„Prowent” od śmierci. Udział duchowieństwa i bractw ormiańskich w praktykach związanych ze śmiercią we Lwowie w pierwszej połowie XVIII wieku

Abstract

Profit from Death. Participation of the Armenian Clergy and Fraternities in the Practices Related to Death in Lviv in the First Half of the 18th Century

In early modern times Lviv’s Armenians according to legal regulation and a long tradition to bequeath large amounts of money to the Armenian upper and lower clergy, monastery and fraternities. The Armenian common law does not define the purpose of such records for the benefit of clergy in the testaments. However, in practice the acts of last will and other documents contained proofs that Armenians disposed of some funds by last will instead of performing concrete obligations. Usually, these responsibilities were related to participation in funeral rituals and praying for the soul at the funeral and after the death of a testator as well. The amounts of money granted for these ceremonial acts were similar in many wills, which may indicate the existence of more or less fixed charges for the services. In addition to the Armenian clergy, Lviv’s Armenians asked the monks from the Latin orders and congregations to participate in practices connected with death, which became common phenomenon after the Armenian Church in Ukraine had entered the Union with Rome.