The Blessing Of Blessings: Gregory of Narek’s Commentary on the Song of Songs

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Gregory of Narek (c. 945-1003), a monk and a priest, is best known for his poetic works, and one of the few commentators on the Song of Songs , which was so great a focus among western monastic writers of the patristic and medieval periods. Living during a period of cultural and religious renaissance which preceded the Turkish and Mongol invasions of Armenia, and in a period of conflict between the non-Chalcedonian Christians of his native land and their Byzantine neighbors, Grigor worked from the Armenian text of the Song, which is slightly longer than the Septuagint or Hebrew versions and contains passages which vary from them. In his commentary Grigor traces themes and draws on other scriptural books to remind readers that every human person is endowed with an innate love for God, which in his words, ‘cannot be sapped.