Book of Prayers

And there are places where the meanings are clearly stated, but the cause of their truth is unknown. And in other places, the external form of the phrase is apparent, but not sound; therefore, the correct meaning must be sought.

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This kind of obscurity calls for theology as its assistant, and for extensive knowledge of divine scriptures, the early church fathers, ancient customs, national histories, and whatever other literatures are studied. Beyond these, it requires a long-suffering investigation of the words set before us. But the unfortunate thing is that after a strenuous examination, the mind becomes exhausted by the incomprehensibility of the text; it sinks and drowns in the depth of the phrase and is unable to find an exit, except with the rod of Elisha, through the support of the prayers of the holy doctor (2 Kings 6:6), which experience clearly proves to any attentive soul.

Commentators, or Authors of Explanations

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Now, knowing that the prayer book is subject to so many obscurities, it is time to see who among the seekers of good have taken it upon themselves to clarify it through examination.
Available to all book-lovers is the extensive volume which in our century was brought to light by Patriarch Hakob Nalean through printing in Constantinople in the year 1745. In it, besides the prayerful words, he also includes the discourses of the holy doctor for clarification. Indeed, he took upon himself much labor in writing, as is evident, but the extensive nature of other doctrinal or philological discourses did not allow for precise information on the words set before us.

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He himself mentions in his writings explanations in the name of Sargis, the brave commentator of the Catholics. Furthermore, in his own preface, he mentions that Lambronatsi also may have made explanations, though he had not seen them himself. We would indeed be fortunate if those two brilliant lamps, Sargis and Lambronatsi, had shed their beautiful light into the dark land of Narek. And I truly wish to believe, for the sake of the mind, that the brave met the brave. But so that we are not led astray by mere hearsay, as has happened with many books, we reveal that the mentioned explanations are neither by the commentator Sargis, nor by Lambronatsi. Because we found a complete copy of those explanations, written in bolorgir round script in our year of 1406 (in the year of the Lord 1406). In it, the words are the same as those Patriarch Hakob includes in his commentary under the name of Sargis. And yet our copy, on the title page, places in a different, newer hand: "Made by Lambronatsi." And no declaration is noted in the order of the explanations or in the colophon that it was made by Sargis. But...