THE ARMENIAN TRADITION ON GIFTS GIVEN TO THE CHURCH

In many Western and American churches, it is an accepted custom for every member of a parish to provide one tenth of his or her annual earnings to God.   The amounts raised from such dues make it possible to maintain a parish sanctuary, church school, rectory and support a pastor as well as various church related causes such as charity, evangelical missions and so on.  This traditional institution is known as the tithe and is usually associated with Protestant churches.  In its present form the tradition derives from a kind of an ecclesiastical and land tax in medieval and early modern Europe and particularly in England, where it was still in force until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Dues or taxes such as the tithe were also well known in the Byzantine Empire, in Armenia and in ancient Middle Eastern countries.  In addition to the tithe, the Armenians also had other kinds of dues or taxes, as well as fines, the income from which was used for the maintenance of churches, monasteries, schools and the clergy.  This essay provides a brief outline on some of the different ways of giving gifts to the church.  Since the intention here is not to study the different sources of church income in past times, obligatory labor expected from peasants and serfs who lived on and tilled lands owned by the church is not covered.

The tithe as a votive gift appears in the Old Testament, which is the actual source of the Christian, and Armenian, tradition of giving to God one tenth of one's earnings.  One of the earliest references about the tithe is to be found in the Book of the Genesis, chapter 28: 20-22.   Here it is stated that Jacob made the following vow:  "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God . . . and of all that thou givest me [O Lord] I will give the tenth to thee."

In the Jewish communities the tithe ultimately became a very common gift reserved for God.  It is also well known from the New Testament.  Our Lord Jesus Christ mentions it and approves its implementation.  For the Church and for Christians at large the citation in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 23:23, which is addressed to the scribes and the Pharisees, and particularly the reference there to the tithe, are of great importance.  The Lord says: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightiest matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." 

In this citation the Lord is obviously stressing the fact that imposing a tithe on the proceeds from the sale of even minor produce such as mint, dill, cumin and rue "ought to have [been] done."  Commenting on the above passage of the Gospel of Matthew, the Armenian exegetist Hovhannes Vardapet of Tsortsor (XIVth century), in his extensive Commentary on the Holy Gospel of Matthew[1] states: ". . . tithing does not eliminate giving alms."  From this it is possible to conclude that according to the understanding of the fathers of our Church, in Christian Armenia the alms given to the poor, as well as other gifts presented to the Church, were donations given in addition to the customary tithe.   As in ancient Israel, in Christian Armenia as well the tithe was widely implemented and therefore Hovhannes Vardapet of Tsortsor did not find it necessary to give further explanation about it, since it was well known to everyone.

            The tithe as a means of supporting the Church and the clergy was well known to the Armenians and is attested in the earliest writings of the Armenian Church fathers.  One finds an attestation to this in a canonical writing, "Gir awandutean [Book of Tradition]," attributed to St. Sahak the Parthian, catholicos of Armenia from 387 to 438).  The work was later incorporated into the Armenian Book of Canons, Kanonagirk Hayots.  Here it is stated that after converting the sons of the pagan priests of Armenia and persuading them to enter the service of the Lord, St. Gregory the Illuminator arranged so that the gifts given to the Church would become theirs so that they could secure their livelihood.  As a precedent for this, the writing mentions the command that the Prophet Moses had received from God in regard to turning over the "first fruits" to the Levite priesthood.  It refers specifically to the tithe in the following passage:

"And as the Levites gave tenths to the priests, although they themselves received tenths from all Israel, but at the same time gave tenths to the priests of all things, and as it was commanded to pay to the sanctuary of the Lord the ransom of every first-born, on the same plan must ye also proceed in all the congregation . . . But by you also shall be made presents to the table of God, whence ye are become worthy before the rest to receive the spotless and incorruptible body and blood of our Saviour in commemoration of your salvation, as was formerly commanded through Moses by the Lord unto the priesthood of the Levites."[2]

In the canons of St. Sahak, which is a part of the Armenian Book of Canons, there are also specific instructions about the acquisition of the madaghs [agape meals] and the "first fruits," and about the different portions that must go to the married priests and the monasteries.

From these canons it is obvious that the tithe was known and implemented in Armenia in the first half of the fifth century.  We know from a historical epic known as Epic Histories,[3] a work composed in the late 460s and attributed to a certain Pawstos Buzand, that two different ecclesiastical taxes, ptghi or ptugh ['fruit'] and tasanord ['tithe'] [Ch. V, 31] existed since olden times.  It is also stated in the same work that these two taxes existed at the time of St. Sahak's father, Catholicos St. Nerses the Great, and that after his demise in 373 King Pap abolished them, albeit temporarily.  Thus St. Sahak presumably reintroduced an ancient tradition that undoubtedly must have existed in the Jewish and very early Christian communities in Armenia.  Members of the Jewish communities were presumably among the earliest converts to the Christian faith, who during the course of the first three centuries of our era formed the nucleus of the earliest Christian Church in Armenia, as in many other places.  St Gregory could not have neglected the Old Testament practice of the tithe. He or his successors probably adapted it for local use and enforced it on the people in order to secure the livelihood of the newly established clergy and ensure the maintenance of the new sanctuaries.

