Early life Nerses was born in approximately 1100 into the noble
Pahlavuni family. Nerses was the name he adopted upon ordination as a priest; his birth name is unknown. According to some sources, he was born in the castle of Dzovk in the province of Tluk in
Cilicia, However, other sources claim that Nerses was born in his family's fortress, also called Dzovk, in the historical province of
Sophene in Armenia, Nerses moved to Dzovk in Cilicia, named after their original home, with his brother, the future Catholicos
Gregory III, after the death of their father in 1111. (a cousin of Nerses) placed them under the tutelage of the monk Stepanos Manouk, a highly regarded scholar and theologian. Nerses' epithet , which may be translated as 'graceful' appears to have been an honorary title given to the graduates of Karmir Vank, although others have suggested that he received this title for the grace of his person, speech and written works The writings and theological vocabulary of Nerses Shnorhali align with the tradition of the
Church Fathers, whose goal was to articulate and defend the "true faith." In various manuscripts and memorial texts, he is described with the phrase "gracious mouth," emphasizing his role as both a teacher and interpreter. Nerses Shnorhali is also credited with efforts toward
reconciling long-standing doctrinal differences between the Armenian and Greek churches, acting as a peacemaker in theological and diplomatic dialogue. The epithet Shnorhali was later adopted more broadly as a title of honor for both governors and spiritual leaders, highlighting their eloquence, wisdom, and educational contributions. In 1165, hostilities broke out between
Thoros II, Prince of Armenia and
Oshin of Lampron, the two strongest Armenian princes of
Cilicia. Gregory sent his brother Nerses out to mediate. On his way to the mediation, Nerses stopped at
Mamistra, where he met the Byzantine governor
Alexios Axouch and discussed the strained relations between the Armenian and Greek churches since the
Greek Orthodox declared the Armenian Church and the
Jacobite Church heretics in 1140. Axouch was sufficiently impressed with this discussion to urge Nerses to write an exposition of the Armenian faith which Axouch could then forward to the emperor in Constantinople. Nerses did so, stressing in his letter that, as both the Armenian and Greek churches accepted the statements of the
First Council of Ephesus, there was no clear reason for them not to be in agreement, making no polemical statements about the later
Council of Chalcedon and its Confession. On Nerses' return from his successful mediation efforts in the Armenian war, and the death of his brother Gregory shortly thereafter, Nerses was made Catholicos of the Armenian Church.
Catholicos While in office, he moved the see of the Catholicos from
Sis to
Hromkla (Rumkale). After the death of his brother Gregory, the letter Nerses wrote to the Byzantine emperor
Manuel I Komnenos received a reply from the emperor. In the letter, the emperor invited the then-deceased Catholicos Gregory to come to
Constantinople. Nerses wrote back to the emperor, informing him of Gregory's death and suggesting that an alternative might be for a discussion in which both the Greek and Armenian churches could present their positions. In 1171, the emperor sent a delegation led by Theorianus, a theologian from Constantinople, and John Atman, an Armenian member of the Orthodox Church and abbot of the monastery at Philippopolis. Although there had been early hope for active participation by the Jacobite Church as well, the patriarch of the Jacobite church,
Michael the Syrian, chose to only send an observer with a Jacobite profession of faith to the meeting. The meeting ultimately concluded with an agreement which basically accepted the position of the Greek church. Nerses created a new profession of faith for his church written in a conciliatory tone to be taken back to Constantinople for review by that church. He sent with it a confidential message to the emperor in which he promised to make every effort to reconcile the Armenian and Orthodox churches. In December of that year Theorianus and John Atman returned to Hromgla with letters from the emperor and the Orthodox
Patriarch Michael III of Constantinople. The letter from the emperor encouraged Nerses to work toward the unity of the two churches, and expressed sympathy for the problems that were expected from the clergy of the Armenian church. The official statement from Constantinople included nine points which the Orthodox established saw as being at odds with the imperial church. These included points of doctrine regarding some of the church councils, including Chalcedon, liturgical questions including use of unleavened bread and undiluted wine in the
Eucharist, and the disparities between the
liturgical calendars of the two churches. The statement also specifically required that the emperor should be given the authority to make the appointments of any further Catholicoi of the Armenian church. Nerses was surprised by the severity of several of the proposals, and raised objections to them. In response, the delegates from the emperor produced the confidential letters exchanged by Nerses and the emperor, which served to embarrass Nerses to the Armenians. The revelation served to harden the objections of the Armenian clergy to any attempts at reconciliation. Nerses wrote out a letter to Constantinople in which he thanked the emperor for his interest, and promised that, at the appropriate time, there would be a council in Armenia formed to take up his proposals. Nerses also suggested that the Greeks might consider the possibility that perhaps some of its own traditions could bear some attention and correction. Nerses was by this time some 70 years old, and he made arrangements to turn the position of Catholicos to another. Following the tradition of his family, he chose between two relatives who had already achieved the position of bishop in the church. Nerses' own choice was for the younger of the two candidates, but the other one, Gregory, had support from the prince
Mleh and ultimately took the position of Catholicos in 1173. ==Works==