1836.] Memoir of St. Nierses Clajensis. 153 



days of degeneracy we see a pastor of the Church adorned with so many 

 Christian and moral virtues !" The hatred which the Greeks manifest- 

 ed towards the Armenians gradually began to abate, and a sort of 

 generous sympathy was felt by the former, for the lamentable degrada- 

 tion to which the latter were reduced in a political point of view. They 

 could not, however, reconcile themselves to the idea, that the Armenians, 

 after conforming to the fundamental principles of orthodox faith, and 

 admitting duality of nature in our Saviour, should still persist in as- 

 serting one nature in the union of his divinity and humanity. Though 

 the arguments, with which the Armenians endeavoured to clear their 

 minds on this subject, were perfectly sound and correct, yet the 

 Greeks could not overcome their reluctance to make such concessions 

 to them, and were consequently anxious that this obstacle to their 

 union, together with a few others of minor importance, originating 

 from certain observances of the Armenian Church, might prudently 

 and speedily be removed. 



Hereupon the emperor came to the determination of sending another 

 embassy to Hiromcla, consisting of the abovementioned Theorianey 

 and Johannes Uthman, who were furnished with letters from the 

 emperor and patriarch MichAel, bearing date December, 1 1 72, and 

 instructed to urge Nierses to apply himself with increased interest and 

 assiduity to the fulfilment of the object in view, lest the death of either 

 of them might put a stop to the successful termination of their under- 

 taking. Nine points connected with the creed of the Church of Greece 

 were distinctly stated in the imperial letter, for the consideration and 

 subsequent acceptance of the Armenians. It was also proposed by 

 the emperor, that those points, but particularly that of the duality of 

 nature in Christ, should be discussed, and admitted by the Armenians 

 in a general council to be held for that purpose. Should they, how- 

 ever, be reluctant in conceding to some of the points alluded to, they 

 might communicate their objections in a letter addressed by their 

 pontiff to the emperor. The proposed points are the following : 



I. Anathematize those who admitted one nature in Christ, that is 

 to say, Eutyches, Deoscorus, Severius, Timotheus, and the follow- 

 ers of their heresies. 



II. Confess in our Lord Jesus Christ, one Son, one person, one 

 hypostasis formed of two perfect natures, which are inseparable, indi- 

 visible, unchangeable, unalterable, unconfounded ; so as not to consi- 

 der Christ in a separate sense the Son of God and the Son of the holy 

 Deiparous, but to acknowledge in him unconfusedly the Son of God 

 and the Son of Man, and to confess him to be both God and Man in 

 the duality of his nature. Confess in him the duality of actions and 



