Barbora Turková, Haig Utidjian, Evžen Kindler
This year marks a thousand years since the monk Gregory (Grigor) of Narek died in the Armenian monastery of Narek by Lake Van.
Armenia officially accepted Christianity in 301 AD, and thus two years ago celebrated 1700 years since this great event. The acceptance of Christianity also meant a thorough orientation of culture, including literary culture. Since then, Armenia has had a number of beautiful works, many of which are closely related to Christian doctrine, to the events and sayings found in the Bible, and to the liturgy.
During his life, which he spent almost entirely in the monastery of Narek, Gregory of Narek wrote a number of works – including a commentary on the Song of Songs, hymns to the Virgin Mary, to the Holy Cross, and to the Holy Apostles, as well as a book of spiritual odes.
However, the greatest reverence is accorded to the work he wrote at the behest of his brothers from Narek before his death. It is called the Book of Lamentations or the Book of Prayers, sometimes briefly and simply Narek. It has 95 parts, each bearing the title Words to God from the Depths of the Heart.
Armenian Christians hold this book in great esteem, praying some of its parts as private preparation for Holy Communion and on other occasions, for example when they ask for healing in illness or for a good death.
We know that poetry – especially modern poetry – employs various conceptual "jumps" that aim to stimulate the reader to independently discover what lies behind such jumps, in other words, to encourage them to experience a certain relationship. It concerns certain poetic embellishments that are hard to categorize among those we learned about in school. Old Armenian poetry (and not only poetry, but also, for example, spiritual music) often resembles modern poetry in this sense. Sometimes Gregory's poetic embellishments are so rich that they offer even more interpretations, and today’s translators can debate which is more appropriate (see, for example, the line in the excerpt below with the words "the condensed liquid of the last veil").
As an example, we present a translation of the prayer to the Holy Spirit contained in the 33rd part of the Book of Prayers. We know that no later than 1177, when Nerses of Lambron wrote his commentary on the liturgy, this prayer was included in the Armenian eucharistic liturgy and is still used today. The rubrics of the Armenian missal clarify: "When the celebrant is a bishop, he takes his precious pallium upon his chest, and approaching the altar table, kneeling down, he quietly and silently, with overflowing tears, utters this prayer to the Holy Spirit, who accomplishes this act. If the celebrant is only a priest, the curtain should be drawn, and this prayer may be spoken behind it in secrecy."
D.
Almighty, benevolent, loving God of all,
Creator of the visible and invisible,
saving and sustaining, caretaker and peacemaker, You mighty Spirit of the Father:
we earnestly beseech You with outstretched arms, with cries of lamenting prayer,
standing before Your fearful presence.
We approach with great trembling, in enormous awe
to first make this verbal offering
to Your inscrutable power,
as sharing the unassailable fatherly honor
on the throne, in glory and creation,
and to the scrutinizing of the hidden depths of
the deepest mysteries
of the perfect will of Emmanuel's Father,
who sends You and who is the Savior, the life-giver, and the creator of all.
Through You we have been announced
the trinity of persons of the one Divinity,
of which You are known as well, O incomprehensible.
Through You and by You, the first –
the shoots of the generations of the forefathers, called seers –
proclaimed without hindrance the words of the past and future;
those that were, and those that have yet to come.
O breath of God, Moses proclaimed You:
You – when You moved over the waters, unbounded power,
with fearful encompassing care,
covering with Your wings an protecting manner with compassionate love the newly born –
made known the mystery of the baptismal font.
In the example of that same pattern,
before You raised the condensed liquid of the last veil,
You created, You mighty Lord, all natures
completely from all substances of all being out of non-being.
Through You are created for the restoration of the resurrection
all of these Your beings in that time,
which is the last day of this life and the first day of the land of the living.
You listened in the unity of will, just as to Your Father,
being of one essence with the Father, firstborn Son, in our likeness;
He joyfully proclaimed You as the true God,
equal and consubstantial with His mighty Father,
and declared the blasphemy against You to be irredeemable
and silenced the wicked mouths of those who rebel against You,
as those who fight against God,
and granted grace to those who rebel against Him,
the righteous and unblemished one, who is found by all,
who was betrayed for our sins
and raised for our justification.
To Him be glory through You, and to You be praise
with the all-powerful Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
E.
Once again I will repeat the same order of words,
until the miraculous influence of the certainty of light is revealed,
bringing back from on high the good tidings of peace.
We earnestly and with anguish beseech with tearful sighing
from the whole of our soul Your glorified creative power
of the incorruptible, uncreated, and timeless merciful Spirit,
You, who intercede for us
with inexpressible groaning before the gracious Father;
who protects the holy and purifies the sinful
and builds from them living and life-giving temples of the highest Father’s will.
Deliver us now from all unclean deeds,
which do not please Your dwelling;
and may the light of Your grace not extinguish within us –
in the receptive eyes of our understanding;
for we have learned that You unite with us
through prayer and a chosen life worthy of incense.
And since one of the Trinity is sacrificed and another [receives the sacrifice],
being inclined to us through the atoning blood of His firstborn,
may You accept our earnest entreaties and adorn us
as honorable abodes entirely prepared,
worthy to joyfully partake of the heavenly Lamb,
so that we may receive without condemning punishment
this immortality-giving manna of life and new salvation.
And may our offense melt in this fire
– just like that of the prophet –
the live burning coal
brought in tongs,
so that in all Your mercy may be declared,
as was [the sweetness of the Father]
which brought the prodigal son into the father's inheritance
and lifted the harlots into the heavenly kingdom
of the blessed.
Yes, yes, I too am one of them:
accept me with them, as one desiring great mercy,
saved by Your grace and redeemed by the blood of Christ,
so that for all this Your divinity may be recognized in all
glorified with the Father in the same honor,
in one will and in one praised rule.
For Yours is mercy and strength and love for mankind,
might and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Translation B. T., E. K., H. U.
