ՄՈԳԵՐ , The Three Magi

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MYTHOLOGY v RELIGION

 

The Three Magi

Երեք Մոգերը

According to the below there actually were four magi.

Is not the word “մոգ/magus” a swear word in the Armenian?

Some may deem my choice of posting the following article here as an affront and sacrilege.

 

A Story about the Magi in Armenia

by Rev. Dr. George A. Leylegian on

 

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/01/06/a-story-about-the-magi-in-armenia/

January 6, 2012

 

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity and Revelation of

Jesus Christ on Jan. 6, I thought you might be interested in an

important part of history that involves the Magi who followed the Star

to Bethlehem, and then traveled to Armenia.

 

 

As Matthew 2:12 confirms, the Magi decided to return to their homeland

via a different way. According to the Gontag, the Magi struck

northward from Bethlehem and arrived on a plain outside the ancient

city of Moush.

In Matthew 2:1-12, we read that when Jesus Christ was born during the

days of Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem. They told

Herod that they had seen the Star, and had followed it with the hope

of finding the one who was to be born as the new King. The Jewish

scribes confirmed that the Prophet Micah foresaw that the new King

would be born in Bethlehem, and so the Magi set out from Jerusalem,

following the Star. The Star led them to the place where the newborn

Child was, and the Magi entered into the place, and found the Child

with His mother, Mary. The Magi bowed down to the earth in adoration,

 

and then, opening their gifts, presented gold, frankincense, and

myrrh. And then, having been warned in a dream not to travel back

through Jerusalem and encountering Herod there, the Magi returned to

their homeland using a different way.

 

The Gospel account contains many beautiful facts, but alas, does not

provide certain crucial information. We do not know how many Magi

there were. Supposition indicates that each Magus presented one of the

three gifts, and therefore, there may have been three, but we do not

know for certain. Nor do we know the exact location of their ancestral

homeland `in the East.' Because the word `magus' may be interpreted as

`astronomer' or `astrologer' (from the root `M-G' meaning `star'),

many suppose that they originated in either Babylon or Persia, which

were famous centers of astronomy and astrology. Again, we do not know

for certain. Lastly, the Gospel does not supply the names of the Magi.

Later traditions assigned to them the names of Gaspar, Melchior, and

Balthasar, and further traditions claimed that Gaspar was the eldest

in age and Balthasar the youngest.

 

In Western Armenian, the names are pronounced Kaspar, Melkon, and Baghdasar.

 

In the course of one of my arcane research ventures, I stumbled across

a rare book that included a history of the Armenian Monastery of Saint

John the Baptist (`Sourp Garabed Vank'), outside the ancient city of

Moush. I discovered a fascinating document: It was the text of a

`Gontag' (an official encyclical from a church functionary, from the

Greek word Kontakion), asking for donations for repairs needed for a

dilapidated sanctuary outside one of the villages of Moush.

 

The Gontag, sadly, does not include a date or the name of the official

who issued it. Nevertheless, the text, written in Classical Armenian,

provides a piece of information that is both beautiful for Armenians

and critical for Christianity.

 

As Matthew 2:12 confirms, the Magi decided to return to their homeland

via a different way. According to the Gontag, the Magi struck

northward from Bethlehem and arrived on a plain outside the ancient

city of Moush. There they set up camp to rest from their weary

travels. In the middle of the night, Gaspar, who was apparently the

eldest of the Magi, passed away peacefully. Melchior and Balthasar

were naturally grieved by the passing of their older friend, and set

upon the solemn task of arranging his proper burial.

 

Local people were commissioned, and Gaspar was buried at the brow of a

hill overlooking the plain where they had encamped. The local people

then constructed a sepulcher over the burial place. After a respectful

period of mourning, Melchior and Balthasar resumed their journey home.

 

For 300 years, the local people continued to maintain the sepulcher,

and passed on the oral tradition that a wise man had seen a great

star, traveled to Bethlehem, witnessed the birth of a great king, and

had passed away on his return journey.

 

The tradition of the Magi in Armenia may also have been known to King

Abgar (Apkar) of Edessa (Urfa) who, according to church history,

wanted to know more about Christianity, and wrote a letter to Jesus

Christ, inviting Him to come to Edessa to heal the king and remain in

that city (see Eusebius, History of the Church). After the

Resurrection, the Apostle Thaddeus journeyed to Edessa, preached about

Christianity, healed Abgar, and baptized him, making Abgar the first

known Christian king of Armenia.

 

Before Gregory the Illuminator returned to Armenia after being

consecrated a bishop in Caesarea in Cappadocia, he was entrusted by

Bishop Leontius with several venerated relics. As Gregory traveled

back to Armenia, he stopped outside of Moush. He ordered that a

monastery be constructed there to house the great relic of Saint John

the Baptist. Until May, 1915, the famous Sourp Garabed Vank stood as a

sentinel of Armenian Christianity.

 

While Gregory was sojourning in the area, the local people told him

about the burial place of the wise man. At that time, the vast

majority of people living around Moush were still pagan. They

understood that the sepulcher contained the relics of an important

person, but they were unaware of the specific connection of Gaspar and

the Magi to the theology of Christianity. Gregory immediately

journeyed to the place, and recognized the sanctity of the sepulcher.

He ordered that a monastery be built around the sepulcher in order to

preserve and protect the relics of Gaspar. The monastery was

henceforth known as `Sourp Kaspari Vank' or `Kasparavank.'

 

Every year, on Theophany, when the Christmas Star appeared in the

night sky, the priests, monks, and pilgrims would gather at Sourp

Kaspari Vank would offer the first Holy Eucharist of the feast-day on

the altar-table that was constructed over the sepulcher of Gaspar the

Wiseman.

 

In the West, many believe the relics of the Magi were discovered in

the fourth century in Milan, Italy, and were later transferred to

Cologne/Koln, Germany. To this day, visitors to Cologne may see the

beautiful golden shrine inside the cathedral that, according to

Western tradition, preserves the remains of the Magi. For centuries,

pilgrims from all over the world have flocked to Cologne at both

Christmas and Epiphany to venerate these relics.

 

But what about Armenia? If the Gontag account is accurate, then it

would indicate that the more important relic-the entire body of

Gaspar-has been preserved and venerated in Armenia since at least the

time of Gregory the Illuminator. How a fragment of this relic arrived

in Europe requires serious research, and why Armenia is not accorded a

superior place in the Christmas narrative remains inexplicable.

 

Sourp Kaspari Vank appears to have functioned both as a monastery and

a place of pilgrimage for Christians from the 3rd century until the

early 19th century. The monastery was still visited up through 1915,

although the building was apparently pillaged and ruined in the early

1800's during a series of raids by Kurdish tribes. Nevertheless, the

traditional resting place of Gaspar continued to be venerated by

Armenians from all around Moush and the surrounding areas.

 

As we gather to celebrate Theophany and Armenian Christmas, I hope

that you will take a moment to offer a prayer for the Magi. I also

hope that you will remember the many pilgrims who traveled to Sourp

Kaspari Vank year after year to celebrate Armenian Christmas Eve upon

the altar-table that was constructed over the sepulcher of Gaspar. I

also hope that when we discuss the issue of genocide, we take into

account not only the people who perished, but the precious relics that

have been lost or stolen, and the centuries of cherished traditions

that have vanished.

 

To you and for us all come these glad tidings of great joy:

 

Christ is born and revealed to the Magi!

 

Blessed is the Revelation of Christ's Nativity brought to the

Armenians by the Magi!