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160 The Armenian Church

community building. In fact, this people-
centered and oriented holistic approach and
exercise of diakonia has contributed im-
mensely towards invigorating the commu-
nity, particularly in the diaspora.
d) Dynamic interaction between diakonia
and education. In the social ministry of
the Armenian Church, the three dimensions
of the church's being and mission, namely,
koinonia (community), diakonia (service),
and kerygma (education), are tightly inter-
related. From the very beginning of the
Armenian Church, social action had a strong
impact on the daily life and the Christian
formation of the people. St. Gregory the Illu-
minator’s vision went beyond making Chris-
tianity the state religion; he aimed to trans-
form people's lives through the penetration
of the imperatives and core values of Chris-
tian faith into the very esse of the nation. By
meeting the social and pastoral needs of the
people at the grass roots, Catholicos Nerses
pushed this vision forward; he built hospitals,
orphanages, homes for the elderly, inns for
pilgrims, and socio-medical centers. Accord-
ing to historians of the time, the social
engagement of the Church was so effective
that there were no beggars or poor people in
Armenia. Historians refer to this Catholicos as
Nerses the Great because of his remarkable
achievements in the sphere of social work.