Պարականոն գրվածքների դասակարգման հարցի շուրջ

Abstract

This article deals with the name of Christian compositions not included in the canon of the Bible, dedicated to events and people of the Holy Scriptures. In the world literature such types of works are known under the general term apocrypha (from the Greek word ajpovkrufo" – hidden, secret), whereas in the Armenian written tradition the term apocrypha was never used. In the Armenian milieu these works are called somewhat differently: here they are characterized by another Greek word – para; kanwvn – outside the canon, which later became synonymous with the term apocrypha. Considering also various discussions about the definition of apocrypha and taking into account generally accepted versions, nevertheless, this article emphasizes the fact that the rich Armenian apocryphal literature that has come down to us is not a uniform and homogeneous collection of works. Apocryphal writings, translated, paraphrased, transformed and finally created by Armenian authors, differ from each other not only in genres – gospels, actions, messages and revelations, but they also have other features manifested both in relation to the book of the Bible and in interactions with each other.