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Arsen Sapareli, On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians

Ars.Sap. · titus

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 7 passages · 48 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

Arsen Sapareli's 'On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians' is a Georgian theological treatise addressing the Christological and liturgical division between the Georgian and Armenian churches, traditionally dated to the early 7th century. The work survives in a single Old Georgian manuscript (Tbilisi A-1109, 10th–11th centuries) and is attributed to the 9th-century author Arsen Sapareli based on internal and stylistic evidence. It was used in later anti-Chalcedonian polemics, particularly during 11th-century disputes with the Armenian Church, and is cited in the Georgian corpus of dogmatic letters. The TITUS edition provides a diplomatic transcription without critical apparatus.

This treatise is a key witness to early medieval Caucasian Christian polemics, illustrating the theological and political tensions between the Georgian and Armenian churches. It provides insight into the development of Georgian ecclesiastical identity and the use of patristic arguments in regional disputes. The work also informs the study of manuscript transmission and the reception of anti-Chalcedonian literature in Georgia.

Historical context

The work was composed in the 9th century within the Georgian Church, likely in the region of Tao-Klarjeti or a monastic center in the Caucasus. The Georgian and Armenian churches had diverged over Christology: Georgians accepted Chalcedonian dyophysitism, while Armenians adhered to miaphysitism. This separation, formalized at the Council of Dvin (early 7th century), created lasting theological and liturgical rifts. Arsen Sapareli, a Georgian theologian and monk, wrote to defend the Georgian position and critique Armenian practices. The sole manuscript witness (Tbilisi A-1109) dates to the 10th–11th centuries, indicating the text's continued relevance. Its transmission is tied to Georgian anti-Armenian polemics, especially during the 11th-century debates under King Bagrat IV. The work survives only in this single, unannotated copy, with lacunae and scribal errors unmarked.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

26 commentary units 7 structure7 term7 background2 transmission1 sense1 reception1 dating 10 derived notes 7 open questions 7 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 7 narrative.
  • caution7 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Arseni Sapareli, Ganqopisatws. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 28.10.2007. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
arsen:1 · narrativehigh
Source
[Text: Ganq.] განყოფისათჳს ქართველთა და სომეხთა
English
On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians
arsen:2 · narrativehigh
Source
[Chapter: _]
English
On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians
arsen:3 · narrativemedium
Source
[Page: 77]
English
On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians
arsen:4 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line: 1] თქუმული * წმიდისა მამისა ჩუენისა არსენისი *, მცხეთელ *
English
The words of our holy father Arsen, of Mtskheta
arsen:5 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line: 2] კათალიკოზისა, რომელი იყო სანახებითგან
English
of the Catholicos, who was from Sanahi
arsen:6 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line: 3] სამცხისაჲთა *, საფარით: განყოფისათჳს
English
of Samtskhe, with Sapara: On the Separation
arsen:7 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line: 4] ქართლისა და სომხითისა
English
of Kartli and Somkhiti
Citation. Tergwame, “Arsen Sapareli, On the Separation of Georgians and Armenians”, arsen:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/arsen#s1
Colophon. Source: titus · licence: This text is part of the TITUS edition of Arseni Sapareli, Ganqopisatws. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 28.10.2007. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder. · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0005 · generated 2026-11-14.