St. Gregory the Illuminator and Enlightener of Armenia,– Sep 30

Gregory (Mar Gregorios), the Illuminator, the Enlightener, the Apostle, Founder, and Patron saint of Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, was born about the year A. D. 257 in Armenia Gregory is also known as ‘the Sun of Armenia’. Armenia was always the exposed frontier state between Rome and Persia.  

He belonged to the royal race of the Arsacides, being the son of a certain Prince Anak, Anak, a Parthian and mother’s name was Okohe. He assassinated King Khosrov (Chosrovs) at the instigation of the Sassamid Ardashir, as part of a Gregory of Armenia political rivalry and thus brought ruin on himself and his family. Gregory was an infant at that time. Anak, while trying to escape, was drowned in the Araxes River with all his family except two sons, who were saved by their nurses. One son was carried off to Persia; the other son Gregory was taken by his nurse (foster mother Mary) to Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern Kayseri, Turkey) where he was raised as a Christian. He was Educated by a Christian nobleman, Euthalius, in Caesarea in Cappadocia. He received first Christian influence, was at the time of his conception, which took him place near the monument raised to the memory of the holy apostle Thaddeus. Gregory sought, when he came to Amn’s estate, to introduce the Christian doctrine into his native land.

Gregory got married and had two sons. One son, Orthanes (Bardanes/Vertanes), later became a priest. The other son, Aristages (Aristakes) became a monk, and later was ordained bishop who attended the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. A son of the King Khosrov, Tiridates, who escaped the assassination, was trained in the Roman army, and eventually came back to drive out the Persians and restore the Armenian Kingdom In about A.D. 280, Gregory returned to Armenia in the midst of a Christian persecution encouraged by King Tiridates III, the son of the assassinated Khosrov.

Tiridates was a zealot for the regional idols and was intolerant of Christianity and demanded that Gregory must renounce his Christian faith which he refused. Gregory was imprisoned in a burial pit, with venomous snakes, dead bodies and poisonous filth for about thirteen years. The story goes that Emperor Tiridates subjected Gregory to a series of frightful tortures before throwing him into a pit, where he was expected to die a slow death from starvation. He was tortured in this pit, without food and water. This place Grigor Luisavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator) to be known, today as Khor Virap Monastery. To this day the underground dungeon chamber (6 metres (20 ft) deep and 4.4 metres (14 ft) wide), he was imprisoned, located in the nondescript St. Gevorg Chapel apart from the main Church.

He was being fed by bread, that a pious widow brought him daily.  Gregory in the pit, was not harmed by any snakes, like Daniel in the lion’s den.  It During these times, Tiridates developed a serious ailment and suffered disfiguration. Emperor Tiridates was punished by God, him by making mad. God appeared to king’s sister in a vision said that Gregory alone could cure Tiridates’ madness, and then he was taken from the pit and brought to the king. Gregory’s prayers healed Tiridates and brought him to faith. Gregory was called forth from his pit to restore his royal persecutor to reason by virtue of his saintly intercession and he was cured by the prayers of Gregory. Tiridates heart softened and in AD 297, Tiridates in gratitude, released Gregory from prison. Gregory observed fast for seventy days after his rescue from the pit. He then began to preach the Gospel to the people, urging them to reject the worship of idols and to follow Christ. Tiridates repented and so did most of the people of Armenia, answered Gregory’s call to accept Christianity. Gregory baptized Tiridates in A.D. 301. In that year, Tiridates adopted Christianity as the State religion. With the conversion of Armenia, the temples were destroyed, and Churches were built. Tiridates then became the first monarch in history to impose Christianity on his people. He did so about 20 years before Constantine I. Gregory and Tiridates upon hearing about Constantine’s conversion set out with an army of 70,000 men to congratulate him. Armenia became the first country to establish itself as a Christian nation, an event traditionally dated to 301.

In A.D. 302, Gregory was consecrated bishop of all the Armenians with his residence at Ashtishat in the province of Taron. In 303, Gregory built the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin near Mount Ararat.. According to the 5th century’s Armenian historians, Saint Gregory the Illuminator had a vision of Jesus Christ, descending from heaven and striking the earth with a golden hammer to show where the Cathedral should be built. Gregory the Illuminator named the Church ‘Etchmiadzin’ which means ‘the Descent of the Only-Begotten Son’.

In AD 318, Gregory named his son, Aristages, as his successor and entrusted his grandson, Grigoris, with the duty to spread the Gospel of Christ throughout the Caucasus and Anatolia. Gregory then retired to a mountain cave, a monastery near Mount Sebuh in the Daralia province of upper Armenia. Several Homilies, several prayers, liturgical rules and about thirty of the canons of the Armenian Church are ascribed to Gregory. Yerevan’s (Capital of Armenia) main cathedral is named St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral.

He entered his eternal abode in A.D. 331 and was entombed at Thortan. The feast of Mar Gregory (Gregorius) of Armenia, the illuminator, is celebrated in the Syrian Orthodox Church on 30 September.