Gregory the Illuminator

Gregory the Illuminator is the patron saint of Armenia and the first head of the Armenian Church. He is the saint who converted King Tiridates III and brought the Armenians to baptism, and the Church dates its own beginning from his preaching.¹²

His story

The story is told in the History of Agathangelos. Gregory was the son of Anak, the nobleman who murdered King Khosrov. He was raised a Christian at Caesarea in Cappadocia and returned to Armenia with Tiridates III.³ When he refused to offer sacrifice to the goddess Anahit, the king had him imprisoned. The History then tells of the martyrdom of nuns at Vagharshapat, the conversion of the king and his court, and the destruction of the pagan temples.³¹

Gregory was consecrated bishop for Armenia at Caesarea and made his seat at Ashtishat.³ The Church calls him its first patriarch and gives 301 as the year in which his preaching and the king’s proclamation made Christianity the state religion.¹ The cathedral of Etchmiadzin was built in the same years, under Tiridates and Gregory.⁴

Family and memory

Tradition holds that his grandson Grigoris founded the monastery of Amaras in Artsakh and is buried there.⁵ In 2015 Pope Francis recalled that in 301 “Gregory the Illuminator led the nation to baptism.”²