Thus, the spread of the religion was much slower, more organic and haphazard than ancient sources present. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Web. He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301. Gregory established his new headquarters at Ashtishat. Gregory also placed and instructed his grandson Gregory (one of the sons of Vrtanes) in charge of the holy missions to the peoples and tribes of all of the Caucasus and Caucasian Albania; the younger man was martyred by a fanatical mob while preaching in Albania. [9] The newly built cathedral, the Mother Church in Etchmiadzin became and remains the spiritual and cultural center of Armenian Christianity and center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Written by Mark Cartwright, published on 28 February 2018 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. [8] Anak was charged with assassinating Khosrov II, one of the kings of the Arsacid dynasty and was put to death. Saint Gregory had many monuments built in his honour but perhaps the most celebrated was the cathedral at Ani built by the great architect Trdat for King Gagik (r. 1001-1010 CE). Vol. Schools were established in which children of the existing pagan priestly class were prepared for the Christian priesthood. The board of trustees at St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco say arsonists are responsible for an early morning fire Thursday that destroyed three parts of the church property. After a 13-year ordeal down in the pit, Gregory was given a miraculous lifeline by, of all people, Tiridates’ sister Khosrovidukht. The original authorities for Gregory's life are Agathangelos, whose History of Tiridates was published by the Mekhitarists in 1835; Moses of Chorene, Historiae Armenicae; and Symeon the Metaphrast. Cite This Work Ancient History Encyclopedia. According to the account of Zenob Glak,[10] one of the first disciples of Gregory the Illuminator, the temples were destroyed and the priests killed along with 1038 defenders of the raid that was ordered by Gregory. This article was made possible with generous support from the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research and the Knights of Vartan Fund for Armenian Studies. His relics were scattered near and far in the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. The reigning monarch was Tiridates IV (Trdat III or IV), or Tiridates the Great as he would become known (r. c. 298 to c. 330 CE), and he had the troublesome Gregory imprisoned, tortured, and thrown into the terrible Khor Virap prison at Artashat. The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, V. M. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, Indo-European Publishing, 2008, A. Terian, Patriotism and Piety in Armenian Christianity: The Early Panegyrics on Saint Gregory, St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2005, This page was last edited on 8 October 2020, at 17:55. St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral of Yerevan is an ensemble of 3 churches which together seat nearly 2,000. The most important ancient temple site in Armenia, Ashtishat was a symbol of the new order and chosen by Gregory as a result of a vision in which he realised that Jesus Christ had descended to earth at that very spot. Having organized the Armenian church along lines of Greek and Syriac biblical texts and liturgical practices, he passed his last years in contemplative solitude, dying in a mountain cave. Saint Gregory the Illuminator, (born 240, Vagarshapat [now Ejmiadzin], Armenia—died 332, Armenia; feast day September 30), according to tradition, the 4th-century apostle of Christianity in Armenia.. Semilegendary 5th-century Armenian chronicles describe Gregory as a Parthian prince who fled the Persian invasion and was educated as a Christian in the Greek culture of Caesarea, … In the calendar of the Armenian Church, the discovery of the relics of St. Gregory is an important feast and is commemorated on the Saturday before the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. The same year Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion. Most Armenians were baptized in the Aratsani (upper Euphrates) and Yeraskh (Arax) rivers. Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Enlightener (previously known as Grigor Lusavorich, c. 239 - c. 330 CE) was the first bishop of the Armenian church, and he is widely credited with converting king Tiridates the Great to Christianity, formally establishing the Armenian Church, and spreading that religion throughout his country. Sepuh) in the Daranali province (Manyats Ayr, Upper Armenia) with a small convent of monks, where he remained until his death. 7. Relics of the saint are kept at Nardò Cathedral. Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Enlightener (previously known as Grigor Lusavorich, c. 239 - c. 330 CE) was the first bishop of the Armenian church, and he is widely credited with converting king Tiridates the Great to Christianity, formally establishing the Armenian Church, and spreading that religion throughout his country. On returning to Armenia, Gregory gained a position as a palace functionary at the court of the Armenian king at Vagharshapat. Cartwright, M. (2018, February 28). Saint Gregory used two principal methods to spread Christianity in Armenia: education & military power. