MASHTOTS. — This is the proper Armenian Ritual, containing the prayers and procedures for the administration of the Sacraments and Sacramentals. Its origin dates back to the 5th century, and its name is linked to the two saintly fathers of the same name: M.-Mesrob of the 5th century, and the patriarch M. II of Sevan (837-97), who collected, translated, and arranged the elements that form II. Subsequently, it was continually enriched with new canons, translated or composed by the Fathers.
Four periods can be distinguished in the development of the M.: 1) the first, 2) the middle, 3) the cilice, 4) the present. In the first, a generally concise and simple form is observed (5th-12th centuries); in the second, the number of canons increases, and hymns multiply with frequent sermons by non-classical authors (13th-16th centuries); in the third, the Latin Ritual translated into a vernacular of the decadence by the Dominican preachers called Unitors (1317-1600) is found, and then infiltrated into the Armenian one, thus forming an unpleasant union that caused many disputes and discord. The fourth or present period, besides the abundance of canons, has long exhortations, hymns, and repetitions with such frequency as to render the rite laborious and difficult.
Many manuscripts of the M. remain: the Mechitarist Library in Venice alone has 127 manuscripts. The oldest (no. 457), on parchment, written before 869, belongs to the first series and is mutilated at the beginning and end. No. 199 of the same Library, from 1216, belongs to the second. No. 1113, from 1345, on parchment, belongs to the third. The first printed edition was produced in Constantinople in 1569.