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Time in Yerevan: 11:07,   28 March 2024

Catholicos of All Armenians, Pope Francis hold private conversation in Vatican

Catholicos of All Armenians, Pope Francis hold private conversation in Vatican

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS.  His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, at the invitation of Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, paid a visit to the Vatican on April 4, to participate in the unveiling ceremony for the statue of St. Gregory of Narek on April 5.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Catholicos of All Armenians was accompanied by His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Parsamyan, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See, Very Rev. Fr. Shahe Ananyan, Director of Ecumenical Relations of the Mother See and Rev. Fr. Vahram Melikyan, Director of the Information Services Department of the Mother See.

In the morning of April 5 His Holiness Karekin II visited the Apostolic Palace with his delegation, where he had a private conversation with Pope Francis.

Following the meeting the unveiling ceremony of the statue of St. Gregory of Narek took place with the participation of Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholic Church Krikor Bedros XX Gabroyan and in the presence of President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

At the course of the Divine Liturgy dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide offered by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, the leader of the Catholic Church proclaimed St. Gregory of Narek the Doctor of the Universal Church on April 12, 2015.

In the course of his visit to Armenia in 2016, the pontific received a bronze statuette of Narakatsi as a symbolic gift from President Serzh Sargsyan (who expressed hope that its big version would be erected in the gardens of the Vatican City in the nearest future).

Grigor Narekatsi (951–1003) is a canonized saint. He was an Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher and theologian, born into a family of writers. His father, Khosrov, was an archbishop. He lost his mother very early, so he was educated by his cousin, Anania of Narek, who was the founder of the monastery and school of the village. Almost all of his life he lived in the monasteries of Narek (in Greater Armenia, now Turkey) where he taught at the monastic school. He is the author of mystical interpretation on the Song of Songs (977) and numerous poetic writings. Narekatsi's poetry is deeply biblical and is penetrated with images, themes and realities of sacred history, distinguished with intimate, personal character. The mystical poem "Book of Lamentations" (published in 1673 in Marseille) has been translated into many languages and has played a significant role in the development of the Armenian literary language.

For Narekatsi, peoples' absolute goal in life should be to reach to God, and to reach wherever human nature would unite with godly nature, thus erasing the differences between God and men. As a result, the difficulties of earthly life would disappear. According to him, mankind's assimilation with God is possible not by logic, but by feelings.

Numerous miracles and traditions have been attributed to the saint and perhaps that is why he is referred to as "the watchful angel in human form".

In 1984-1985, Alfred Schnittke composed Concerto for Mixed Chorus singing verses from Gregory's Book of Lamentations translated into Russian by Naum Grebnev, according to the Russian edition Kniga Skorbi, transl. by Naum Grebnev, Preface by Levon Mkrtchian, Sovetakan Grokh, Yerevan, 1977.

The monastery of Narek was utterly destroyed in the 20th century after the Armenian Genocide.
Born circa 950 to a family of scholarly churchmen, St. Gregory entered Narek Monastery on the south-east shore of Lake Van at a young age. Shortly before the first millennium of Christianity, Narek Monastery was a thriving center of learning. These were the relatively quiet, creative times before the Turkic and Mongol invasions that changed Armenian life forever. Armenia was experiencing a renaissance in literature, painting, architecture and theology, of which St. Gregory was a leading figure. The Prayer Book is the work of his mature years. He called it his last testament: "its letters like my body, its message like my soul." St. Gregory left this world in 1003, but his voice continues to speak to us.

Written shortly before the first millennium of Christianity, the prayers of St. Gregory of Narek have long been recognized as gems of Christian literature. St. Gregory called his book an “encyclopedia of prayer for all nations.” It was his hope that it would serve as a guide to prayer by people of all stations around the world.

English –translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan








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