Did he have a positive or negative view of the Catholic Church when he was alive? Can someone give me any direct quotes on his views when it comes to that church? Did he reject any Catholic teachings that were popular during that time?
Thank you guys so much.
COMMENTS WELCOME!
Hello everyone. I've recently been reading from Saint Gregory of Narek's Book of Lamentations. Saint Gregory is one of the most important saints of the Armenian Church and his Book is considered to be one of the great masterpieces of Armenian Christian literature. The prayers within it are highly poetic (keep this mind) and penitential in nature. They have been compared to King David's Psalms, Saint Augustine's Confessions, and the hymns of Saint Simeon the New Theologian and Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Some are meditations spanning over several prayers while others are more self-contained. I've posted two evening/nightly prayers and a prayer to the Holy Mother of God from the Book below that I think you guys might find interesting. If you guys enjoy them, let me know and I'll keep posting more!
Source for the prayers: https://www.stgregoryofnarek.am/index.php
Prayer 12: An Evening Prayer
Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart
A
Although I have let myself fall
into seemingly eternal despair,
beating myself with the rod of doubt,
let me now dare with the slightest hope
to call upon the Holy Trinity to help me, a sinner.
For upon blessing and acknowledging
the life-giving God of all, and calling out to him
as to a family member,
it becomes possible for the benefactor
who grants all grace, to grant life
to me, a mortal, as the Prophet foretold,
"Whoever calls out the name of the Lord shall live."
B
Not only do I call, but I believe in the Lord's greatness.
I pray not only for his rewards but also for himself,
the essence of life, guarantor of giving and
taking of breath
without whom there is no movement, no progress,
to whom I am tied not so much by the knot of hope
as by the bonds of love.
I long not so much for the gifts
as for the giver.
I yearn not so much for the glory
as the glorified.
I burn not so much with the desire for life
as in memory of the giver of life.
I sigh not so much with the rapture of splendor
as with the heartfelt fervor for its maker.
I seek not so much for rest
as for the face of our comforter.
I pine not so much for the bridal feast
as for the distress of the groom,
through whose strength I wait with certain
expectation believing with unwavering hope
that in spite of the weight of my transgressions
I shall be saved by the Lord's mighty hand and
that I will not only receive remission of sins
but t
I’ve read on Wikipedia and another article (https://www.google.com/amp/s/bekkos.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/pope-gregory-the-great-on-the-holy-spirits-procession/amp/) that seems like Gregory the great believed in the filioque if you use the Latin translation while if you use the Greek translation it says “abides in the Son”. Is this true?
