1 32 Memoir of St. Nierses Clajensis. [March, 



national improvements and spiritual good. By his peculiarly mild tem- 

 per and upright principles, he was held in general estimation, and con- 

 sidered a very valuable member of the fraternity to which he belonged. 



At this period, it must be recollected, the city of Antioch was in the 

 possession of the Latins, who found it necessary to convene a general 

 assembly for the purpose of taking into consideration some heavy 

 charges that were preferred against Rodolph, the Archbishop of thatcity, 

 to his holiness Innocent the Second. Being deservedly distinguished 

 among foreigners for the intense zeal they displayed both in the cause 

 of Christianity and humanity, the pontiff of Armenia and his brother 

 Nierses were invited to become participators in the proceedings of the 

 council. They met with a very honourable reception from the Latins, 

 whose admiration of the graceful tone of their conversation could 

 only be equalled by the surprise with which they caught every senti- 

 ment which fell from the lips of those bright ornaments of the Armenian 

 church, On the conclusion of the meeting, which led to the deposition 

 of Rodolph from his episcopal dignity, the pontiff Gregory went on a 

 pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem, and his brother Nierses having 

 returned to the castle of Zovs, performed the duties of a proxy during 

 the absence of his brother from the seat of his pontificate. 



Dissensions now arose among the Armenians and Syrians residing 

 in some part of Mesopotamia, through the dissemination of the heretical 

 doctrines of the Thondraldan sect*, which were calculated to mislead 

 the simple and the illiterate. Thulkuran, an Armenian nobleman, 

 eminently distinguished for his exemplary piety and benevolence, 

 viewed the progress of these heresies with great apprehensions for the 

 safety of the established Church of Armenia, and in consequence, 

 endeavoured to check the evil, by communicating the state of things to 

 the pontiff Gregory, and soliciting him to take measures for effectually 

 exterminating the sect. The latter, after giving the subject due consi- 

 deration, communicated with his brother Nierses on the best way of pro- 



* The founder of this sect was an Armenian by the name of Sumbat, who 

 nourished in Armenia in the beginning of the ninth century. He was born in 

 Zarehavan, a village situated in the province of Zalcotin ; but in consequence of 

 his long residence in Thondrak, he received the appellation of Thondrakensis, and 

 his followers were known by that of Thondrakians. His mind was imbued with 

 the heretical principles of the Paulicians, and the whole course of his life was 

 marked with the greatest moral depravity, impiety, and wickedness. Like the 

 Sadducees, he disbelieved the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, and 

 in imitation of the opinions of Epicurus denied that God was the creator and 

 preserver of the world. He refused his assent to the creed of the graces of the 

 Holy Ghost, the efficacy of the Sacraments of the Church, and the existence of 

 sin, laws, and justice. 



