Christology of St. Nerses Shnorhali: At the Crossroads of Eastern and Western Theology

Abstract

As St. Nerses Shnorhali was open to Byzantian and European culture, he integrated those elements in his theology. His Christological position represented in his letter to the Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos in 1166 bears the evidence of his theological genius and ability to find a compromise in Christological debates of that time. This theme seems to be central for Armenian Christology and has been much discussed. The present short research is dedicated to the phenomenological evaluation of Nersesian vision of Christ and not the theological one. It is based on the popular understanding of Jesus Christ as the God in the East and the man in the West. We shall also try to show that such a modern and very popular theological strategy in the West as the anthropological shift is present in Nersesian Christological approach, and should be revitalized by Armenian theologians today. Not only the anthropological, but also the Christological shift of Shnorhali is a burning necessity in Armenian theology and orthopraxis today.