1836.] Memoir of St. Nierses Clajemis. 141 



bastus and Lord of Cilicia, and Oshin the Sebastus and Lord of 

 Lambron. The reason of this unfortunate difference was, that the 

 former insisted upon the latter to profess obedience to himself, and to 

 decline becoming tributary to the Greeks, while Oshin thought it 

 safer to continue his allegiance to the Greek emperor, than to acknow- 

 ledge the ascendency of Thorose. Blinded by selfishness, and provoked 

 by mutual resistance, they were at last necessitated to have recourse 

 to an appeal to arms, which was attended with fatal consequences to 

 both parties. 



The pontiff Gregory, viewing these unfortunate circumstances with a 

 spirit of national sympathy, imposed upon his brother Nierses the 

 task of effecting a reconciliation between the two princes by his mild 

 and fascinating address. Nierses succeeded in his endeavours of 

 restoring to them peace and friendship, which were soon after followed 

 by a happy alliance between them, Thorose marrying his daughter to 

 Hethum, the son of Oshin. On the celebration of this marriage, Oshin 

 desired Nierses to accompany him to Lambron, with a view that its 

 inhabitants might be benefitted by his edifying instructions and evan- 

 gelical discourses. During their journey they had occasion to enter 

 the city of Mamestia, which was then in the possession of .he Greeks. 

 Here they met Alexius, the protostrator or generalissimo of the Greek 

 army, who was the son-in-law of the emperor Manuel, and had come 

 thither with the design of visiting the frontiers that belonged to the 

 Grecian empire. On his first interview with Nierses the Graceful, 

 Alexius was struck with admiration by the grace and learning which 

 pervaded every part of his conversation. One day religion being the 

 topic of their conference, Alexius expressed a desire of being fur- 

 nished with information as to the cause of the division of the Church 

 of Christ into so many doctrinal opinions. The promptitude with 

 which Nierses answered every question that was put to him, created 

 in Alexius a deep sense of veneration for him as an erudite divine, 

 and left no appearance of doubt in his arguments. Nierses convinced 

 him that the difference of opinions between the Christian Churches 

 merely existed in words and forms, and assured him that the creed 

 of the Armenian Church was consonant to that of the Church of 

 Greece. 



Alexius desired Nierses to commit the whole of their conversation 

 to writing, which he promised to present to the emperor, and to exert 

 every nerve in effecting a union between the two Churches. He also 

 proposed to him the solution of a few important points, which from 

 their intricate nature had created a difference of opinion between the 

 divines of the Greek Church. 



