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E00147: The Epic Histories, traditionally attributed to P'awstos, written in Armenian in the second half of the 5th c., recount the miraculous disappearance in a river, of the Syrian anchorite *Šałitay (Syrian anchorite and disciple of Daniel, S00067), who wished to avoid the veneration of his relics. Written in Armenia in the second half of the fifth century.

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posted on 2014-11-03, 00:00 authored by dlambert

The Epic Histories, Book V, Chapter 25-26:

Šałitay was a saintly man who dwelt in the great mountain known as the Throne of Anahit. Together with another anchorite, Epip'an, he had witnessed the spirit of Patriarch Nersēs being lifted to Heaven. Šałitay's fame was widely spread and he was known for performing miracles and healing wild beasts who suffered injuries, he was known for crossing rivers with his shoes remaining completely dry. He would normally wander about alone but sometimes he would come down to an inhabited locality and would heal many of the sick.

Բայց ամենայն մարդ սպասէր եւ ակն ունէր մահու նորա, վասն ըմբռնելոյ զմարմին նորա: Իսկ սուրբն Շաղիտա իմացեալ զայս` թէ սպասեն առնուլ զմարմին նորա բազում մարդիկ, ապա խնդրեաց Շաղիտա յԱստուծոյ, զի մի' ոք ըմբռնեսցէ զմարմին նորա: Եւ եղեւ օր մի յաւուրց, որպէս սովորութիւն էր իւր, գնալ ի վերայ ջուրցն գետոյն: Եւ մինչ դեռ անցանէր նա ընդ գետն Կորդուաց, ըստ խնդրուածոցն իւրոց` որպէս եւ խնդրեաց նա, յանկարծակի` իբրեւ կայր ի մէջ գետոյն` յանկարծօրէն ընդ ջրովն մտեալ սուրբն Շաղիտայն ծածկեցաւ: Եւ մեծ գոյժ եղեւ գաւառին. եւ ժողովեցան անչափ բազմութիւնք մարդկանն ի մի վայր եկեալք կուտեցան, մինչեւ հատին դարձուցին ընդ այլ շրջեցին զգետն: Եւ խնդրէին զմարմինն սրբոյն Շաղիտայի, եւ ոչ կարացին ուրեք գտանել. զի իւր խնդրուածքն առ Աստուած այսպէս էին լեալ յառաջագոյն, սոյնպէս եւ կատարեցաւ:

'He was very old, and everyone awaited and watched for his death in order to seize his body. But Šałitay perceived this: that many men waited to seize his body, and so he implored God that no one should take his body. And it so happened, one day, that he was walking as was his custom over the water of the river. And while he was crossing the river of Korduk', unexpectedly as he was standing in the middle of the river, Šałitay suddenly entered into the water and was hidden from sight, as he had implored in his supplication. And there was much lamentation in the district. A countless multitude of men assembled, cut off and moved the river to another bed, and searched for the body of St Šałitay, but they were unable to find it anywhere. For his earlier request to God that it should be so, had thus been fulfilled.'

Text: Garsoïan 1984, 31-37; Translation: Garsoïan 1989, 205.

History

Evidence ID

E00147

Saint Name

Šałitay, Syrian anchorite and disciple of St Daniēl : S00067 Nersēs the Great, patriarch of Greater Armenia (353-373) : S00254

Saint Name in Source

Շաղիտա Ներսէս

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Armenian

Evidence not before

460

Evidence not after

470

Activity not before

460

Activity not after

470

Place of Evidence - Region

Armenia

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Hadamakert Հադամակերտ Hadamakert Başkale

Major author/Major anonymous work

Epic Histories (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk')

Cult Activities - Miracles

Miracle during lifetime Miracle at death Healing diseases and disabilities Miracle with animals and plants

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Crowds

Cult Activities - Relics

Noted absence of relics Attempts to prevent the veneration of one's relics Bodily relic - entire body

