1836.] Memoir of St. Nierses Clajensis. 135 



was elevated. By this oration the audience were not only assured of 

 the zeal and interest which he would feel for the welfare of his flock, 

 but were also struck with a forcible conviction of the goodness of the heart 

 and the grandeur of the mind, from which these graceful sentiments 

 emanated. It was owing to a peculiarly sweet tone of his expressions, 

 and a remarkably fascinating flow of the sentiments of his inspired 

 mind, that he was distinguished by the appellation of the Graceful, 

 ^ynph^ijii as he was latterly known by the cognomen of Clajensis, 

 lHjyk-jl, in consequence of exercising the functions of his sacerdotal 

 office in the fortress of Hiromcla. About three months after the elec- 

 tion of Nierses, his brother Gregory departed this life Anno Domini 

 1166, and was entombed in a sepulchre prepared during his life time. 

 Soon after the death of his brother, Nierses, the pontiff, set about 

 improving the state of the churches, and promoting the spiritual wel- 

 fare of his flock. And as the Armenians in that time, like those in our 

 days, were dispersed in various parts of the globe, that is to say, in the 

 territories of Armenia, in Greece, Persia, Georgia, Aluans, Egypt, and 

 other quarters, he found it essentially necessary to extend spiritual 

 comforts even to his distant congregation, by sending to them pious and 

 able missionaries, for the purpose of curing the wounds of the afflicted, and 

 enlightening the minds of the ignorant. Not contented with the good 

 that was likely to result from the zealous exertions of these preachers of 

 the gospel, he, at the early part of his pontificate, and by the unanimous 

 consent of his bishops, addressed a general epistle at great length to the 

 people of his Church, which was couched in sentiments full of heavenly 

 wisdom*. In this letter, after mentioning the death of his brother 

 Gregory, and taking a short view of the relative duties imposed upon 

 him by his being elevated to the pontifical throne, he states the 

 orthodox creed of the Church of Armenia, which is immediately follow- 

 ed by preceptive exhortations best adapted to persons of every age 

 and rank. The letter itself is divided into different sections, the first 

 of which is directed to conventuals, who are assimilated to the stars ; 

 the second, to the primates of monasteries, who are compared to the 

 eyes ; the third, to the bishops, who are likened to the head, counte- 

 nance, and stewards ; the fourth, to the priests, who are made to re- 

 semble parents ; the fifth, to the nobility ; the sixth, to the military 

 order ; the seventh, to the citizens ; the eighth, to the husbandmen and 

 peasantry ; and the ninth, to the female sex in general. The immedi- 

 ate object of the writer was to excite a love of virtue and piety amongst 

 his congregation, and to be instrumental in eradicating from their 



* This pastoral epistle was published in Venice with a Latin translation 

 in the year 1829. 



