Roberta ERVINE

The papers in this volume derive from the centerpiece of St Nersess Armenian Theological Seminary's 4Oth anniversary celebrations: one of the largest symposia ever dedicated to Eastern liturgy anywhere in the world. In this unprecedented gathering the entire panoply of scholar-ship currently working in this field, from the greatest and most estab-lished of specialists to the most recently minted doctoral graduates, offered a diverse audience the chance to hear innovative, ground-breaking research and thought in a vital area of Christian life.
Because liturgy is more than a thing of the past, a large portion of the symposium was devoted to thinking about the development of liturgy in the present, and into the future. The voices of scholars, clergy and lay people captured in these pages address the heart of the matter: how and why do we and will we, as Christians of the East, worship (rod? These inquiries and more have been and continue to be ques-tions of vital importance to Armenians and their Christian neighbors.
- Paul Mcyendorff, Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

Archbishop Tiran NERSOYAN (1904-1989), formerly Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America and later Locum Tenens and Patriarch-elect of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was a noted theologian, ecumenist and great visionary of the Armenian Church in the twentieth century.
He founded St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in 1962.

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PREFACE

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary by Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan. That milestone, falling as it does at the start of the new millennium, and on the heels of the Centenary of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America and the 1700th Anniversary of the Baptism of Armenia, seems a providential occasion to reflect on the Seminary's mission and on its increasingly important role in the Armenian Church in North America and beyond. How better to accomplish this than to return to the vision of its blessed founder, as preserved in his extant writings.
When Archbishop Nersoyan died in 1989, he bequeathed a significant archive of letters, sermons, lectures and other notes and writings to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. This is the first number in an anticipated multi-volume collection of Nersoyan's previously unpublished works. Be they expositions on christology, ecumenism, liturgical renewal, church order, or the musings of a young man searching for God's call, these writings document the vocation of a church leader of startling insight and creativity, who refused to allow the Armenian Church to sink into the obscurity and irrelevance to which the modern, secularizing world would deliver it. Underlying all of Nersoyan's writings is his impassioned quest to translate the ancient Christian witness of the Armenian Church into a viable, indeed irresistible vocation for Armenians and non-Armenians in the modern world. May Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan's Christian vision, his remarkable erudition, and his ardent love for the Church of Armenia inspire many men and women to follow in his path.
I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Roberta Ervine, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary for her meticulous work in compiling, editing, and translating these letters; to Dr. Abraham Terian, Professor of Armenian Patristics, for his expertise and collaboration, ever generously and enthusiastically offered; to Asdghig Kashkarian, who supervised the production process; and to Peter Mahakian for the layout and cover design.
Fr. Daniel Findikyan
Dean, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary
Feast of the Annunciation to Mary the Mother of God
April 7, 2002