St. Gregory of Narek

St. Gregory of Narek: 950 - 1003

St. Gregory of Narek - St. Grigor Narekatsi - is known as one of the most prominent figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and literature. He was born around 950 into a distinguished family of scholars and churchmen. While still an infant, his mother passed away and his father entered religious life. Gregory was placed in the monastery of Narek, a thriving center of education, located on the shores of Lake Van (currently in Turkey). This is where he grew up in an atmosphere of intellectual and religious fervor in the footsteps of his father and uncle Abbot Anania, who was one of the pillars of Armenian mysticism.

These were the relatively peaceful times in the history of Armenia. A period marked by the blossoming of various aspects of Armenian culture: arts, church building, miniature painting, science, literature and theology. Gregory also had the opportunity to be exposed to the richness of neighboring cultures including Byzantine, Arab, and others. The monastic life allowed him to absorb the abundance of the information around him and helped nurture his spiritual growth and knowledge. He was ordained to the priesthood in 977, taught in the monastery school and held the position of master of theology and religious knowledge within the monastery until his death in 1003.

On the surface, Gregory of Narek's life seems of little interest, but his inner spiritual struggles were intense and influenced his entire work. He was an incomparable poet with a lively, vibrant, and highly individual style. To describe his complex mystical universe, he refined and enriched the old classical Armenian language (Krapar) with new words that gave meaning to deep emotions and intricate abstractions. He became a prolific writer of religious books, prayers, poems, chants, and doxologies. Many of his works still resonate during the Divine Liturgy celebrated each Sunday in the Armenian churches around the world.

His masterpiece, however, is his famous book of prayers entitled "The Book of Lamentations." Written near the end of his life, it is an intensely personal lyric poem that has been compared with Augustine's "Confessions" and like the "Confessions" it is a personal effort of the heart in search of reconciliation with God. In 95 grace-filled prayers, St. Gregory translates 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 centuries, Armenians kept their beloved Narek in their homes as a book of devotion and spiritual consolation. The recent translation of Narek titled "Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart" by Thomas Samuelian beautifully renders these ancient prayers in English and makes them available for a worldwide audience.