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The Armenite

Armeniaca Event

Conversion of Armenia to Christianity

ChristianityHistoryAlso: Christianization of Armenia, Armenia's adoption of Christianity, Adoption of Christianity in Armenia and 4 more

Date
301

In 301 King Tiridates III and his court were baptized by Gregory the Illuminator, and Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion.12 The Armenian Church dates its history from that year. UNESCO dates the building of the cathedral of Etchmiadzin to 301 to 303, and Pope Francis repeated 301 in his message to Armenians in 2015.34

The account

The story is told in the History of the Armenians by Agathangelos. It tells of the wars between Armenia and Persia, of Tiridates restored to his throne, of the imprisonment of Gregory and the martyrdom of nuns at Vagharshapat, and then of the conversion of the king and his court, the destruction of the pagan temples and the setting up of a Christian hierarchy.5

Consequences

The conversion tied the Armenian crown, and in time the Armenian people, to a church with its own hierarchy and a cathedral at Etchmiadzin. About a century later the need for scripture in Armenian led Mesrop Mashtots to create the Armenian alphabet.6

Sources

  1. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. “Armenian Apostolic Holy Church” (overview). Holy Etchmiadzin. link. ↩
  2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Christian Unity. “The Armenian Apostolic Church: A Theological Perspective” (text of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity). link. ↩
  3. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots.” World Heritage List, no. 1011 (inscribed 2000). link. ↩
  4. Francis. “Message of His Holiness Pope Francis on the 100th anniversary of ‘Metz Yeghern’ and proclamation of St Gregory of Narek as a Doctor of the Church.” Vatican City, 12 April 2015. link. ↩
  5. Thomson, Robert W. “Agathangelos.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 1, fasc. 6 (1984), pp. 607–608; online edition updated 6 June 2018. link. ↩
  6. Pifer, Michael. “Mesrop Maštocʿ.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, online edition, published 3 March 2021, updated 18 March 2021. link. ↩

Further reading

  • Agathangelos. History of the Armenians. Translation and commentary by Robert W. Thomson. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1976. link