The General Epistle

An ornamental drop cap "M" initiates the first paragraph. ...of our Mother, so that when you taste [it], it may sweeten in your mouths like the sweetness of honey. With a heart illuminated, [may] the eyes of your understanding be like the eyes of Solomon. By this, you shall begin to distinguish between good and evil, and by yourselves reject the venomous writings of the deceits of those who follow them.

An ornamental drop cap "Z" initiates the second paragraph. For if Orthodoxy is that which the Holy Church possesses—spotless faith, infallible religion, and pure rites—behold, this blessed man [Nerses Shnorhali] clearly explains [it] with meticulous detail. [It is the same faith] preached by our first holy Illuminators, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, firmly established by our Great Suffering Holy Illuminator Gregory, and having reached the most holy Patriarch Nerses the Gracious unchanged, and [which will be] preserved by the grace of the Lord in our Armenian Church until the end of time.

An ornamental drop cap "O" initiates the third paragraph. Therefore, see with open eyes, children of the Araratian Mother, whether those who have strayed from the holy maternal affections have truly blossomed in this same Right Faith, and whether they have borne fruit in pious religion by being ordered through it. And if you find it to be so, then you too shall recognize the truth of their writings, for the Lord said that you shall know them by their fruits.

An ornamental drop cap "I" initiates the fourth paragraph. But if they are far from his words in their hearts, know that they themselves are lost, and they strive to lead you astray as well. They stitch together phrases of fawning prophecy in the name of the holy Patriarchs. Regarding them, God testifies through the mouth of Jeremiah: "I did not send them, nor did I command them, and I did not speak to them, for they prophesy to you false visions, divinations, enchantments, and the desires of their own hearts."

An ornamental drop cap "O" initiates the fifth paragraph. For this reason, every faithful soul is obligated to test [what is] preached by them against the True Faith, the Right Religion, and the Spotless Life. So that, standing firm in this truth, you may be able to stifle the malice of the tongues of those who follow them and those who corrupt our Glorious Confession. And like a good steward...