150 Memoir of St. Nierses Clajensis. [March, 



commotions which at that time prevailed in the west. He conse- 

 quently chose the alternative of deputing in May, A. D. 1170, to 

 Hiromcla, Lezion Master Theorianey, a Greek divine, eminently 

 distinguished for his theological and philosophical attainments, with 

 Johannes, the learned Abbot of an Armenian monastery, from Philip- 

 polis, generally known by the appellation of Uthman, bearing an 

 imperial letter addressed to the pontiff of Armenia, in these terms : — 



" It afforded us great joy to learn your willingness to effect a happy union 

 between the sister Churches, and acquiescing in your laudable views, we have 

 deputed learned and pious men to confer with you on our behalf, and use 

 every means in their power to remove the wall of partition between us." 



On the arrival of the deputation at Hiromcla, Theorianey and 

 Johannes were kindly received by the Armenian bishops that were 

 assembled by Nierses the Graceful in the pontifical house, for the pur- 

 pose of adopting the best mode of carrying the proposed union into 

 execution. Nierses, on the letter of the emperor being presented to 

 him by Theorianey, shewed the latter every mark of honor and kind- 

 ness, which his rank and the immediate object of his mission required. 

 Theorianey had brought with him a copy of the letter of Nierses, 

 addressed to the emperor, with a view of obtaining an explanation on 

 some points that appeared doubtful to them, and of satisfying their 

 minds as to the reality of some assertions that were made by those 

 who were inimically disposed towards the Armenian Church. To these 

 ends an assembly of the Armenian and Greek bishops was held in 

 Hiromcla, who commenced discussing the important points with deco- 

 rum, mildness, and moderation. Theorianey, in the course of perusing 

 the letter of Nierses to the assembly, proposed, in proper order, several 

 questions for solution, to which Nierses made replies, full of convin- 

 cing proofs. The course of discussions comprised queries on the duality 

 of nature and will in the person of Christ, (about which point great 

 stress was laid on this saying of Cyrillus : " The incarnate Word is 

 of one nature," which admits of various constructions,) the exact day 

 of the commemoration of the nativity of our Saviour, the propriety of 

 the prayer " Holy God," which was offered in the Armenian Church, 

 the preparation of the holy unction, the necessity of performing pray- 

 ers within the Church, and the decrees of the council of Chalcedon. 

 At the conclusion of the meeting, Nierses, in his endeavours to remove 

 an erroneous impression from the mind of Theorianey, that the Arme- 

 nians were monophy sites, cited from a work of Johannes the philoso- 

 pher, a renowned pontiff of Armenia, several proofs corroborative of 

 the duality of nature in Christ. " The work in question," said he, 

 " which was before imperfectly known but to a few of our nation, was 

 afterwards unanimously adhered to by my predecessors in the ponti- 



