Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Anahid Valencia
Staff Writer
“My work attempts to build this narrative that we have another story, we have a real story, we have the original story that we could and should bring to the surface,” said Dr. David Zakarian in his lecture titled “The Portrayal of Women in Early Armenian Literature,” given on Thursday, October 17, 2024. Dr. Zakarian’s lecture was part of the Armenian Studies Program Fall Lecture series and was supported by the Leon S. Peters Foundation.
In his presentation, Dr. Zakarian discussed the role of women in the Christianization of Armenia, the canons, or “rules” of ancient Armenia, and the position of women in the church today. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Zakarian opened the discussion to the audience, who were encouraged to ask questions and make comments.
Dr. Zakarian, the newly appointed Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies, began by posing a question – “what was the role of Armenian women during a time in which men wrote all of the literature?” Furthermore, he questioned the concept of the patriarchy being considered a tradition in Armenian culture.
Dr. Zakarian discussed the Christianization of Armenia in the fourth century CE, highlighting two women in particular, Sandukht, daughter of King Sanatruk, and Hripsime, a nun. Before Armenia became Christian, Zoroastrianism was the main religion, and it was during this time that St. Thaddeus, one of Christ’s apostles, was preaching Christianity at King Sanatruk’s court.
Sandukht became a devoted follower of St. Thaddeus and began preaching about Christ and converting people, which ultimately led her father to kill her. According to tradition, following Sandukht’s martyrdom, 2,000 people converted to Christianity, earning her what should have been a respected place in history. However, Dr. Zakarian explained that Sandukht is not given nearly enough credit for her role in the Christianization of Armenia and, for some in the audience, this was their first time hearing about her sacrifice.
“If we want to write the history of any people, we can’t just ignore at least 50% of the population, which were women,” said Dr. Zakarian.
Furthermore, Hripsime fleeing to Armenia to escape Emperor Diocletian’s marriage proposal ended up changing the course of Armenian history. When King Trdat the Great, who had 13 years earlier thrown Gregory into a pit for his refusal to worship the pagan goddess Anahid, fell in love with Hripsime, he decided to try and take her by force. Hripsime, however, defeated King Trdat and was then martyred along with her other companions. King Trdat, because of his sinful behavior, was turned into a wild boar. Thanks to the king’s sister, Khosrovidukht, Gregory was discovered to be alive, brought out of the pit, and healed King Trdat. Because of Gregory’s vision and Hripsime’s sacrifice, Armenia ultimately adopted Christianity.
“The first Armenian churches were built in the places where these virgins, St. Hripsime and her companions, were killed,” explained Dr. Zakarian. “They laid the foundation of the Armenian Church both physically by being buried under these churches, and symbolically, as it was their sacrifice that brought about Armenia’s Christianization.”
Dr. Zakarian then addressed whether the patriarchy is actually embedded within Armenian tradition by discussing the canons of ancient Armenia. His findings show that despite the patriarchal nature of the Armenian society, the ecclesiastical authorities imposed the same punishments on both men and women, suggesting a sense of equality that Armenians had since early times, most likely caused by the pre-Christian worldview of Armenians.
Dr. Zakarian shared a message by Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, who argued that the equality of men and women is a fundamental part of Christianity. Dr. Zakarian also spoke about deaconesses in the Armenian Apostolic Church – a concept that is foreign to many. A female deacon was ordained in an Armenian diasporic community in Iran, and Dr. Zakarian explained the significance of this occurring outside of Armenia. He further emphasized that throughout Armenian history, the portrayal of women – whether as empowered figures with full rights and responsibilities or as secondary figures largely excluded from such roles – has appeared to rest on the personal choices of individual church leaders.
The Armenian Apostolic Church has yet to implement this concept of female deacons to its full extent, however, Zakarian expressed his gratitude that it seems to have begun to.
Indeed, because of his research, Dr. Zakarian has been able to unveil a history which was hidden from a large part of the Armenian community – proving that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.
“This is something that no one speaks about, and I realized that I needed to do that,” concluded Dr. Zakarian.