Book ‘Odes of Saint Nerses the Graceful: Annotated Translation’ available on Amazon

February 21 2024, 12:06

Education

The book ‘Odes of Saint Nerses the Graceful: Annotated Translation’ by Matthew James Sarkisian and Jesse Siragan Arlen is available on Amazon.

The book presents Armenian texts and English translations of 60 verses of the liturgy of St. Nerses the Graceful, 58 of which have never before been translated into English. The translation is accompanied by an introduction and extensive footnotes that describe the biblical, theological, and poetic features of this literary treasure, making it accessible to a broad twenty-first-century reading audience.

St. Nerses the Graceful (Nerses Shnorali, 1102-1173) was a Catholicos from 1166 until his death in 1173. He was one of the greatest figures of the medieval Armenian Church. His most famous work is a twenty-four-stanza prayer, commonly known as “I Confess With Faith” (“Havatov Khostovanim”), which has been translated into more than 30 languages.

St. Nerses the Graceful was also the author and composer of sharakans and other poetic works, many of which are little known today.