Saint Krikor Naregatzi
950-1010
Krikor Naregatzi was born about the year 950, in the province of Vasbouragan, to a very devout family. His mother died when he was still an infant. His father, Khosrov, was a bishop and a writer, well known for his intellectual ability and his high moral standards. The eldest son, Sahag, transcribed his father’s works of which only two have survived. Although Nareg, the youngest of three sons, had great admiration for his father, his life was influenced more by his maternal uncle, Anania, the founder and the abbot of the Monastery of Nareg. Anania was a well known speaker, a poet and an apologetic writer. He defended the Christian faith against a well known sect, the Tontrakians. Under Anania’s guidance, the Monastery became an important learning center in Armenia, teaching not only theology but also the arts and sciences.
Khosrov sent his two younger sons, Hovannes and Krikor to the Monastery of Nareg at a very early age. It was there that Krikor was educated, ordained a priest and lived the rest of his life. After Anania’s death his brother, Hovannes, became the abbot. Sahag, the oldest brother, worked with their father and transcribed his writings.
Krikor Naregatzi lived in relatively peaceful times; under the Pakradounis, whose allegiance belonged to the Arab Emirates, and the Ardzrounis, under Byzantine rulers, Armenia enjoyed one of its rare moments of peace and prosperity. Monasteries and the monastic life boomed; it was a time of unprecedented spiritual growth. The Armenian people took their faith and the promises of eternal life with God more seriously than ever.
Krikor Naregatzi became a teacher at the monastery, leading a life of prayer and meditation. Although he has several writings, he is well known for his Book of Prayers or Lamentations. This work, written in 1002, is in Krapar (the old Armenian). It’s a combination of poetry and prose.
Naregatzi was a strong believer, communing with God at a level much higher than the common man, hence the great turmoil of his soul as evidenced in his writings. He had a greater awareness of his sinful nature, as a human being, and the holiness of God. This creates the storm in his soul --he agonizes for a while--followed by peace at the end.
His work is called Nareg for short; it comprises 95 elegies broken into 366 chapters. He starts each elegy with the following: “Words unto God from the depths of my heart.” It is not possible to read Nareg as one would read a novel; instead, it is to be read section by section, in a spirit of meditation.
Krikor Naregatzi spent his whole life in the province of Vasbouragan, mainly in the monastery. Unlike other intellectuals and clergymen of ancient times, he only knew Armenian; yet, his writings have been translated into many languages. Although Naregatzi is a towering figure in the Armenian Church, which canonized him, he belongs to the whole world.
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