Armenian Bibles in Our Household: Asdouatzashounch – 3/3

Vahe H. Apelian

(For record)

 

Courtesy Garo Konyalian

My mother had three additional Bibles that are New Testament. They are in Western Armenian, the language she taught. They are:

 

PRINTED BY THE ARMENIAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCHATE IN BZOUMAR, LEBANON, (ՀԱՅ ԿԱԹՈՂԻԿԷ ՊԱՏՐԻԱՐՔԱՐԱՆ)

This Bible has been gifted to her. (Depicted on the far left)

This Bible has been printed by the permission of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in 1981

Mesrob Vartabed Jourian (Մեսրոպ Վրդ. Ճուրեան) a friar in Bzoumar is mentioned on the front page presumably as the translator in Western Armenian. He thaneds his friends for helping him in the printing of the Bible and singled the Armenian painter Mr. PAUL GUIRAGOSSIAN for illustrating it. The Bible contains several paintings or illustriatons by the famed painter.

 

JERUSALEM PRINTED BIBLE BY THE ST. JAMES MONASTERY (ԵՐՈՒՍԱՂԷՄ ՏՊԱՐԱՆ ՍՐԲՈՑ ՅԱԿՈԲԵԱՆՑ)

This Bible, (depicted in the middle) is printed by the United Bible Society (Աստուածաշունչի Միացեալ Ընկերութիւն) in 1981 by the order of the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazken I, during the Patriarchate of the Archbishop Yegishe, the Patriarch at Holy Jerusalem. (Ի Պատրիարքութեան Տ. Եղիշէ Սրբազան Արքեպիսկոպոս, Սրբոց Երուսաղէմի)։

This Bible has been gifted to her by Kevork Vartabed Yeghiayan, on March 14, 1986. The inscription notes Fanar, a suburb in West Beirut. Hripsimiantz, the Armenian Catholic School for girls is located there. My mothe taught in that school for two years prior to joining the rest of the family in the U.S. at the conclusion of the  1986 scholastic year. the Bible may have been presented to her for a keepsake.

PRINTED BY THE ARMENIAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (ԻՐԱՒՈՒՆՔ ՎԵՐԱՊԱՀԵԱԼ ԱՍՏՈՒԱԾԱՇՈՒՆՉԻ ԸՆԿԵՐՈՒԹԵԱՆ)

On the front page it is noted that the Bible was printed for the Armenian Missionary Association of America by the American Bible Society of America in Lebanon in 1981. My mother has noted that she acquired the Bible in 1988 in California. (Depicted on the far right).

In the preface the following is noted: “This edition of the Bible is not a new translation, but a reprint of the best translation available to our people with some linguistic, grammatical and orthographic corrections. - Աստուածաշունչի այս հրատարկութիւնը նոր թարգմանութիւն մը չէ, հապա մեր ժողովուրդին ձեռքը գտնուող ախարհաբար թարգմանութեան վերահրատարակութիւնն է կարգ մը լեզուական, կէտադրական եւ ուղղագրական սբրբագրութիւններով։)

My Mother-in-Law’s “Jizmejian” Bible

My mother-in-law always referred to her Bible as the “Jizmejian” Bible. For a longtime I had remained under the impression that she had bought the Bible from Jizmejian bookstore in Aleppo. Later on I found out that she had not bought the Bible from the Jizmejian bookstore but she had it bound at the Jizmejian bookstore. In fact when I scrutinized the stamp on its front page it said “ JIMZEJIAN BOOKSHOP – BOOKBINDER’S SHOP – NOR KYUGH, ALEPPO - ՃԻԶՄԷՃԵԱՆ ԳՐԱՏՈՒՆ.ԿԱԶՄԱՏՈՒՆ-ՆՈՐ ԳԻՒՂ). In its days it appears that it was a well-known institution. 

The Bible has been printed in Vienna  in 1930 by the American Bible Society. It is bound in hard black hard cover with a cross imprinted on it. The Binding has stood the test of time and remains firm, tightly binding the Bible in spite of the fact that my mother -in-law read her Bible every day. 

In the Bible she had kept a sheet of paper where she had noted the Armenian naming of the books, both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. I posted a copy below.

I wanted to record the Armenian Bibles we have in our household. These Bibles were printed in different countries in the Diaspora. Most of my generation can attest having a grandparent reading the Bible in Armenian. We all know that reading a book is declining, let alone reading the Bible in Western Armenian, an endangered language.