Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257 – c. 331) is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Church. He was a religious leader who converted Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301. Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Armenia, was the religious leader credited with forging the Christian identity of Armenia. Armenia became the first country to establish itself as a Christian nation, an event traditionally dated to 301, now believed by most scholars to have occurred somewhat later, though before 314.
Feast day: March 23 (Anglican Church) September 30 (Eastern Church)
Life
Gregory was born about 257. His father Anak, a Parthian prince, was put to death for assassinating his kinsman King Khosrov while Gregory was still an infant. To escape execution, Gregory was taken by his nurse to Caesarea in Cappadocia where he was raised as a Christian. He married and had two sons. One son, Orthanes, would later become a priest and the other, Aristaces became, first, a monk then later a bishop who attended the Council in Nicea.
About 280, Gregory returned to Armenia and entered the service of King Tiridates III, the son of the assassinated Khosrov. However, Tiridates was intolerant of Christianity and demanded that Gregory renounce his Christian faith which he refused to do. Gregory was imprisoned and subjected to many tortures during his imprisonment of some thirteen years including enduring imprisonment in a pit with venomous snakes.
In the meanwhile, Tiridates continued to pursue his anti-Christian campaign. He executed St. Rhipsime the abbess Gaiana, and 35 virgins of a monastery in Asia Minor. During these times, Tiridates developed a serious ailment and suffered disfiguration. However, his heart softened after he was cured through Gregory’s prayers.
In 297, Tiridates, in gratitude, released Gregory from his tortures, who then began to preach to the people, urging them to reject the worship of idols and to follow Christ. Soon, Tiridates, repenting his crimes and, with most of the people of Armenia, answered Gregory’s call and became converts to Christianity. Tiridates was baptised by Gregory in 301. In that year, Tiridates adopted Christianity as the religion of his country.
In 302, Gregory was consecrated bishop of all the Armenians, to be their Catholicos by Leontius of Caesarea. In 303, Gregory built the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin near Mount Ararat which still is the seat of the Amenian Catholicos.
Gregory initiated an original Armenian ecclesiastical dynasty, wherein the office of metropolitan, or senior bishop, remained in his family down to the 5th century. He consecrated as bishops his two sons, Vhartanes and Aristakes.
Having organized the Armenian church along lines of Greek and Syriac biblical texts and liturgical practices, he passed his last years in contemplative solitude where he reposed about 331.
Troparion (Tone 4) (orthodox prayer)
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, you became a successor to their throne. Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood. Hieromartyr Gregory entreat Christ God to save our souls.
A prayer:
Loving God we give you thanks for your servant Gregory, who models for us what it means to pray for our enemies or those who persecute us. Thank you for healing King Tiridates III and giving him the influence of Gregory who had been his prisoner, by which he transformed the nation of Armenia from pagan to Christian. May we too be inspired to rest on you in prayer whenever we face turmoil or opposition in our lives. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
References:
orthodoxwiki.org - Gregory the Enlightener
brittanica.com - St. Gregory the Illuminator