Page 144 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

Cultural Activity 145

writers in a creative interaction with both
western and eastern cultural trends of
thought, thus significantly enlarging the
scope and enriching the Armenian cultural
ethos. This process was transformed into an
existential and permanent dialogue in the
diaspora. In all these circumstances, the
Armenian culture stayed distinctive and
retained its integrity.
Outside of a few initiatives during the
16th through the 19th centuries, the Ar-
menian church fathers were not translated
into western languages until the 20th Cen-
tury, when a remarkable number of them
appeared in western scholarship.

Major figures of
Armenian original literature
The Armenian Church contributed pro-
foundly to the early development of Ar-
menian literary, religious, and scientific
writing, including historiography, theology,
philosophy, translation, poetry, science,
astrology, cosmology, and medicine. With
some exceptions, all the authors were mem-
bers of the clergy. I have selected a small
group of outstanding figures, with their
original Armenian names, who represent
different branches of ancient Armenian
Christian writing. These authors provide
valuable information on the significant