Nerses IV The Gracious - Works

Works

In addition to the letters mentioned above, Nerses wrote a number of musical works, volumes of poetry, and theological works as well.

His major literary achievements include Vipasanoutyoun, a novel written in poetic form, and Voghb Yedesyo (Lamentation on Edessa), regarding the fall of Edessa.

Hisous Vordi is a reproduction of the Bible in poetic form, which also contains stories from church history and ends with the events of the End Times. It has been translated into English as Jesus Son.

Another of his works, Toukht Enthanrakan is an exhortation on pastoral theology and how Christians should behave. The work also includes information on the hierarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of society, and matters of daily life in that era of Cilician Armenian history. It has been translated into English and modern Armenian.

A collection of his daily prayers, Twenty-four Hour Prayers, has been translated into 32 languages, and one prayer in particular, Havatov Khosdovaneem (I Confess with Faith) is currently available in 36 languages. Several of Nerses' poems have been adopted for use in the Armenian Hymnal and Divine Liturgy. His poetry has been said to emphasize "the imagery of fire and light in a manner at once redolent of Hesychasm and consonant with the Zoroastrian substrate of Armenian Christian culture."

One work of Nerses which has since been lost is a commentary on the Book of Genesis. In that work, he related the story he received from some Armenian monks who came to visit him during his time as Catholicos to tell him of how they were able to see the Garden of Eden from a distance. In one painting of the scene, the vegetation of the Garden appear as colored gemstones. Unfortunately, the angel with a sword appointed to guard the garden would not allow the monks to take one of the blossoms with them.