An Armenian priest's guide to Jerusalem

Yovhannes, Hannay. Girk' patmut'ean srboy ew meci k'alak'is Astucoy Erusalemis, ew srboc' tnorinakanac' teleac' tearn meroy Yisusi K'ristoci [A book of history of the holy and great city of God, Jerusalem, and the holy place of our Lord Jesus Christ].

€ 14,500.00

A pilgrim guidebook to Jerusalem printed in Armenian, including a history of the Holy City and passages on the author's integral part in improving the fortunes of the Armenian Quarter in the early 18th century. The author, Hannay Yovhannes (ca. 1693-1733), was born in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in the neighbourhood of the Cathedral of St. James, where he lived and worked for the duration of his life. He was ordained as a priest to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1714. However, at the year of Yovhannes's ordination the Patriarchate had nearly reached the point of bankruptcy reportedly due to the corruption of representatives of the Patriarchate of Istanbul (known as 'nazrs'), who had been trusted with administering matters in the Holy Land. To stave off disaster, the new patriarch Yovhannes Kolot of Bitlis (along with his successor Grigor of Shirvan) set about the task of raising funds to pay off the debt and subsequently began to rejuvenate the Armenian Quarter, with the help of Hannay Yovhannes, who details much of their work in his guidebook.

Binding professionally repaired, numerous marginal notes in Armenian, altogether well preserved.