St Nerses

Nerses was born in Armenia and spent most of his life there trying to help people follow Jesus. He was the son of a Princess and, when he was older, he married a Princess. Together they had a son who also became a Saint - St. Isaac the Great. When his wife died, Nerses decided to serve the Church and became a priest. He worked hard to make sure that the Church was following the teachings of Jesus. He helped build monasteries and hospitals in Armenia. The King of Armenia did not like Nerses, because Nerses told the King when he was doing something wrong. The King had killed his own wife and Nerses told the King that he had committed a very big sin. This made the King mad and he kicked Nerses out of Armenia. When the King died, Nerses came back to Armenia to continue his work of guiding the Church in the right direction; he hoped that he would be welcomed back. Unfortunately, the new King was not living a life that was pleasing to God and Nerses would not allow the King to come to Church unless he asked forgiveness and changed his life. This made the new King very angry and one day he invited Nerses to a party and he poisoned him. Nerses died a martyr because he died for his faith in Jesus.