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Document Details : Title: Saint Grégoire l'Illuminateur dans l'église de Tigran Honenc' Author(s): RAPTI, Ioanna Journal: Revue des Études Arméniennes Volume: 43 Date: 2025 Pages: 93-129 DOI: 10.2143/REA.43.0.3295020 Abstract : This paper attempts a narratological analysis of the cycle of St.-Gregory the Illuminator in the famous 13th century church, founded by the wealthy citizen of Ani, Tigran Honenc‘. Considering the arrangement of the compositions, the structure of the cycle, the sequence of the episodes which present slight but significant differences in size, the analysis focuses on the construction of the figure and the sanctity of Gregory. Four phases can be distinguished: the torture, the imprisonment in the pit and the escape, the vision acclamation and the vision paralleled with the miracle of saint Nino and finally the ministry of Gregory fulfilled in his ascetic end. Considering the layout of the cycle which reaches its climax around the door of the church, the cycle appears as an innovative and creative appropriation of the hagiographic tradition of the founders of Caucasian Christianity, rather than an exercise to transpose in images passages of the complex Armenian Agathangelos. The cycle visually updates this rich literary tradition and builds a balanced and subtle narrative with several devotional, spiritual and civic implications. |
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