ABSTRACT
Armenian Christianity gradually developed organisationally over the third century as a result of initiatives from Edessa and Caesarea, evolving into a wider, more hierarchically structured, form in the fourth, which achieved lasting indigenous expression in the fifth through the invention of an alphabet and the rich literary effusion, encompassing both translations and original compositions, which followed. Among the former feature several hagiographical works in Greek and Syriac, some of which, directly or indirectly, acted as models for the nascent Armenian tradition. 1 At the same time, many of the creators of that tradition would have been familiar with a fuller range of such sources and related school texts through their study of those language.
