Ecclesiastical History

...[brought] forth The text continues from the previous page's discussion of historians cited by Eusebius.. It had already been produced and existed from the very days of Saint Mesrop, translated into Armenian by his own command, as the blessed Moses, the Father of Poets Moses Khorenatsi (c. 410–490s AD), traditionally regarded as the author of the first comprehensive history of Armenia., guarantees for us (Khorenatsi, Book II, Chapter 10):

“The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea shall bear witness to you from close at hand, which the blessed teacher Mashtots Saint Mesrop Mashtots (c. 362–440 AD), the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. caused to be translated into the Armenian language.”

But because the aforementioned translation was thought by some to have been done before the invention of the Armenian script, it appeared to many that it was made from the Syriac and not from the Greek original. This is clearly confirmed to us by the ancient translation we now hold in our hands; for the style of the composition, and the vowel shifts in the names of places and people, bear witness to this. Furthermore, the circumstances of its clear composition lead one to believe it was truly from the productive pen of one of the first rank of translators Referring to the "First Translators" of the 5th century, known as the Surb Targmanichk..

Yet, as with all our books and manuscripts, it so happened that this one also suffered much from the changing times. Through the ignorance of scribal copyists, the words in many places became clouded and obscured, until the composition and meaning became incomprehensible. For this reason, it was impossible to publish such a wonderful and useful volume for students in such a corrupted state, as it would provide little or no benefit to the readers.

Taking this concern upon himself with diligence, Father Abraham Charean, a doctor Vardapet A 'Vardapet' is a celibate priest and scholar in the Armenian Church, similar to a Doctor of Theology. from our congregation The Mekhitarist Congregation of Venice, a group of Armenian Catholic monks dedicated to the preservation of Armenian culture., prepared it by newly translating many parts from the Greek. Only in those few places where our old translation did not deviate significantly from the original mean— The text cuts off here at the end of the page.