Description
The Gospel of Partserpert is an outstanding achievement of Armenian culture and spirituality. It was written in 1248 by a scribe named Kirakos in Hromkla (Cilicia) by the order of Catholicos Costantin Partserpertsi.
The survival of this manuscript throughout the tragic history of Armenian Cilicia is, indeed, a miracle. After the Armenian genocide of 1915, it was carried, together with the right hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator and other relics and ancient manuscripts, to Aleppo (Syria) and then to Antelias (Lebanon) by Catholicos Sahak II.
The manuscript remained under the personal protection of the Catholicoi of Cilicia. When the Cilicia Museum was built a few years ago in the headquarters of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, in Antelias, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I decided to display this masterpiece of Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage to the public.
Most pages of the manuscript contain miniatures of biblical narratives, and a miniature of each Evangelist appears on the first page of his Gospel.
The front and back covers of the Gospel are made of silver depicting Jesus on the cross, surrounded by the Mother of God, the Apostles and the four Evangelists.
The Gospel of Partserpert contains seven hundred pages.