Dr Anahit Avagyan

Education

Since 2021: Habilitation at the Faculty of Theology, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany

2005-2010: Doctorate at the Faculty of Theology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany (viva voce: 20 May, 2010)

2002-2003: Improvement studies at the Faculty of Theology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

2000-2002: Improvement studies at the Faculty of Theology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

1999-2001: Master’s Degree in Theology, Yerevan State University, Armenia

1995-1999: Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, Yerevan State University, Armenia

Scientific and Work Experience, Research Projects

Since October 2024: Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg

• Research employee ERC project 'DeLiCaTe'

Fall term 2021/2022 and Spring term 2022: Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt/Hybrid

• Teaching the Ancient Armenian language course in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Thomas Kremer

March-July 2020 and June 2022: Faculty of Protestant Theology, University of Vienna

• JESH (Joint Excellence in Science and Humanities) grant holder of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Research topic: Armenian Translation of the Pseudo-Athanasian Dialogue Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257)

2014-2015: Member of the project: Early Monasticism and Classical Paideia (Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden)

• January-February, September 2015 Researcher (Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden), Research topic: The Armenian Reception of the Apophthegmata Patrum

From June 2011-present: Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran - Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts

• Researcher (Department for the Study of the Armenian Texts of the 5th–14th Centuries), Research topics on: Armenian Transmission and Reception of the Church Fathers (Athanasius of Alexandria, Apophthegmata Patrum, etc.)

2012-2020: Gevorgian Theological Seminary, Etchmiadzin and

2012-2017: Vasgenian Theological Seminary, Sevan, Armenia

• lecturer, Subjects: Patristics, Church History and related subjects

2012-2014: Member of the project: Caucasus and Its Neighbours (Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

• Subgroup: Ecclesiastical Literature: Theology and Spirituality 2012

November-December 2011: Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

• Project: Reception of Athanasius of Alexandria in Armenian Literature

2009-2013: Yerevan State University, Faculty of Theology

• lecturer, Subjects: Patristics, History of Doctrines and related subjects

2005: Memorial Museum of Yeghishe Charents

• scientific assistant

2003-2005: Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran - Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts

• Researches on the manuscript material for the doctoral thesis

December 2003: Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

• lecturer, Subject: Church and State

April – September 2000: Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, Armenia

• lecturer, Subject: History of Religions

Presentations at Professional Conferences

“Theological Analysis of the Didache” (in Armenian) presented at the International Conference “Biblical Armenia” (Oshagan, 21-24 June 1999).

“Armenische Athanasius-Überlieferung” presented at the 15th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 6-11 August 2007).

“Visio Athanasii” presented at the 27th Conference “Liturgie und Ritual in der Alten Kirche” of the Patristische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (Bonn, 2-5 January 2009).

“The Unpublished Works of the Armenian Athanasian Corpus” (in German) presented at the 16th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 8-12 August 2011).

“Armenian Translations and Redactions of the Athanasian Creed” (in Armenian) presented at the 2nd International Congress on “Armenian Studies and the Challenges of Modern Times” (Yerevan, 17-19 October 2013).

“‘Why Do We Study Patrology?’ – Patristic Traditions of the Gevorgyan Theological Seminary and the Problems of Teaching Patrology Today” (in Armenian) presented at the International Conference dedicated to the 140th anniversary of Gevorgian Theological Seminary (St. Etchmiadzin, 21-22 November 2014).

“Die armenische Übersetzung der pseudo-athanasianischen Homilie De passione et cruce domini (CPG 2247)” presented at the 17th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 10-15 August 2015).

“[Athanasius of Alexandria] and [Step‘anos Syunec‘i]: Analysis of the Translation of Biblical Quotations” (in Armenian) presented at the International Conference “Translation and Publication of Armenian Bible in History” dedicated to the 350th Jubilee of the First Printing of Armenian Bible by Oskan Erevanc‘i (St. Etchmiadzin, 6-8 October 2016).

