History of Missions to Armenia

W. St. Clair-Tisdall provides us with a history of the progress of the Gospel in Armenia up to 1897. My thanks to Redcliffe College for providing me with a copy to scan. This title is in the Public Domain.

W. St. Clair-Tisdall [1859-1928], The Conversion of Armenia to the Christian Faith. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1897. Hbk. pp.256. [Download complete book in PDF]

Contents

1. The Country and its People
2. Early History to the Time of Christ
3. Mythology of the Ancient Armenians
4. First Introduction of the Gospel
5. The Interval Between the First and Second Preaching of the Gospel
6. Armenian Manners and Customs Under the Arsacides
7. Tiridatés, Gregory, and the Martyrdom of Rhipsimê
8. Triumph of Christianity in Armenia
9. Conclusion of the Life-Work of Gregory and Tiridatés
10. Characteristics of the Christianity Introduced into Armenia by Gregory and His Companions
11. Successors of Gregory and of Tiridatés
12. The Last Years of the Arsacide Dynasty
13. Mesrop, Sahak, and the Armenian Bible
14. Conclusion

Appendix: The Story of Abgar and the First Introduction of Christianity into 0sroene and Armenia
Index

Chapter 1: The Country and Its People

Armenia is a land of extremes. Owing to its geographical situation, and the great variety to be found in the configuration of the country, at different seasons and in different parts of the land, the most tropical heat and a cold that is almost Arctic may be met with. It, however, has also regions where the climate may well be compared with that of the Azores and the islands that lie off Spain and Italy. This great variety of climate is in large measure due to a corresponding variety in the elevation of the land.

Many of the highest mountain-peaks of Europe are lower than the great plateaus from which flow the silver streams which ultimately develop into such rivers as the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Kour, the Araxes and the Aradzan. The Simplon and St. Gothard Passes are lower than the blue surface of beautiful Lake Sevan, round which – till lately – there were clustered thousands of populous villages. On the other hand, some portions of Armenia are actually below the level of the ocean, as is the case with the shores of the Caspian Sea, the surface of which is eighty-three feet below that of the Mediterranean. [Continue reading]