Source

The History, traditionally attributed to a certain P‘awstos Buzandac'i (usually translated as 'Faustos of Byzantium') covers Armenian history from the later Arsacid dynasty (c. AD 330) to the partition of the Armenian kingdom between Byzantium and Iran (AD 387). The History is the earliest source covering this specific period of history, which was later treated by Movsēs Xorenac'i. As N. Garsoïan points out, despite the evident importance of the material contained in the History for the study of 4th century Armenia, it was never included into the received Armenian tradition, and medieval historians preferred to refer to Movsēs Xorenac‘i, the most authoritative source for later authors, as the sole authority for 4th century events. Łazar P'arpeci, for example, considered the information provided by P‘awstos as false and absurd, and so apparently did the rest of medieval scholarship. Date and language The authorship of the text has long been debated. The author claims to have been an eyewitness of the events he describes, but if this was indeed the case he could not have written in Armenian, as the Armenian script was only created in the 5th century. Thus, he was often considered a Greek historian, a supposition 'supported' by a misunderstanding of the word Buzand (in his name) as 'Byzantium' (see below). Other external evidence has also been cited to favour the idea that the work was originally written in Greek, and only later translated into Armenian. There has also been a theory in favour of a Syriac original, mostly advanced by Peeters and based on multiple Syriacisms in the text. The most convincing theory, however, favours an Armenian original, and is mostly based on internal linguist evidence, such as the use of scriptural quotations that derive from the Armenian version of the Bible, various colloquialisms, and the spelling of proper names. As to the date of the composition, the author’s own claim cannot be accepted as trustworthy as he is far too ignorant of 4th century events to be considered a contemporary; he presents 4th century historical events as filtered through folk memory, often projecting events of the 5th century into the previous century. Based on the Epic Histories' quotations from Koriwn (who wrote in the first half of the 5th century), and a reference to the Histories by Łazar P‘arpeci (writing at the very end of the 5th century), who places 'P‘awstos' immediately after Agathangelos, Garsoïan suggests convincingly that the date of composition was around 470, arguing that 'it is difficult to imagine a time more suitable for a work glorifying the role of the Mamikonean family in Armenian history than the generation immediately following the sparapet Vardan Mamikonean's heroic defense of Armenian Christianity in 451' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 11). The author The claim by some late antique and medieval sources that P‘awstos was Greek rests on a misunderstanding of the word Buzand, which was considered to mean 'Byzantium'. Medieval reception 'corrected' the form Buzand to Buzandac‘i ('from Byzantium') to support the Greek origin of the author. The actual title appended to the text is Buzandaran Patmut‘iwnk‘. A. Perikhanian has found a definitive solution to the problem, showing that the word buzand derived not from the toponym ('Byzantium') but from the Parthian bozand , 'a reciter of epic poems, a bard' , with the suffix –aran as an adjectival qualifier. The title can thus be translated as Bardic or Epic Histories. So, as N. Garsoïan has shown, the work generally titled History of Armenia and attributed to Faustos of Byzantium is in fact a compilation of tales assembled by an anonymous historian in the 5th century. In our database the text will be consistently referred to as the Epic Histories. The author’s agenda From the perspective of the author’s representation of cultic practices, Garsoïan’s conclusion (as follows) is noteworthy: 'The author may have been a native of the southwestern district of Taron because of his unreserved devotion to the Mamikonean lords of the district and to its holy site Aštišat, which he invariable presents as the original centre of Armenian Christianity, as against the focus of the contemporary 'Agathangelos Cycle' on the northern city of Vałaršapat'/Dwin, and the nearby holy site of T'ordan' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 16). The author is a rigourous defender of Nicene orthodoxy and is thus strongly antagonistic toward the Armenian crown, which 'sought to conform with the Arianizing policy of the successors of Constantine through much of the fourth century' (Garsoïan, Epic Histories, 15).

Discussion

The story of the saint seeking to avoid veneration of his body echoes a story in the Epic Histories told of *Daniel (E00146).

Bibliography

Edition: Buzandaran Patmut'iwn (The Epic Histories) also known as Patmut'iwn Hayoc' (History of Armenia) Attributed to P'awstos Buzandac'i, a facsimile reproduction of the 1883 St. Petersburg edition with an introduction by Nina G. Garsoïan (New York: Caravan Books, 1984). Translation: Garsoïan, N.G., The Epic Histories Attributed to P'awstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk') (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989). On Šalita: Garsoïan, N.G., The Epic Histories Attributed to P'awstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk') (Cambridge, MA, 1989), 405. Acta martyrum et sanctorum 1, ed. P. Bedjan 422-462.

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Keywords

S00067 S00254 History

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