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Gregory the Illuminator[1] (classical Armenian: Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ; Grigor Lusavorich)[a] (c. 257 – c. 331) is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Tiridates the Great may also have adopted Christianity for internal political reasons - the end of the pagan religion (with its heady mix of Greek, Persian, Semitic, and local gods) was a fine excuse to confiscate the old temple treasuries which were jealously guarded by a hereditary class of priests. "Saint Gregory the Illuminator." As the Byzantine emperor’s army retreated to Constantinople, the Turks and their allies rushed to fill the void, overrunning Armenian and Byzantine territory, including St. Gregory’s Narekavank. To get the ball rolling Tiridates gave Saint Gregory up to 15 provinces worth of territory to establish the Armenian Church. After being rescued, Gregory reputedly converted the king about 300, and Tiridates then became the first monarch in history to impose Christianity on his people. The two chapels have a capacity of 150 to 200 each. Read more. He subsequently evangelized parts of the country remaining under Roman control and influenced Christianity in Albania and other regions of the Caucasus mountains. After his death his corpse was removed to the village of Thodanum (T'ordan, modern Doğanköy, near Erzincan). Related Content Donate. She had had a vision that the only person who could save the king from his terrible illness (lycanthropy), the symptoms of which were to behave like a wild boar, was Gregory. The Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator Singapore 1835 Aerial Tour . It seems probable that Christianity actually entered Armenia by two separate but more or less contemporary routes, thus explaining the conflicting accounts in ancient historical records. In 318, Gregory appointed his second son Aristaces as the next Catholicos[11] in line of Armenia's Holy Apostolic Church to stabilize and continue strengthening Christianity not only in Armenia, but also in the Caucasus. 24 Oct 2020. Saint Gregory used two principal methods to spread Christianity in Armenia: education and military power. The Armenian aristocracy quickly followed the royal family’s example and many noble families converted to Christianity. The new Armenian church soon struck a course independent of the founding church at Caesarea Cappadociae (now Kayseri, Turkey), though it developed in close relationship with the Syrians, who provided it with scriptures and liturgy and…, Saint, holy person, believed to have a special relationship to the sacred as well as moral perfection or exceptional teaching abilities. GYUMRI APPEAL. Today, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Deliverance from the Pit, one of the greatest feasts of the Armenian Church. At that time Tiridates III, son of the late King Khosrov II, reigned. The saint's original name was Grigor Lusavorich, and he was born in Cappadocia between 239 to 257 CE (dates disputed due to conflicting sources). Gregory was imprisoned, tortured & thrown into the terrible. There would be several more descendants after that, many of whom were made saints, as their founding father Gregory had been. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The former bishop’s remains were buried at Tordan on the Euphrates River in the western province of Daranaghik, although later his bones would become prized relics in various churches across the country. Tiridates III issued a decree by which he granted Gregory full rights to begin carrying out the conversion of the entire nation to the Christian faith. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The only structure to survive in tact after the quake was the city’s statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Home; Contact; Liturgy; Photos; Donate; Subscribe; Urgent Appeal (ARMENIA) Armenian Catholic Church of Toronto Armenian Catholic Church of Toronto Armenian Catholic Church of Toronto Armenian Catholic Church of Toronto. Last modified February 28, 2018. Saint Gregory is the patron saint of Armenia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Accordingly, Gregory was freed from Khor Virap and, naturally, besides trying to cure the king, he made his best efforts to convert him to Christianity. [13] The Gregoriou Monastery on Mount Athos also claims to have the skull. The phenomenon is widespread in the religions of the world, both ancient and contemporary. Upon coming of age, Gregory married a woman called Miriam, a devout Christian who was the daughter of a Christian Armenian prince in Cappadocia. According to the city’s registers, only 350 out of the city’s 10,000 inhabitants died in the earthquake, leading the inhabitants to believe that St. Gregory saved the city. The descendants of Gregory carried on his work, notably his younger son Aristakes, who, known for his asceticism, was the next bishop (the office was hereditary) and who attended the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

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