ARMENIAN CHARITABLE TRADITIONS AND THEIR MOTIVES

Abstract

The article examines the formation and development of Armenian charitable traditions from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century within the combined framework of Pierre Bourdieu's "symbolic capital" and Robert Putnam's "social capital" theories. Priority is given to the characteristics of the institutionalization of charity and the motives for the transition to organizational structures. The aim is to reveal the stages of charitable development, their motives, and the dual function of charity: on the one hand, strengthening national solidarity, and on the other, reproducing social differentiation.

The study shows that Armenian charitable traditions passed through four main stages: early medieval church-centered charity, developed medieval individual-virtuous charity, church patronage and educational sponsorship of the 16th-18th century diasporic Armenian merchantry, and the institutionalized organizations of the 19th century (the Armenian Charitable Society of the Caucasus and others). Charity simultaneously served as an instrument of national mobilization in the absence of statehood and as a mechanism for converting economic capital into symbolic capital, thereby reinforcing the social role of benefactors.

The research findings demonstrate that charity among Armenians was not merely a purely disinterested ideal, but operated within the context of reproducing power, resources, and social influence, while simultaneously contributing to the development of the Armenian educational and cultural environment.