For Specification of One Context of “The Passions of Saint Shushanik” (“He visited a holy man in his place (vani)…)

Abstract

The article deals with the specification of the context of one phrase from “The Passions of Saint Shushanik” – “He went to a holy man at his residence (vani) to ask about something.” This excerpt from the text gives rise to some questions: 1. Who is the holy man? Is he a secular or a religious figure? 2. Why do Iakob and Apots go to him – to ask about something or to make a visit to
his place? 3. What could ‘vani’ (residence, monastery) mean in this context? The article discusses E. Chelidze’s interpretation of this phrase, according to which the holy man is a religious figure. At the same time, Apots and Iakob go to pay him a visit at his place. Taking specific arguments and the reading preserved in the earliest copy (A 95) of “The Passions of Saint Shushanik” into consideration, we try to show that the holy man must be a churchman, and Apots and Iakob went to him to ask about something. At the same time, the word vani probably means where a religious person resides – a monastery or a cell rather than a house.