The Letters of Nerses the Gracious

and those who followed them, the archpastors of each tribe and see, and the doctors of the church. These are, according to the Apostle, for the establishment of the saints, for the work of service, for the building of the body of Christ. Among them is our father, the Illuminator of the Armenians, Grigorios, and those who came forth from him as offspring in spirit and in body, successors and chair-holders, and those who stood after them in the rank of the patriarchate, pleasing to God and chosen by men. Up to our own ancestors, the blood-descendants and relatives of the holy Illuminator, from Grigorios—who was also called Vahram—and to Basilios. They not only partook of his nobility in the flesh, but also followed the virtues of the father spiritually. They were the ones who filled the church with illumination through the translation of the God-breathed books of the Testaments, and every...