Catholicos St. Nersess the Great

Nersess was an attractive officer in the Armenian army and royal court officer who was thrust into the role of Catholicos, a position he did not feel qualified to hold. 

When King Arshac II came into the palace hall, a distinguished delegation of court leaders came forward and asked him to select Nersess, who was the only living descendant of St. Gregory the Enlightener.  The king had no objections to the choice, but Nersess stepped forward with his concerns that he was too sinful to be worthy of the title.  He then proceeded to confess his sins.  A humble man, he tried to get the court to change its mind, but his efforts were useless.

Nersess was ready and willing to serve God, but he wanted to do so in an obscure way.  The memory of his father bothered him.  Athanaginess had not been a virtuous man.  He had died while drinking wine in bad company.  Nersess wanted to do penance for his father and for himself.  He did not want any reward for his exceptional qualities of intelligence and goodness, but the people insisted that he assume the highest office in the Armenian Church.

But the king and crowd insisted that Nersess accept the title.  As he went through his consecration, joy overcame Nersess.  The young man did not realize it, but during his 20 years in office he would lead great improvements throughout Armenia.  He was a humble person and a truly great man.  He was only 25 years old when he assumed his position, yet he instantly won everybody's respect. 

The first thing he did was to hold a council of bishops to receive reports about the condition of the country and discuss new laws that might need to be passed to improve the condition of the church.  The council was held in 354. During his tenure, he built 2,040 monasteries to accommodate the growing number of devout Armenians who wanted to devote their lives to God. 

Day and night Catholicos Nersess had a single preoccupation: how to make everyone a little happier.  He built homes for the community's elderly , widows, orphans, and poor.  Monks and nuns were tasked with helping the helpless.  The Catholicos used his own property and convinced many lords of Armenia to donate land for such homes. He also built hospitals for the sick, especially lepers, whom he cared for personally.  He was a friend of the old and poor the sick and the troubled, often eating with them around the same table.

St. Nersess also built havens along the roads of Armenia as a resting place for travelers and founded many schools.  He established many church laws: close relatives should not marry each other, people should not hire women to put on a crying and wailing show at funerals, princes and employers should be kind to their subjects and employees. 

St. Nersess the Great was a man of limitless courage.  He did not hesitate to rebuke even the king for acts of injustice and cruelty and stood like a giant against any danger that threatened the religion of the Armenian people. 

In 373, St. Nersess attended a banquet given by the king.  Suddenly he became ill.  He reached his residence with difficulty and there he died.

 

From A History of the Armenian Church, by Hagop Nersoyan