“Manuscripts that saved texts: Armenian translations as unique witnesses of certain patristic writings” presented at the 2nd International Conference on Patristic Studies “The Discoveries of Manuscripts from Late Antiquity: Their Impact on Patristic Studies and the Contemporary World” (San Juan - Argentina, 28-31 March 2017).

“Manuscript Heritage of the Armenian Translation of the Apophthegmata Patrum: Some Preliminary Remarks” presented at the International Conference dedicated to the Memory of Prof. Dr. Karen N. Yuzbashyan (1927-2009) “Armenia, Byzantium and the Orient: Written Heritage from Manuscripts to the Internet” (St. Petersburg, 25-26 September 2017).

“Armenian Translation of the Writing Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257) Attributed to St. Athanasius of Alexandria” (in Armenian) presented at the International Armenological Conference dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Academician Levon Khachikian (Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran, Yerevan, 28-30 June 2018).

“Der Aufbau der armenischen Paterika” presented at the Conference “Actual Questions of Studies of Oriental Christian Heritage” (Moscow Theological Academy, Sergiyev Posad, 22 November 2018).

“The Apostolic Fathers in Armenian” presented at the International Conference “Versions of the Apostolic Past: Ancient Translations of the Apostolic Fathers” (Leuven, 22-23 May 2019).

“Armenische Übersetzung des pseudoathanasianischen Dialogus Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257)” presented at the 18th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 19-23 August 2019).

“Preparation of the Critical Edition of the Armenian Translation of the Pseudo-Athanasian Erotapokriseis to the Ruler of Antioch with the Help of the Computer Program Classical Text Editor” (in Armenian) presented at the 6th Young Scientists Conference on the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Gevorg Abgaryan (Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran, Yerevan/Hybrid, 26-28 November 2020).

“The Translations and Editors of the Armenian Anthologies Vitae Patrum“ (in Armenian) presented at the 15th General Conference of the AIEA (Halle/Hybrid, 2-4 September 2021).

“Comparative Textual Analysis of the Biblical Quotations of the Pseudo-Athanasian Erotapokriseis Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257)” (in Armenian) presented at the International Conference “Contemporary perspectives on the translation and interpretation of the Bible” (St Etchmiadzin/Hybrid, 8-9 October 2021).

“Patristic Pieces and Excerpts of the Armenian Dogmatic Miscellanies (Liber epistularum, Sigillum fidei, Flos fidei, Radix fidei)” presented in the framework of the workshop “Florilegia Patristica. Polemics and Erudition in the Christian Denkraum of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages” of the ERC-Project Florilegia Syriaca (FLOS) (Venice, 30 March-1 April 2023).

“The Armenian Translations and Manuscript Heritage of St Athanasius the Great” presented at the “3rd Sidorov Readings on the Occasion of the 1650th anniversary of the Death of St Athanasius the Great” (Sretensky Theological Academy, Moskow/online, 15 May 2023).

“Die armenischen Paterica-Sammelwerke and die Apophthegmata Patrum in der armenischen Übersetzung” presented at the GSCO Annual Meeting (Erlangen, 16-17 June 2023).

“Apophthegmata Patrum: The Armenian Transmission” presented at the PRO ORIENTE summer course “Reception and Ecumenism” (Vienna, 3-6 July 2023).

“Die armenische Überlieferung der Apophthegmata Patrum” presented at the “Forum Armenien in Wissenschaft, Kultur und Gesellschaft” on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the MESROP Center for Armenian Studies at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Halle/Saale, 8 December 2023).

“The Earliest Armenian Paterica and their Development” presented at the 19th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 5-9 August 2024).

“The sources of the hagiographical units included in the Armenian ‘Vitae Patrum’ collections“ (in Armenian) presented at the 16th General Conference of the AIEA (Geneva/Lausanne, 9-11 January 2025).

