at the same time, the armenian apostolic church is considered an institution peculiar to the armenian nation, and the fruit of a synthesis of christian and indigenous elements, in which the former represent just the surface. the arordiners find proof of this in the church's prayers devoted to the sun and light, in church festivals overlapping indigenous armenian festivals, and in the practice of "matagh", christian animal sacrifice. moreover, the arordiners believe that the armenian alphabet, which church historiography holds to have been invented by the monk mesrop mahtots, is actually an elaboration of ancient armenian symbolism based on the motif of the "swastika".