this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Document Details :

Title: Syneisaktism in Early Armenian Christianity
Author(s): ZAKARIAN, David
Journal: Le Muséon
Volume: 130    Issue: 1-2   Date: 2017   
Pages: 123-138
DOI: 10.2143/MUS.130.1.3214927

Abstract :
Despite the fact that ecclesiastical authorities strongly condemned it, syneisaktism or spiritual marriage was present in most early Christian ascetic communities. This article discusses references to the practice in the Armenian sources of the fifth century and attempts to establish how widespread syneisaktism was in Armenia, where it came from, and how it was perceived in ecclesiastical circles. The main focus of the paper is the evidence provided by two contemporary sources – the canons of the Šahapivan Council (AD 444) and Łazar P'arpec'i’s History of Armenia (c. AD 495-505).

Download article