Targmanchats, the Feast of the Holy Translators
October 10 · Level 3 · #1648 of 2238
Targmanchats is an Armenian Apostolic Church feast honouring the Holy Translators and teachers. It celebrates the people who helped give Armenians a written language and access to sacred texts in their own tongue.
How it is celebrated: worshippers attend church services and visit Oshakan, where Mesrop Mashtots is buried. Literary gatherings and cultural events explore the importance of language, books and translation.
The Armenian alphabet and the translation movement grew together. In the fifth century, Mashtots and his pupils were doing more than translating books: they were helping establish an entire written tradition.