Memberships

• National Byzantine Committee of Armenia
• International Association of Patristic Studies (AIEP-IAPS)
• International Association of Armenian Studies (AIEA)
• Gesellschaft zum Studium des Christlichen Ostens (GSCO)
• Forschungsstelle des Christlichen Orients (FSCO)
• International Council of Museums (ICOM)

Language Skills

• Armenian
• German
• English
• Russian

Ancient Languages:

• Classical Armenian
• Ancient Greek
• Latin
• Biblical Hebrew

Publications

Monographs

Die armenische Athanasius-Überlieferung: Das auf Armenisch unter dem Namen des Athanasius von Alexandrien tradierte Schrifttum, Hanns Christof Brennecke / Ekkehard Mühlenberg (ed.), Patristische Texte und Studien 69, De Gruyter 2014, 209+IX pp.

Articles

“Pilgrimage to Tzaghkavank on Ascention Day, May 21 1998” (coauthor A. Panossyan) [in Armenian], Journal “Etchmiadzin” Mai 1998, 153-154.

“Student Pilgrimage” [in Armenian], Newspaper “Christian Armenia”, June 2, Nr. 12 (32), 1998, 3.

“Theological Analysis of the Didache” [in Armenian], Biblical Armenia: Papers of the International Conference [Oshagan (Armenia), 21.-24. June 1999], Yerevan 2005, 284-288.

“Die armenische Athanasius-Überlieferung”, Von Arius zum Athanasianum: Studien zur Edition der "Athanasius Werke", Annette von Stockhausen / Hanns Christof Brennecke (ed.), Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 164, De Gruyter 2010, 43-59.

“Visio Athanasii – Darstellung der Transsubstantiation in einer Vision”, Liturgie und Ritual in der Alten Kirche: Patristische Beiträge zum Studium der gottesdienstlichen Quellen der Alten Kirche, Wolfram Kinzig / Ulrich Volp / Jochen Schmidt (ed.), Patristic Studies (PS) 11, Peeters 2011, 187-197.

“Armenische Tradition”, Athanasius Handbuch, Peter Gemeinhardt (ed.), Mohr Siebeck 2011, 407-415.

“The Unpublished Works of the Armenian Athanasian Corpus” (abstract on: http://oxfordpatristics.blogspot.com/2011/07/anahit-avagyan-unpublished-works-of.html).

“Armenian Translations and Redactions of the Athanasian Creed” [in Armenian], Armenian Studies and the Challenges of Modern Times: Papers of the Second International Congress on Armenian Studies [National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, 17-19 October 2013], Yerevan 2014, 552-554.

“Die armenische Übersetzung der pseudo-athanasianischen Homilie De passione et cruce domini (CPG 2247)”, Studia Patristica XCII, Leuven 2017, 195-204.

“[Athanasius of Alexandria] and [Step‘anos Syunec‘i]: Analysis of the Translation of Biblical Quotations” [in Armenian], Papers of the International Conference “Translation and Publication of Armenian Bible in History” dedicated to the 350th Jubilee of the First Printing of Armenian Bible by Oskan Erevanc‘i, St. Etchmiadzin 2018, 143-150.

“Manuscripts That Saved Texts: Armenian Translations as Unique Witnesses of Certain Patristic Writings”, Actas 2º Congreso Internacional de Estudios Patrísticos: los descubrimientos de manuscritos de la Antigüedad Tardía, su impacto en los estudios patrísticos y en la contemporaneidad, Rivadavia: Editorial Universitaria UCCuyo, 2020, 100-108.

“The Armenian Transmission of the Apophthegmata Patrum”, Wisdom on the Move: Late Antique Traditions in Multicultural Conversation, Susan Ashbrook Harvey / Thomas Arentzen / Henrik Rydell Johnsén / Andreas Westergren (eds.), Brill: Leiden/Boston 2020, 147-165.

“Der Aufbau der Paterika in der armenischen Überlieferung”, Актуальные вопросы изучения христианского наследия Востока. Материалы международной конференции 22 ноября 2018 года, Sergiev Posad 2020, 72-84.

“Armenische Übersetzung des pseudoathanasianischen Dialogus Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257)”, Studia Patristica CXXV, Leuven 2021, 249-259.

