Armenia and the Bible: Papers Presented to the International Symposium Held at Heidelberg, July 16-19, 1990

These are the acts of an international symposium on ‘Armenia and the Bible: Culture, Tradition, and Text - Die Bibel in der armenischen Kultur’, that was held at Heidelberg from July 16th to 19th, 1990. The symposium was designed to discuss the Armenian Bible, in all available forms and from all possible angles, as an important factor of Armenian culture: ancient, medieval and modern. Fresh impetus was expected in the fields that have been relatively well researched, such as the language of the Armenian Bible, its text and transmission, biblical codicology and illustrations, the Wirkungsgeschichte of the Bible in Armenian through commentaries, sermons, and liturgy, its function as a foundation for dogmatics and ecclesiastical law and order. New efforts were hoped for in areas that are less studied or neglected such as the use of the Bible in Armenian art apart from book illustrations (but including epigraphy), its influence on education both at home and in school, its role in popular religion and private life, or the impact of its language on the Armenian language generally. Special attention was to be paid to what happened to the Bible in modern times, particularly since the emergence of secular Armenian culture in the 19th and 20th centuries.