St. Nerses the Great

Biography

St. Nerses I (c. 310–c. 373), called the Great, was a descendant of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of Armenia. He received a Greek education at Caesarea in Cappadocia and married; after his wife's early death he served at the court of King Arshak II. Around 353 he was chosen catholicos, or chief bishop, of the Armenian Church. At a council held at Ashtishat, he promoted laws on marriage, fasting, and worship and set in motion an extraordinary program of charity. According to Armenian sources, he founded hospitals, leper houses, orphanages, hostels for travelers, and homes for widows and the poor throughout the land, and he established monasteries and schools. He is often called the founder of Christian charitable institutions in Armenia. Nerses opposed the Arian heresy and rebuked the king's crimes, and for this he was exiled for about nine years. He returned under King Pap, whose immoral conduct he also condemned. He died around 373; according to the historian Faustus of Byzantium, the king had him poisoned at a banquet, though other accounts differ. His son, St. Isaac (Sahak) the Great, also became catholicos and helped bring about the creation of the Armenian alphabet. Nerses is honored by Catholics, Orthodox, and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

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