Reading of the Pontifical Encyclical of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, issued for the 850th death anniversary of Saint Nerses the Gracious

On March 5, 2023, at the Cathedral of Saint George in Tbilisi, at the conclusion of the Sunday Divine Liturgy, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, Rev. Father Archimandrite Kirakos Davtyan read the Pontifical Encyclical of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, issued for the 850th death anniversary of Saint Nerses the Gracious (Nerses Shnorhali).

The Diocesan Primate touched upon the pastoral and spiritual, cultural, bibliographic, and pedagogical activities of Nerses the Gracious, the poet, musician, theologian, and one of the most brilliant and prominent representatives of all Christian civilization. The years during which Nerses the Gracious was the Catholicos of All Armenians (1166-1173), although were difficult for the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, however, progress and successes also were achieved, which are recorded in the history of the Armenian Church.

Rev. Father referred to the mystery of the day - The Sunday of the Prodigal Son and encouraged the attendees to live with prayers and hymns of Nerses the Gracious and to return to God the Father and the Christian faith with great repentance for leaving the faith.