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St. Gregory The IlluminatorFirst official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (301-325)
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Birthdate: 239
Death date: 326
Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (302).
He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity, being the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD. He was born in 239. In 302, Gregory received consecration as Patriarch of Armenia from Leontius of Caesarea, his childhood friend. He received his education in Cappadocia. In 287 he returned to Great Hayk to launch the preaching mission. In 301 Gregory baptized Trdat (now known as Trdat the Great) along with members of the royal court and upper class as Christians. Tiridates III reined that time. Influenced partly by the fact that Gregory was the son of his father's enemy, he ordered Gregory imprisoned for twelve (some sources indicate fourteen) years in a pit on the Ararat Plain under the present day church of Khor Virap located near the historical city Artashat in Armenia.
Later Trdat issued a decree by which he granted Gregory full rights to begin carrying out the conversion of the entire nation to the Christian faith. The same year Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion. He has struggled against paganism, ruined pagan temples, building churches on their places. Trdat was also baptized by him together with many representatives of the Armenian elite, soldiers and common people. In Vagharshapat he ruined the pagan temple and built the Church Kathoghike on its place.
In 318 AD, St. Gregory appointed his son Aristaces (Aristakes) as the next Catholicos in line of Armenia's Holy Apostolic Church to stabilize and continue strengthening Christianity not only in Armenia, but also in the Caucasus and Anatolia.
In his later years, Gregory withdrew to a small sanctuary near Mount Sebuh (Mt. Sepuh) in the Daranalia province (Manyats Ayr, Upper Armenia) with a small convent of monks, where he remained until his death (325-326). He is canonized.
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published: 2006-01-01 00:00:00
last updated:2010-01-29 16:27:52
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