The General Epistle

A decorative initial letter A (Ա) begins the text.
Now, there were four primary reasons why I, with a forward-striving will, could not pass over the necessity of bringing this [work] to light.

First, because my light-born people—allotted to me by the providence of the Holy Spirit—are dwelling under the authority of other-minded Christians. Since there is always a questioning from our kin regarding the orthodoxy of the faith and the good order of the governance of our Armenian Church, it was greatly necessary for me to grant this to my Armenian-loving nation: a full armament of right doctrine. [This book] stands as a shield against the ignorant who despise our word of faith, and it acts like the Tower of David in Talpioth, for the defense of the faith of our invincible, spotless, and pure mother, the Catholic Church, in all its contemplation.

For truly, a thousand shields are seen hanging upon it, according to the song a reference to the Song of Solomon 4:4. Since—as it is known to those who look with simple, honest, and watchful eyes—one message from this is equal and of equal weight, or even more so, than a thousand words from the contentious and disputatious men who are ignorant of our orthodox, truth-professing faith.

And since this is truly Theology study of God—both brief in words and rich in meaning, according to the sayings of the divine Saint Hierotheos an early Christian saint often associated with Dionysian theology—it is more powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, to the point that it can say of itself that my words are like fire and like a hammer, which break hearts that have become stony and hardened in disbelief.

A decorative initial letter E (Ե) begins the paragraph.
Second, because through this—as if by demonstrative logic—every person who believes in Christ Jesus can know the truth of the Orthodox Faith of our general Armenian Church: whether concerning the worshipful All-Holy Trinity, or the Incarnation the act of God becoming human in Christ—of the One born from the Father, who is from the beginning of ages without a mother, of the same being and equal honor, and in the fullness of time, [born] without a father from the ever-virgin Mother of God, Mary, through the overshadowing of the Father and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Word became flesh—and concerning the unsearchable and unattainable procession of the Spirit who is from the Father.