The Catholic Historical Review

Gregory of Narek was little-known outside the community of Armenians and scholars of Armenian Christianity until April 24, 2015, when this great Armenian saint, theologian, mystic, and poet of the tenth-eleventh century was recognized by Pope Francis as the thirty-sixth Doctor of the Catholic Church. His popularity has since grown in the West, and more people have become familiar with this great author of the medieval Church. He is considered the best representative of Armenian spirituality of the Middle Ages and has been named the great poet in Armenian literature. His literary heritage is diverse and multi-faceted.

The most famous and familiar of his works is his book of penitential prayers, traditionally titled The Book of Lamentation but commonly known as Narek, after the monastery in which he spent most of his life. It consists of ninety-five chapters, and each chapter begins with the epigraph “Speaking with God from the depths of the heart.” This epigraph Professor Terian used, then, as a title for his translation.

The book covers a wide variety of topics that have to do with the fallen human soul, self-discipline, fasting, and prayer. It incorporates contemplation on scripture, which is unceasing and causes the flow of tears in the author. With his prayers, Gregory speaks with God directly, bringing the issues tormenting the human soul and presenting them in the heavenly court before the supreme Judge. Although most of the prayers are private, penitential prayers, at the same time, Gregory does not exclude them from being also a communal prayer that the members of the monastic community can offer. He describes his prayer book as a fragrant sacrifice of words to God, which is composed to aid ailing humanity. The book is provided as a remedy, a help for spiritual turmoil, that Gregory attests that he himself has experienced by suffering the effects of sin. Therefore, he has composed this book [End Page 409] for all people, those who would read them with penitential confession, joining him in prayer for the healing of all ailments.

The beauty of Gregory of Narek’s prayers consists in their deep and, at the same time, metrically enthralling style. The original Classical Armenian text of the prayer can be difficult to grasp even by those well versed in the language. It can be challenging to translate Gregory’s exegetical and theological thought accurately and articulately by keeping the original beauty and reverence so fluently expressed in the prayers. Syntactical and grammatical styles may present some challenges to even the most skillful translators.

Yet in Abraham Terian’s version of the translation of the Prayers of Gregory of Narek, one can notice the work of a master translator exhibited in its highest form, where he skillfully finds ways to present even the most difficult theological images and exegetical complexities of Narek’s literary language and style. The work of translating Gregory’s Book of Prayer into English could not have been entrusted to a better teacher and theologian than Professor Terian, who in his long and illustrious career has worked with complex texts and translated the most challenging and complicated works of Armenian literature.

His supreme knowledge of the Scriptures enables him to understand and interpret every image and thought expressed by Gregory of Narek in their own correct context and translate them accurately and comprehensibly, so that readers can grasp them and appreciate the beauty and profoundly spiritual and biblical messages expressed in the prayers.

Similarly, Professor Terian’s knowledge of early church history and patristics enhances his translation of prayers to correctly present the theology of the Book of Lamentations expressed by Gregory of Narek, who was profoundly influenced by Ephrem the Syrian, Evagrius Ponticus, Cappadocian Fathers, and the other early authors of the Church. The new translation not only interprets Gregory’s theological and dogmatic beliefs...