Ptghi or ptugh was a tax in kind given to the church.  It was still implemented until the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, as the renowned scholar Stepanos Malkhasian testifies in his notes to the Epic Histories.[4]  That the ptghi was a tax in kind can be seen in the fourth canon of King Vachagan of Caucasian Albania (end of the fifth century), which determines the amounts of wheat, barley, wine and bread to be set aside for the priests.  The rich are required to give four bushels of wheat, six bushels of barley and sixteen jugs of sweet wine, whereas the poor are asked to give only half a loaf of bread and as much wine as they could afford.  People who kept sheep gave "one sheep, three fleeces and one cheese," and those with horses gave one foal and those with cattle one calf.  People who had no vineyard and field were exempt from these taxes.[5] 

The author of the Epic Histories unfortunately does not specify the nature of the tasanord.  But from the eighteenth canon of King Vachagan one gets the impression that those who give the tasanord to the church belong to the azat class [gentry].  One may interpret the Armenian text as stating that some of the azats did not pay the tasanord, but such an interpretation cannot be acceptable, since the ecclesiastical taxes were mandatory so that not even the poor were exempt from them.

In number seventeen of the canons of King Vachagan mention is made of another ecclesiastical tax called has.  According to Prof. Hakob Manandian,[6] has corresponded to the "land tax."  Consequently, the landowners paid a tax that was different from the ptghi and tasanord.  It is not clear whether this was in addition to the above two taxes or instead of them.  It may be tempting to suggest that each one of the three classes--the landowners, the azats and the commoners--paid different kinds of taxes, but there is not enough evidence to substantiate this theory.  The tasanord probably indicated the amount of the ptghi and has.  The common folk, who had neither land nor money, paid their dues in kind, while the nobility paid according to the value of their possessions and income.  The azats, who were mostly knights, neither tilled the soil nor engaged in business enterprises; they presumably paid the tasanord in hard currency. 

The tithe was well known to the twelfth century Armenian jurist Mkhitar Vardapet Gosh, who codified Armenian secular law.  Though his codex is intended for secular courts, Mkhitar used the Holy Scriptures and the canonical writings among his major sources, and ordained that one tenth of the booty taken in war should go to the church.  If there was gold in the booty, the king took possession of it after giving one tenth of the entire amount to the catholicos.[7] 

Besides the tasanord, ptghi and has, the fifth century Armenian historical sources mention other kinds of gifts given to the Church.  According to them, at the time of the conversion of the Armenian people the lands and other possessions of the pagan temples were given to the Church by the ordinance of the king. 

It was also an accepted custom for the kings and members of the nobility to present the Church with special gifts.  In the royal districts, the Church had been given extensive lands, and on territories that were the ancestral possession of the noble clans, she held many possessions supported by individual families.  The support of the nobility did not cease with the demise of the members that had made the gifts.  The progeny of these clans continued to pay for the maintenance of churches, monasteries and hermitages on their family territories.  They also made provisions for new additions to the existing structures and continued their patronage for hundreds of years.  The noble families had a vested interest in ecclesiastical institutions, since the Armenian bishops were chosen from the cadets of the same families and in many instances nephews succeeded uncles on the episcopal thrones.  There are many testimonies to the fact that most of the ancient and medieval ecclesiastical monuments in Armenia were built with the support of feudal or noble families.  The first known church built with modest contributions from the masses was erected in the late Middle Ages.  Thereafter it became a tradition for the common people to contribute money or labour towards the construction of new edifices.  Even in the nineteenth century it was not unusual to see peasant men and women participating in the construction of a local church or a monastery.

The patrons of our most ancient churches and monasteries did not build the magnificent architectural monuments merely as memorials for their deceased family members.  Their generous contributions were made as hogetsatur.  At a later date, this word became synonymous with hogebazhin, which is a gift given to the church for prayer for the souls of the deceased and is the same as the gift we give today in request for a Requiem Service.  Hogetsatur is different.  It is a gift given by a living person for prayers for the salvation of his and his family members' souls.  The earliest hogetsatur, according to a tenth century tradition, is attributed to King Trdat.  The village of Aramonk had been given to St. Gregory even before he was tortured for his faith.[8]  After his conversion, the king must have officially recognised the village as the possession of the chief bishop of Armenia.  The practice of making a major contribution to the church can be seen in the earliest known Armenian inscription on the now dilapidated church of Tekor, which is from the 480s.  Prince Sahak Kamsarakan, who was the grandson of St. Vardan Mamikonian, had this church built, or rebuilt, "as a means of intercession for himself, his entire family, his wife, children and beloved."  In other words, the inscription asks those who pray in the sanctuary to remember Sahak Kamsarakan and his family members in their prayers.  The sanctuary, which was dedicated to St Sargis, the faithful praying in it and their prayers represent the "intercession."

