Dr. Abraham Terian Brings Art and Anguish of Narekatsi to Modern Readers

Terian stated that there already was a very good translation of the Book of Lamentations by Thomas Samuelian, but it was a “dynamic” English translation, intended to get across the feel of the author’s words into easily readable English, for devotional purposes. A scholarly and literal translation of the book was needed to truly introduce Narekatsi to the rest of the world.

Narekatsi According to Terian

Cowe played the role of questioner for the most part, allowing Terian to expound upon his translation and analysis.

Terian described what he felt are some of the primary themes that set Narekatsi apart and make his work so profound. For one thing, Narekatsi describes his work as a “book of prayer for all people.” In one of his prayers, he lists those for whom his work is intended, including kings and commoners, sinners and saints, men and women, young and old, wise and foolish, rich and poor, etc.

Upon Cowe’s question as to whether the work bears a relation to the famous Confessions of St. Augustine, Terian explained that although the work is a collection of penitential prayers in which every sin imaginable is confessed and repented for, it is of course unrealistic to think that Narekatsi was being simply autobiographical and that he himself had committed every sin listed in the book. Rather, the focus is on unity with Christ and with God.

According to Terian, since the beginning of Jewish and Christian thought, many spiritual writers have pondered the meaning of the phrase “made in the image of God.” Philo of Alexandria, on whom Terian is an authority, as well as the majority of other Jewish thinkers and Church fathers, have agreed that the “image of God” is the human mind or capacity for rational thought. The reference in Genesis to God “breathing” into dust to bring Adam to life also references the same thing: the breath of God in humans is again a reference to the rational mind.

Terian reflected that when Christians say that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, he again brought himself closer to his creation; the first time, by creating humans in his image (i.e. with rational minds) and the second time by becoming a human himself. When Christ became man, and died on the cross, he took upon all the sins of mankind onto himself, sharing in our pain. When Christians partake of Holy Communion, considered the Body and Blood of Christ, they also become one with Christ, but as Christ has already taken all the sins of mankind upon himself, in sense, so do all Christians when they partake of Holy Communion; they join in solidarity and share the pains of all humankind. That’s why Narekatsi confesses every sin imaginable in his prayers. The point is unity with God and one’s fellow humans.

Cowe asked Terian as to how modern day people could better connect with the writings of a medieval monk. Terian answered by posing a challenge to the Armenian clergy: our tradition is so rich, he stated, and we often ignore or skip over many of our most powerful and moving prayers or hymns. More than that, he stated, we have lost the tradition of continuing to be creative in our church life. In the Middle Ages, monks would be asked by their superiors to compose prayers or odes on different occasions for feast days and other commemorations (such as the “Festal Works” featured in Terian’s first Narekatsi translation). Terian doesn’t see any reason why modern-day Armenian priests should not ask talented and spiritual members of their parishes to do the same.

A question and answer period followed in which Terian was asked which part of the Book of Lamentations, a notoriously difficult-to-translate text, was the biggest challenge for him. He responded by proudly telling of his breakthrough in the decipherment of a hitherto-confusing section in one of the last prayers. In that section, Narekatsi uses letters of the Armenian alphabet to signify numbers. Numerology, or using numbers in a symbolic way, was used in many early Christian texts, but Narekatsi’s numbers did not seem to make any sense until Terian decided to write out the Armenian alphabet in four columns of nine letters each, corresponding to how the letters are used to encode a base-10 numeral system. Then, rather than seeking a meaning to each of the numbers, he merely went through and crossed out on his chart each number Narekatsi mentioned, as if playing a game of Bingo. The result was an image of the cross – something no previous scholar had been able to figure out.

Terian mentioned that one of the proudest moments of his life was when he and his wife were invited to the Vatican last year to present a copy of his translation to Pope Francis. The Pope reportedly told Mrs. Terian to “pray for me,” and the experience was extremely moving for the couple. Terian also reports that the Roman Catholic community has embraced the works of Narekatsi wholeheartedly, thus setting the words of this 10^th-century Armenian poet to be what he had always intended — a book of prayer for all peoples.

Terian’s translation, From the Depths of the Heart: Annotated Translation of the Prayers of St. Gregory of Narek, can be found on Amazon.