below, we present brief excerpts (the beginning was covered in previous articles)…

“Among the Greeks, there was a tradition where the services offered to the gods were the same as those needed by living beings; temples were considered the homes of the gods, sacrifices as their food, and altars as tables.”

In this context, it is possible to demonstrate that the food offerings made to the gods and those placed on the graves of the deceased share a common origin, as both derive from offerings made to the living…

“Among Armenians, when grapes are harvested for the first time (usually during the Feast of the Dormition), they are sent as gifts to relatives, the head of the household, dignitaries, the priest, and then brought to the church to be blessed, and the next day, to the cemetery for the commemoration of the dead. In the Shirak region and in other Armenian villages, during the first threshing, bread is made with flour from this wheat, called “chalaki” or “taplay,” which is offered to relatives, the head of the household, the priest, and distributed early in the morning to passersby as a portion intended for the deceased. When the first pears and early apples are harvested, they are sent as gifts to relatives, especially the son-in-law, the head of the household, the priest, and taken to the cemetery for the commemoration of the dead during Vardavar, placed in a bag or on a tray on the tombstone. All passersby take them, eat them, and pray for the deceased. When honey is harvested, a portion is reserved for relatives, the head of the household, the priest; candles are made from the wax and then brought to the cemetery and the church to be lit. A newborn lamb or calf is offered to relatives, the head of the household, or other dignitaries, consecrated to the church, or slaughtered to prepare the “bread of the soul.” The new wine is sent as a gift to relatives, the head of the household, or dignitaries, to the church for the communion chalice, and to the cemetery for the commemoration of the dead, where a little is poured on the tombstone before drinking a cup of mercy.”

The above-mentioned facts, observed in all countries, demonstrate that sacrifices are, by principle, offerings in the true sense of the word. Animals are offered to kings, slaughtered on graves, and sacrificed in temples. Prepared foods are offered to military leaders, placed on graves and on temple altars. The first fruits are offered to living military leaders, as well as to the dead and to the gods: in some places, it is beer, in others, wine, and elsewhere, chicha, sent to the visible ruler, presented to the invisible spirit, and sacrificed to the gods. Incense, once burned before kings and in certain places before dignitaries, is burned elsewhere before the gods.

Let’s also add that dishes, as well as all sorts of precious objects intended to gain favor, are accumulated both in the treasuries of kings and in the temples of the gods. We now arrive at the following conclusion: In the same way that offerings made to earthly rulers gradually evolve to take the form of state revenues, offerings made to the gods develop to take the form of ecclesiastical revenues.

“The Middle Ages introduced a new level in the development of offerings. In addition to what was necessary for the communion of priests and laypeople, without including what was intended for the Eucharist, it became customary to offer various gifts, which, over time, were no longer even brought to the church but sent directly to the diocese. Later, due to the frequent repetition and expansion of these gifts, which were supposed to be intended for God but were in reality bequeathed to the church, regular income for the church began to appear.”

Among the Armenians as well, the income of the church and its clergy has developed in a similar manner. Initially, pilgrims would willingly invite the church’s clergy to share their sacrificial meal, but gradually, they found themselves obliged to reserve a specific portion for the church and its clergy. Thus, nowadays, anyone offering a sacrifice is required to give the animal’s skin to the church, the right leg to the priest, and the head and stomach to the sacristan.

Spontaneous gifts of wheat, flour, oil, cheese, butter, olive oil, grapes, and wine offered to relatives, the church, and its officials gradually gave rise to ecclesiastical taxes, which we will discuss later.

Most of the current Christian liturgical ceremonies originate from ancient rituals, shaped over centuries as a result of their reinterpretation (for example, the daily morning prayer service at dawn, the “Aravakal Jamerkutyun” at the “Hour of Sunrise,” the Antasdan ceremony with blessings of the four corners of the world, traditional festivals like Palm Sunday, Vardavar, and others that have preserved ancient customs, the veneration of saints, martyrs as “heroes of faith,” the canonization and glorification of patriarchs mentioned in the Old Testament, various hymns and chants commemorating “Dedicated Persons,” the offerings, the solemn processions of clergy during various feasts with rose water sprinkling on the attendees, etc.).

We can observe a clear reflection of the ancient tradition of the “predecessors” (Karapet) associated with the worship of ancestors, evident in certain modern-day ceremonial rites, such as the heralds preceding the Royal procession. This aspect was addressed by the distinguished Armenian ethnographer, archaeologist, and folklorist Yervand Lalayan (1864-1931) in his study dedicated to the origins of “Ritual Orders,” a portion of which we present below.

The Armenian patriarchs and kings were worshiped by the Armenian people both during their lifetime and after their death. Cadmus, addressing Hayk, calls him the ‘Great Hero,’ who, after death, becomes the Orion constellation. Vahagn earned the fervent love of Armenian poets. The Arsacids were attributed divine origins, and their statues, which Vagharshak built in Armavir in the likeness of his ancestors and later brought to Bagaran and then Artashat, were shattered by Sasanian Ardashir (as recorded by Movses Khorenatsi, Book 2, Chapter 38).

Moreover, not only the high priests but also the Catholicoi were involved in organizing the rites of royal worship, as seen in the following words of Faustus of Byzantium: ‘And Nerses the Great established the customs of the kingship with the most virtuous religious observances, as he had seen from the ancient kings’ (Faustus of Byzantium, Book 5, Chapter 1).

The societal organizations that have yet to fully differentiate clearly show the continuity of the worship of both living and deceased rulers. Among primitive peoples, it was often the ruler himself who would proclaim his virtues and the deeds of his ancestors. Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions show that this custom persisted for a long time. Later, when the ruler was not a good orator, he would entrust others to recount his deeds. Thus, it gradually became customary for heralds to precede rulers and princes, singing their praises—just as they did for dead, deified rulers.

That the same occurred among Armenians is evident from the following remnants. Agathangelos (in Chapter 92), mentioning the names of the princes whom Tiridates sent to bring the sons of Gregory the Illuminator, says that the third prince was “Dat by name, the royal karapet.” Therefore, it is clear that Armenian kings also had a karapet or karapets who went before them, announcing the king’s presence to the people.

Even to this day, a cleric holding a cross leads the Catholicos’s procession, and as he approaches the church, clerics and choirs go ahead of him, singing hymns and praising him. The same occurs during a religious procession when one person, holding the cross standard, leads the way, and a group of clergy, singing hymns, guides the image of the deity or a relic.

We also observe the same in wedding ceremonies. When the king (the groom, in this case) returns from the church to his home, a person called the “fox” runs ahead of him, announcing his arrival and praising him and the queen (the bride) (quoted from Y. Lalayan’s Ethnography, Ritual Orders, p. 177).

That is why, during the wedding ceremony, the “king,” the groom, was honored with “royal, majestic, and regal ceremonies.”

About King of Kings Tigran the Great, according to Plutarch:
“Many kings were in his presence, whom he had relegated to the position of servants, and he constantly kept four of them with him as companions or bodyguards…”