Nersēs Šnorhali: vita, opera e culto. In vista di una possibile commemorazione liturgica

This article outlines the fundamental steps of Nersēs Šnorhali’s life and literary production, aiming to highlight some aspects of his pastoral activity, his vocation for dialogue and his concern for the unity of Armenian society and Church, in a period when the Catholicosate remained the only point of reference for a nation scattered and divided under foreign rulers, despite the Church being threatened by internal divisions, such as the Ałt‘amar schism. His charitable attitude towards the underprivileged, and his lucid and calm openness to dialogue, together with the ascetic rigor and mysticism of Nersēs Šnorhali contributed to the fame of his sanctity, causing him to be numbered among the saints of the Armenian Church, which celebrates his memory in the month of October together with that of the Holy Translators. Although it is not clear when Nersēs Šnorhali bacame a saint of the Armenian Church, his memory is present in the ancient Synaxaria, while his biographies, some of which date back to a few decades after his death, suggest that while still alive Nersēs Šnorhali enjoyed fame of holiness.