GREGORY III, PAHLAV. - Armenian Katholikós (1113-66), son of the prince Pahlaw Apirat, b. in 1096; d. in 1166.
It was his merit to clarify still further, in a Catholic sense, the position of the Armenian Church with regard to the Council of Chalcedon and to link it anew, better than his predecessor Gregory II, to the See of Rome, considering it juridically in the face of the claims of the Byzantine emperors. To this end he corresponded with the popes Honorius II, Innocent II, and Eugene III. He took part, together with his own brother, the bishop Nerses the Gracious, in the Latin Council of Antioch (1139) and of Jerusalem (1142). Innocent II, having received the information and the praises of his own legate
G. insists above all on the fact of the restoration of the whole of creation in its integrity. This means at the same time both the salvation of human nature, as the substantial totality of men, and the restoration of the totality of spiritual creation, from which humanity had fallen. But if human nature is thus to be restored, nevertheless some individuals can withdraw from such a restoration. Only, the question of salvation in-
Alberic of Ostia, addressed to G. a letter (25 Sept. 1141) congratulating him and inviting his brother, the bishop Nerses, to Rome, in order to negotiate better. The embassy of G. III arrived at Viterbo around 1144-45, welcomed by Eugene III. The Apostolic See was informed about certain controversies between Armenians and Greeks, and about the well-known disciplinary questions.
G. was the first Armenian katholikós who received the pallium. He left as a literary legacy his correspondence, and hymnographic compositions, introduced into the liturgy.
Bibliography2 works
Garabed Amadani