In 1125, Nerses assisted his older brother, now Catholicos Gregory III of Cilicia, in moving the catholicate to Dzovk near Lake Kharput, on the property of their father, Prince Abirad. In 1138, amid political tensions, Gregory and Nerses started on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and, on the way, took part in a synod at Antioch to examine the behavior of Ralph of Domfront, Latin Patriarch of Antioch. On the conclusion of the synod, Gregory continued on to Jerusalem, sending Nerses back.