A Homily on the Passion of Christ Attributed to Elishe: Translated from the Classical Armenian with Introduction and Notes

This book offers the first translation of the ‘Homily on the Passion of Christ’ attributed to the Armenian historian Elishe. The ‘Homily’ rephrases the biblical narrative from the Last Supper to the Ascension with rhetorical expansions; a final section describes the subsequent Preaching of the Apostles. Elishe is the author of one of the great classics of early Armenian literature, the ‘History of Vardan and the Armenian War’, and to him are also ascribed various other works, including a ‘Commentary on Genesis’ and numerous Homilies. The notes to the English rendering indicate parallels with other Armenian texts, both original Armenian works and early translations into Armenian; the introduction places the theology of the ‘Homily’ in its Armenian context.