Philosophical Perspectives in the “Festal Homilies”

Abstract

Throughout its centuries-long development, philosophy has made a significant contribution to the formation of the spiritual culture and intellectual tradition of the Armenian people. The adoption of Christianity in Armenia and the invention of the Armenian alphabet greatly facilitated the development of Armenian national philosophical thought. The earliest philosophical orientation to take shape within this tradition was Christian apologetics. Representatives of Armenian apologetic philosophy and theology acted as enlighteners and organizers of educational life, defending and substantiating the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.Armenian Christian apologists, while critically engaging with the materialistic and dualistic cosmological theories of ancient philosophy that denied the doctrine of creation, produced theological and philosophical works consistent with the dogmatic framework of the Armenian Church, in which the principle of monotheism was systematically articulated. In the process of substantiating Christian doctrinal positions, Armenian apologists frequently drew upon philosophical reasoning and scientific knowledge. A distinctive feature of Armenian Christian apologetics lies in the fact that theology and philosophy, faith and reason, were not perceived as mutually opposing domains but rather as components of a unified intellectual system characterized by internal coherence and interdependence.

The articale referred to the literature St. Gregory the Illuminator named extant work,which affected the further development of  Christian   and philosophical thought.