Yeznik's text

[Peter Kirby]

In the fifth century, he devotes the fourth book of his work to refuting Marcion:

http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/scann ... tation.htm

This does seem to add to the suggestions that Marcion's church continued for some time in areas to the east of the Byzantine empire.

It's a shame that the author can call his text only a 'retelling' instead of a translation. Is it better than he lets on, or is it significantly a paraphrase?

[Peter Kirby]

The story of early Armenian Christianity is also interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of ... antiquity)

The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion[13] when St. Gregory the Illuminator converted King Tiridates III and members of his court,[14] an event dated to AD 301. Gregory, trained in Christianity and ordained to the presbyterate at Caesarea, returned to his native land to preach about 287, the same time that Tiridates III took the throne. Tiridates owed his position to the Roman Emperor Diocletian, a noted persecutor of Christianity. In addition, he became aware that Gregory was a son of Anak, the man who assassinated his father. Consequently Tiridates imprisoned Gregory in an underground pit, called Khor Virap, for 13 years. In 301, 37 Christian virgins, among whom was Saint Nune (St. Nino for Georgia), who later became the founder of the Georgian Orthodox Church, fleeing Roman persecution, came to Armenia. Tiridates desired one of them, Rhipsime, to be his wife, but she turned him down. In a rage, he martyred the whole group of them. Soon afterward, according to legend, God struck him with an illness that left him crawling around like a beast. (The story is reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar II in Daniel 4.) Khosrovidukht, the king’s sister, had a dream in which she was told that the persecution of Christians must stop. She related this to Tiridates, who released Gregory from prison. Gregory then healed Tiridates who then converted to Christianity and immediately declared Armenia to be a Christian nation, becoming the first official Christian state.

I wonder where this is all related.

[stephan happy huller]

The translation is at Google Books but it only shows part of the text http://books.google.com/books?id=3yP-KP ... lb&f=false

[Peter Kirby]

Thank you! Good to know that such a translation into English exists, at least.

[stephan happy huller]

It's a very interesting read because Casey argued from it that the Marcionites did not use a 'corrupt version of Luke' but a Diatessaron (well, what he argued was that 'Syrian Marcionites' must have learned to use a Diatessaron - but you can't fault scholars for being dense).

[Duvduv]

What independent source of information about the existence of Marcion did Yeznik have??

[stephan happy huller]

The claims of Marcionites still living in Armenia

[Duvduv]

And the evidence for the existence of "Marcionites" in Armenia??

The claims of Marcionites still living in Armenia

[stephan happy huller]

Eznik. So you imagine all Church Fathers engaged in an elaborate conspiracy to maintain the existence of a non-existent sect centuries after Nicaea? Why on earth would that be a reasonable suggestion? Oh let me guess. White people are dishonest by nature.

[Duvduv]

Well, there weren't all that many fathers, and the conspiracy wasn't all that elaborate. Theywere in the employ of the regime and relied on a few predecessors and doctrines.