Gregory of Narek
Saint of Armenian Apostolic Church
Born951
Rshtunik, Vaspurakan, Bagratid Armenia
Died1003
Narekavank, Vaspurakan, Armenia
Venerated inArmenian Apostolic Church
FeastOctober the 13th, Holy Translators day

Gregory of Narek (Armenian: Գրիգոր Նարեկացի Grigor Narekatsi; 951 – 1003) was an Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher and theologian, born into a family of writers. He was "Armenia's first great poet".[1] He wrote Book of Prayers, also known as "Book of Lamentation", a long mystical poem in 95 sections that has been translated to many languages.

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. The book, the work of his mature years remains one of the definitive pieces of Armenian literature. He called it his last testament: "its letters like my body, its message like my soul". Gregory, later a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church left this world in 1003, but his voice continues to speak to us. The monastery of Narek was completely destroyed in the 20th century after the Armenian Genocide.

Biography

Narek ( where he taught at the monastic school. He is the author of mystical interpretation on the Song of Songs (977) and numerous poetic writings.

Gregory was born c. 950 to a family of scholarly churchmen. 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. At a young age, Gregory entered Narek Monastery on the south-east shore of Lake Van in Vaspurakan, Greater Armenia, now Turkey) and led almost all of his life in the monastery. 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.

Book of Prayers / "Book of Lamentation"

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.

A leader of the well-developed school of Armenian mysticism at Narek Monastery, at the request of his brethren he set out to find an answer to an imponderable question: what can one offer to God, our creator, who already has everything and knows everything better than we could ever express it? To this question, posed by the prophets, psalmist, apostles and saints, he gives a humble answer – the sighs of the heart – expressed in his Book of Prayer, also called the Book of Lamentations.

In 95 grace-filled prayers St. Gregory draws on the exquisite potential of the Classical Armenian language to translate the pure sighs of the broken and contrite heart into an offering of words pleasing to God. The result is an edifice of faith for the ages, unique in Christian literature for its rich imagery, its subtle theology, its Biblical erudition, and the sincere immediacy of its communication with God. 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.

Legacy

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.

Translations

Recordings

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Shoemaker, M. Wesley (2013). Russia and The Commonwealth of Independent States 2013. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 211. ISBN 9781475804911.
Armenian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Գրիգոր Նարեկացի
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