“Schätze des Matenadaran: Der Reichtum der armenischen Bibelhandschriften”, Magazine “Welt und Umwelt der Bibel” 3/2022, 18-23.

“Ignatius’ Epistle to the Romans as Transmitted in the Armenian Translation of the Martyrium Ignatii”, Le Muséon 136 (1-2), Leuven 2023, 59-88.

“Lukas von Vanand und die armenische Druckerei der Vanandec‘is in Amsterdam” (Coauthors: Armine Melkonyan and Erna Shirinian), Das Armenische Kaufmannhandbuch des Łukas Vanandec‘i (1699), Markus A. Denzel (Hg.), unter Mitarbeit von Anahit Avagyan, Grigor Grigoryan, Hakob Matevosyan und Armine Melkonyan, Sandstein: Dresden 2024, 212-228.

“‘Why Do We Study Patrology?’ – Patristic Traditions of the Gevorgyan Theological Seminary and the Problems of Teaching Patrology Today” [in Armenian], (under review).

Lexicon articles

“Armenian Biblical Interpretation” (coauthor E. Saribekyan), Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR), Vol. 2, Berlin/New York 2009.

“Elishe Vardapet”, Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR), Vol. 7, Berlin/Boston 2013.

“Gregory the Illuminator”, Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR), Vol. 10, Berlin/Boston 2015.

Recensions and Review Essays

ARMENIACA: English Summaries of Armenological Publications in Armenia 2001 (the issue is produced by M. E. Shirinian, A. Martirosyan, C. Kostikyan, A. Bartikyan, A. Avagyan, S. Ghazaryan, N. Bartikyan), Manea Erna Shirinian (ed.), Erevan 2006.

ARMENIACA: English Summaries of Armenological Publications in Armenia 2002 (the issue is produced by M. E. Shirinian, A. Martirosyan, C. Kostikyan, A. Bartikyan, A. Avagyan, S. Ghazaryan, N. Bartikyan), Manea Erna Shirinian (ed.), Erevan 2007.

ARMENIACA: English Summaries of Armenological Publications in Armenia 2003 (group of authors), (under review).

“Reisebericht des Minas Bžškeancʻ in deutscher Übersetzung” (Recension of the book “Der Reisebericht des Minas Bžškeancʻ über die Armenier im östlichen Europa (1830), übersetzt und kommentiert von Bálint Kovács und Grigor Grigoryan, hg. v. Bálint Kovácz und Grigor Grigoryan, unter Mitarbeit von Alexandr Osipian, Böhlau Verlag: Wien/Köln/Weimar, 2019”), Banber Matenadarani 29 (2020), 449-450.

Translations

Իմաստուն պատմություններ կամ գեղեցիկ ապրելու արվեստը (Weise Geschichten oder die Kunst schön zu leben), German - Armenian trans. by A. Avagyan, A. Sahakyan, H. Harutyunyan and M. Joroyan, 2nd  ed., Mushegh Joroyan (ed.), Erevan 2014.

Poems of Mkrtich Naghash, Middle Armenian - German trans. by Wiebke Zollmann and A. Avagyan (printed in the CD-Books of The Naghash Ensemble: Songs of Exile, vol. II. Credos & Convictions and vol. III. Lamentations & Benedictions (Music by John Hodian), Naregatsi Art Institute: Yerevan/New York 2016 and 2019).

Կուրտ Տուխոլսկի, Փայտոջիլները (Kurt Tucholsky, Die Wanzen), German-Armenian translation, in: “Bekannte Schrift mit unbekanntem Stift”, Erevan 2019, 10-13.

Գրիգ, Հիսուսի կատուն (Grig, Jesus' Katze. Erzählungen von den Strassen Jerewans), Armenian-German translation by A. Avagyan and Wiebke Zollmann, Kolchis Verlag 2021 (was awarded the Coburg Rückert Prize 2022).

Արամ Պաչյան, Պ/Ֆ (Aram Pachjan, P/F), Armenian-German translation by Wiebke Zollmann and A. Avagyan, Kolchis Verlag 2023.