850th anniversary of Saint Nerses Shnorhali’s passing was commemorated in Geneva

20 May, 2023

On 20 May, 2023 at Salle Frank-Martin in Geneva the 850^th anniversary of Catholicos Saint Nerses IV the Gracious’ (Shnorhali) death was commemorated. The event was held under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Switzerland. It took place in the framework of Agape International Festival of Music and Sacred Art. Ms. Chouchane Siranossian performed solo violin and direction with the Venice Baroque Orchestra.

The organizers of the Agape Festival in their remarks spoke about Armenia and the Armenian culture. A moment of silence was observed at the beginning of the event in memory of all Armenian martyrs.

H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisian, Ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland delivered an opening speech. He presented the prolific theological, literary, and musical legacy of Saint Nerses Shorahli and dwelled upon the historical period he lived in and created his works. He noted, in particular, that Nerses Shnorhali’s liturgical hymns survived hundreds of years preserving the spirit, style and tunes of the long-passed generations, however, continuing to captivate the modern audience just as they did in the medieval times. They consolidate the bonds and continuity of the Armenian culture and art.

850^th anniversary of Saint Nerses Shnorhali’s passing was inscribed on the UNESCO calendar of important events.

Speech

by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Ambassador of Armenia

at the Agapé Festival

Geneva 20 May, 2023

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor and privilege to welcome you at this amazing concert. At the outset I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of the Agapé Festival, wonderful violinist Chouchan Sirannossian, Venice Baroque Orchestra, who will perform today on the stage. They have joined efforts with the Embassy of Armenia to Switzerland to celebrate through this concert the 850th anniversary of the passing of Saint Nerses Shnorhali or Nerses the Gracious (1102-1173).

As you can already guess Nerses Shnorhali is a saint of the Armenian Church. He was a real historic figure and a prominent personality, who lived in 12^th century, in the Kingdom of Armenia in a fascinating historical period that encompassed the military campaigns of Crusaders from the West and expansion of Seljuk from the East. In fact, he was the leader of the Armenian church, or as we call it the Catholicos of all Armenians. In this capacity he left an important political legacy aimed at uniting Armenia within one robust statehood, instead of separated feudal lands. He was also a strong proponent of unity of the Christian Church as a whole, where according to him each and every denomination could retain their distinctive features. Armenia was the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 and when St. Nerses was making his appeal of unity, he was doing that on the premises of the authority of the leader of one of the oldest churches on the Earth.

However, St. Nerses has been certainly celebrated mainly as one of the greatest theologians of his time, as a prolific writer, and as a great musician. He composed prayers, liturgical songs, and chants. St. Nerses enriched the Armenian liturgical hymnology with a wealth of sacred hymns, adding almost a third to their number. He is credited with musical reforms that simplified the texts of the religious poetry and the melodies of the chant, bringing it closer to the style of Armenian folk music. Some of his truly remarkable liturgical hymns are still widely used during the ceremonies in the Armenian churches. It is fascinating to realize that these hymns survived hundreds of years preserving the spirit, style and tunes of the long-passed generations, however, continuing to captivate the modern audience just as they did in the medieval times. They consolidate the bonds and continuity of the Armenian culture and art.

He also wrote several volumes of poetry, and a vast number of theological works. One of the most famous literary works of St. Nerses is the collection of twenty-four prayers under the title “I Confess with Faith”. A prayer for every hour of the day. It has been translated into more than 36 languages.

St. Nerses is also venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. Later this year his anniversary will be commemorated by Ecumenical prayer service at the Basilica of St. Peter, an international conference dedicated to his monumental legacy and a concert of his hymns and liturgical music at the Sistine Chapel. This remarkable anniversary has also been included in UNESCO's calendar of important events for this year.

With this introduction I wish you a pleasant and most memorable evening.

Thank you.

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