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 St. Gregory of Narek Scott 1595a (2015) February 27 on the Liturgical Calendar celebrates the Feast of Saint Gregory of Narek, one of the 38 "Doctors of the Church". Saint Gregory of Narek was born around 335 in what is now eastern Turkey. He came from a large family of 10 children: 5 boys and 5 girls. Coming from a family of writers, he cultivated his knowledge of the literary arts. Gregory was mostly raised in a monastery and eventually entered the Narek Monastery in present-day Armenia as a monk. There he lived for most of his life.  The Matenadaran manuscript of St. Gregory of Narek’s ‘Book of Lamentations’ Photo by Yerevantsi From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Share Alike 4.0 International License Gregory led a secluded life and is known for writing his Book Of Lamentations, which is a monologue of personal lyrics and confessional poetry. His book has 95 chapters with over 10,000 lines of writing. All but two chapters are titled Words Unto God From the Depths Of My Heart. The central theme of his writing is the existential conflict between his desire to be perfect and his realization that doing so is impossible. He dwells on divine grace and his sense of unworthiness to receive it. He describes God as all-embracing and all-forgiving, and that His grace compensates for the unworthiness of man. In February 2015, Pope Francis named St. Gregory of Narek as the 36th "Doctor of the Church". He is considered to be Armenia's first national poet noted for his writings and book of prayers. Contemporaries also observed his great humility and charity. The stamp shown at the top of the article was issued as a four stamp minisheet, with two stamps featuring Saint Gregory of Narek and two stamps picturing Armenian martyr Blessed Ignatius Maloyan:  Saint Gregory of Narek and Blessed Ignatius Maloyan Minisheet, Scott 1595 (2015) References • Wikipedia, Gregory of Narek • UFN Bulletin BF-14, September 2, 2015, Centenary Of The Death Of Blessed Martyr Ignatius Maloyan And The Proclamation Of Saint Gregory Of Narek As Doctor Of The Church • James C. Hamilton, Vatican Notes, Volume 63, Issue 366, 4th Quarter, October 2015, page 5, Vatican City New Issues: Sept 2015 |