The principle behind such gifts is clearer in the seventh century building inscription of the church of Mastara, where it is stated that a certain monk called Grigoras Vanakan, with the son of a certain Brother Grigor, had the sanctuary built "for intercession and redemption."  In other words, the patrons pray that they are delivered from their sins by their good deed.  The inscription on the contemporary seventh century cathedral of Mren informs us that the church was built "for the intercession of the Kamsarakans [a noble family]."  The building inscription on the cathedral of Bagaran of the same period presents the names of all the patrons, both living and deceased, and states: "May God remember [them] and have mercy."  Similar to this is Catholicos Komitas' inscription on the church of St. Hripsime: "Christ God, remember Komitas Catholicos of Armenia who built [the church] of St. Hripsime."[9]  One can cite thousands of other similar examples that point to such gifts as being a kind of a prayer to or discourse with the Creator, whose mercy is requested by the donor both in this life and after death.  It must be said that the humble tone and the nature of these inscriptions and the concept of the hogetsatur itself do not at all come close to the indulgences in the Western Church that led to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.

The donations made to our monastic institutions during the Middle Ages and early modern times are of particular interest because of the fact that they are perpetuated by inscriptions on the walls of the above.  The donors who contributed funds, possessions, lands and other kinds of gifts for the construction, prosperity or upkeep of these institutions state in their inscriptions their and their family members' names and the nature of their donation.  In return the monastic authorities arrange so that on certain days every year the Divine Liturgy is celebrated for the salvation of their and their families' souls, both living and deceased.  This means that during the Divine Liturgy the celebrant would pray for the souls of the living and the deceased donors and their family members.  The inscriptions about these kinds of donations frequently begin with a clich石tatement such as "I [so and so] miabanetsay."[10]  The verb miabanim in Armenian means "I joined," and gives the impression that the person actually joined the monastic community and became a monk.  This, however, is not the case in such context, since frequently the donors are women of noble rank giving gifts to a monastery and not a convent.  For women to join monastic institutions for men was and still is obviously not possible.  A further examination of the inscriptions reveals that miabanim has a secondary meaning and refers to an involvement on the part of the donor in the upkeep of the monastery together with the authorities and the rest of the members of the monastic congregation.  Such an act was meant to be a way of seeking the intercession or prayers of the saints, the members of the monastic brotherhood and the faithful who attended the services.  The donor through his pious act would ask them to pray to God to have mercy on his and his dear ones' souls and grant them salvation. 

Having the names of the donors and their family members, both living and dead, was an important part of the pious act.  Our fathers considered the churches and monasteries as holy ground, the house of God and the Garden of Eden.  The tradition of having one's name inscribed on the wall of a holy site brought one closer to God

Of all the charitable traditions of our ancestors listed above we still retain that of giving memorial gifts in memory of our deceased.  In our communities here in America and in other lands, it is a common practice to perpetuate the memory of a deceased family member by having buildings erected, by establishing fund, founding schools and supporting hospitals.  We must accept the fact that without the victorious church of Jesus Christ, namely the deceased members of the church, our parishes will be deprived of a substantial part of a steady source of income that makes maintenance of buildings, holding of liturgical services and community activities possible.  Devout people today make certain that in addition to the annual dues they give, they also contribute money in memory of their deceased family members.  This is a commendable act, but we should not forget that the main reason why we attend church is not for remembering the deceased.  We could do that outside of the church as well.  In church we pray to God to forgive our sins and redeem us from the snares of evil, and grant us salvation so that we inherit his kingdom in heaven.  We do this in unison, with all of us praying together for each other, both for the living and the dead.  Let us not forget that we the living, as much as the deceased, need to turn to God and ask for his mercy on us. 

Pious gifts enable the church as an institution to pursue and extend the limits of her mission.  It is easy to say that the Armenian Church, in addition to her liturgical and pastoral duties, must also do spiritual, social, charitable and other kinds of works that please God.  This remains only wishful thinking if our parishes and/or the Diocese do not have the necessary funds for such matters.  Many of our parishes can barely afford keeping a pastor and there are some that cannot even do that.  In the past, dues such as the tithe, the ptghi, the has and other kinds of gifts made it possible for the Armenian Church in the homeland and the older communities to tend to the spiritual, social and educational needs of the Armenian people. 

In our times, we work hard in order to build sanctuaries and cultural centres, but forget that funds are also necessary for the spiritual and charitable structure of the church.  We all know that a dedicated priest and devout lay leaders can make a great difference in the life of a parish. But they cannot run programs for the benefit of the poor, the jobless, the elderly, young children, the bereaved, the sick and so on with limited funds generated from the fixed annual dues of a small number of parishioners.  Like our ancestors, we must learn to give to God a share of what He gas given us.

Our illiterate and/or semi-literate forefathers were well aware that the church's mission includes a great deal more than holding liturgical services.  For that reason they had endowed monasteries, churches, schools, hospitals and other kinds of institutions with revenue-generating entities such as stores, inns, arable lands and so on for maintenance and for expansion of missionary work.  In times of need the church stepped forward and established orphanages, hospitals in the monasteries, and provided asylum to the homeless.

As in many other areas, in charity also our ancestors have set a wonderful example for us.  We ought to consider their legacy in this realm very attentively and turn our pious feelings into practice for the salvation of our souls.  

Excerpted from a document by:

Very Reverend Father Krikor Maksoudian

June 2002