Ստեփանոս նախավկայի կերպարը հայ միջնադարեան գրականութեան եւ բանահիւսութեան մէջ

Abstract

There are many monasteries, churches and chapels in historical Armenia dedicated to St. Stephan the Protomartyr and some of them have a living tradition of pilgrimage. The dates of those pilgrimages do not coincide with the official date of the saint's commemoration. Folk worship of St. Stephan the Protomartyr does not directly originate from the offcial Church and literal tradition. In sources 'Stephanos' is explained as 'wrath', and the name is a consequence of a miracle during the rite of baptism, but in folk tradition the saint is connected with stones by his birth as well as by his death. Stephan's birth occurs either on Tearn'ndaraj (Candlemas) or on Tskhkazard (Palm Sunday).