From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
November 19th - Saint Nerses, Martyr
Born Fourth century
Died 373
Venerated in Catholicos of Armenia
Saint Nerses I the Great was an Armenian Catholicos (or Patriarch) who
lived in the fourth century. He was the father of another catholicos,
Saint Sahak I. His father was At'anagenes and his mother was Bambish,
the sister of King Tiran.[1]
Born of the royal Gregorid stock, he spent his youth in Caesarea where
he married Sanducht, a Mamikonian princess. After the death of his
wife, he was appointed sword-bearer to King Arshak II. A few years
later, having entered the ecclesiastical state, he was elected
catholicos in 353.
His patriarchate marks a new era in Armenian history. Till then the
Church had been more or less identified with the royal family and the
nobles; Nerses brought it into closer connection with the people. At
the Council of Ashtishat he promulgated numerous laws on marriage,
fast days, and Divine worship. He built schools and hospitals, and
sent monks throughout the land to preach the Gospel.
Narses held a synod at Ashtishat that among other things forbade
people to marry their first cousin and forbade multilation and other
extreme actions in mourning.[2]
Some of these reforms drew upon him the king's displeasure, and he was
exiled, supposedly to Edessa. It was probably at some point during the
later part of Arshak's reign that Nerses went to Constantinople to
ensure the Emperor's support of Armenia against the Persians.
According to P'awstos Buzandac'i's account the Valens became outraged
at Narses condemning his following the teachings of Arius and sent
Narses into exile.[3] While Narses was in exile Xad was the leader of
the church in Armenia.
Upon the accession of pro-Arian King Pap (369) he returned to his see.
Pap proved a dissolute and unworthy ruler and Nerses forbade him
entrance to the church. Under the pretence of seeking a
reconciliation, Papes invited Nerses to his table and reportedly
poisoned him in 373.
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic
Encyclopedia of 1913.
1 P'awstos Buzandac'i, History of Armenia, p. 81
2=C2 Lang, David Marshall. Armenia: Cradle of Civilization (Boston:
Geoge Allen & Unwin, 1970) p. 160
3 Pawstos, Armenia, p. 99
Saint Quote:
The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which
entangles the soul, and=C2 prevents it flying to God.
--St. Augustine
Bible Quote:
The single nation, mine, is Israel, those who cried out to God and
were saved. Yes, the Lord has saved his people, the Lord has delivered
us from all these evils, God has worked such signs and great wonders
as have never happened among the nations.=C2 (Esther 10:3 )
<><><><>
On hearing of the word of God
Let us then also learn hence to consider all things secondary to the
hearing of the word of God, and to deem no season unseasonable, and,
though a man may even have to go into another person's house, and
being a person unknown to make himself known to great men, though it
be late in the day, or at any time whatever, never to neglect this
traffic. Let food and baths and dinners and other things of this life
have their appointed time; but let the teaching of heavenly philosophy
have no separate time, let every season belong to it. For Paul saith,
'In season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort (2 Tim. 4:2); and
the Prophet too saith, 'In His law will he meditate day and night'
(Ps. 1:3).
--St. John Chrysostom.
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