Summary
Armine M. Melkonyan
Philosopher David the Invincible in his Encomium on the Theoleptic Holy Cross calls the “holy and perfect children of faith” for adoration of the Cross of God. The word “child” (manuk) , which is a technical term specifying a group of people with certain properties, was used in theological texts to describe the clergymen as well as secular Christians. The “godlike philosopher”, who is defined as holy and perfect in the Definitions of Philosophy by David, is very similar with the concept of “children of faith”. Some other general ideas and expressions are indicated in the Encomium and the Definitions, written in the light of neo-platonic philosophy.
In the article the question of the authenticity of the Encomium is touched upon, accepting the testimonies of the medieval sources due to which the Encomium on the Holy Cross was created by the philosopher David the Invincible, the same author who wrote the Definitions and other philosophical works.