The Book of Hours of the Armenian Church (Žamagirk'): English Translation, Contexts, and Perspectives offers the first critically grounded English rendering of one of the central liturgical books of the Armenian Christian tradition--and, as such, the first complete translation of this text into any language. Long central to the daily cycle of prayer, the Žamagirk' preserves a rich and layered inheritance reaching back to the formative centuries of Christian worship, even as it bears the marks of later historical development.
Prepared by a leading scholar of Armenian liturgy, with broader expertise in eastern Christian liturgical traditions, the translation attends closely to the structure, language, and internal logic of the text. It is designed not only to make the Žamagirk' accessible to English-speaking readers, but also to reflect, as faithfully as possible, the texture and rhythm of the original, and will be of interest not only to scholars but also to those who wish to engage the text for devotional use.
The translation is accompanied by an extensive analytical study that situates the work within its historical, theological, and liturgical contexts. Particular attention is given to the distinctive features of the Armenian Liturgy of the Hours: its organization of psalmody and hymnography, its unique combinations of biblical and poetic materials, and its preservation of elements that point to early Jerusalemite practice. At the same time, the study explores the ways in which the tradition has remained dynamic, incorporating new layers while retaining older forms in often surprising configurations.
More than a reference work, this volume opens a window onto the spiritual world embodied in the Armenian daily office, a world marked by a striking interplay of solemnity and lyricism, scriptural depth and poetic imagination, penitential gravity and buoyant hope. It will be of interest to scholars and students of liturgy, historians of Christianity, and all readers seeking to encounter one of the great yet comparatively little-known traditions of Christian prayer.
