Grigor III Pahlavuni (; also Catholicos Grigor III Pahlavuni or Gregory III of Cilicia) (1093–1166) was the

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

from 1113 to 1166. He is known for his ''sharakans'', which are collections of hymns, and for the several lays he had written during his lifetime. The ''sharakans'' written by Pahlavuni typically have strong doctrinal influences and several relate to either the

Feast of the Annunciation The Feast of the Annunciation, in Greek, Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, contemporarily the Solemnity of the Annunciation, and also called Lady Day, the Feast of the Incarnation ('), or Conceptio Christi ('), commemorates the ...

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

. Two of his better known ''sharakans'' are ''Khorhurdn anchar'' ("Ineffable Mystery) and ''Metsahrash'' ("Marvelous"). Pahlavuni earned the nickname “the younger lover of

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s” because of his love for translating

martyrologies A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beatification, beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were ...

from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

(called the "younger" to distinguish him from his great-uncle Catholicos

Gregory II the Martyrophile Gregory II the Martyrophile ( hy, Գրիգոր Բ. Վկայասէր) was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1065 and 1105. Origin Gregory was born under the name Vahram as the son of the Gregorius Magistratus, a member of ...

). During his time as catholicos, Grigor III and

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

occasionally had some correspondence with one another. Only one of the aforementioned letters has survived as an Armenian translation of a letter from Pope Innocent II to the catholicos. Grigor III held office as catholicos for a little more than fifty years, and his younger brother Nerses assisted him greatly during this time. Pahlavuni was able to maintain peace within the

Cilician Kingdom The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

and the catholicosate during a time of instability due to raids from foreign invaders. Because of these foreign invasions, Grigor III chose to seek refuge and moved the catholicosate two times: once in 1116 from Karmir Vank at Kesun to its new location in

Tsovak Tsovak ( hy, Ծովակ) is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. History The village is the site of a large Iron Age fort atop the hill to the south and west, with an 8th-century BCE cuneiform inscription of Sarduri II Sardur ...

, and again in 1149 to

Hromgla Rumkale ( ''Roman Castle''), also known as Urumgala, is a fortress on the Euphrates, located in the province of Gaziantep and 50 km west of Şanlıurfa. Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians, although the present struct ...

. Nerses was elected co-catholicos in 1165. After Grigor III retired from his position in office in 1166, Nerses, who would be later referred to as Nerses IV the Gracious (Shnorhali) or Saint Nerses the Graceful was elected unanimously to succeed him.

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Armenian Legal History

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