NERSÈS KLAJETZI, Saint. — Also called Snorhall, i.e., the Gracious, on account of the gentleness and evangelical charity he showed to all. Born in 1102 to Prince Apirat Pahlawouni, he served as Armenian katholikós from 1166 until his death in 1173 and was later included among the saints of the Armenian Church calendar.
He was a distinguished poet and sacred hymnographer. He also left behind valuable dogmatic writings, an interesting collection of letters, and a fine canonical encyclical letter.
He was a zealous promoter of Church unity. Notable are his open negotiations, facilitated by the conciliatory policy of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, with the Greek philosopher and theologian Theorianos in 1170 and 1172, which concluded successfully. Nersès, having convinced his interlocutors of the orthodoxy of the traditional Armenian formula regarding the single nature of the incarnate Only-Begotten Word, provided it was understood in the sense of St. Cyril of Alexandria, subscribed to the formula of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, acknowledging its precision. With his conciliatory spirit, he overcame the rigidity of the Byzantines, particularly that of Patriarch Michael III of Anchialos (1169–77), who had pressed too strongly on matters of discipline, allowing the commingling of the chalice and the unification of the calendar for the Lord’s feasts—namely, Christmas, the Annunciation, the Purification, St. John the Baptist, and the Apostles. While he was preparing to convene a national Armenian synod to secure acceptance of these reforms among his own episcopate, especially in eastern Armenia, Nersès died.