The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (247 page)

a brings him beyond the human state to semi-divinity.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Ark
.

1
The vessel in which
Noah
supposedly saved his family and a breeding pair of each animal and bird species from the destruction of the great flood (Genesis 6. 1–9. 18).
2
The ‘ark of the
covenant
’ (
aron ha-berith
) was a container, made by God's command during the Wilderness wandering of Israel, to contain the tablets of the covenant.
3
The niche in the
synagogue
in which the
Torah
Scrolls (
Scrolls of the Law
) are kept. It is located on the wall which faces towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and is considered the holiest part of the building. A
ner tamid
(‘eternal light’) is kept burning in front of the Ark. In
Ashkenazi
circles, the Ark is called the
aron
or
aron kodesh
(‘holy Ark’), and among the
Sephardim
, it is known as the
heikhal
(‘sanctuary’).

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Ark
n ud-D
n
(fundamentals of Muslim life)
:

see
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Armageddon
.

In Christian
eschatology
, the scene of the last battle between good and evil. The name appears only in Revelation 16. 16, where it is said to be ‘Hebrew’; it is usually taken to be from Har Megiddo, mountain of Megidda.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Armaiti
(one of the Holy Immortals)
:

see
AMESA SPENTAS
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Armenian Church
.

One of the
Oriental churches
, sometimes incorrectly called ‘Armenian Orthodox’. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion, after the conversion of King Tiridates III by St Gregory ‘the Illuminator’
c.
294 (hence the name ‘Armenian Gregorian Church’ which is sometimes used). A major factor in the preservation of Armenian national consciousness has been membership of the Church, and non-ethnic Armenians cannot be admitted to membership, though this does not prevent children becoming members by baptism if one parent is Armenian.
The Armenian Church was much influenced by contact with the
Crusaders
, of which one result was a temporary (12th–13th cents.) union of much of the Church with Rome. Another was the adoption of the
mitre
as the liturgical headgear of its
bishops
. The present
Uniat church
, the Armenian Catholic Church of
c.
100,000 members, goes back only to 1740.
Under the Ottoman Turks the Armenians suffered notorious persecutions, culminating in massacres as late as 1920 which left practically no Armenians in Turkish territory. Of the 3½ million Armenians, most live now in the ex-Soviet Republic of Armenia, where conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is exacerbated by memories of persecution. There is a large
diaspora
, including ½-million in the USA.
The Armenian Church has two classes of
priests
: the
vardapets
or doctors, who are unmarried, and the
parish
priests who, unless monks (
monasticism
) must be married before
ordination
as
deacons
. Bishops are usually chosen from among the
vardapets
. The Armenian
liturgy
is celebrated in the ancient Armenian language, having been translated (with the Bible) in the early 5th cent. by St
Mesrob
, who himself invented the Armenian alphabet. For the
eucharist
the Armenians use unleavened bread, and do not mix water with the wine.
They follow the Julian
calendar
. Following the ancient Eastern practice, the birth of Christ is not celebrated as a separate feast at
Christmas
, but at
Epiphany
. An organ or harmonium is often used to accompany the choir, in contrast to the
Orthodox churches
, where such instruments are forbidden.