Thaddeus

Thaddeus is one of the apostles of Christ and, with Bartholomew, one of the two First Illuminators of Armenia, the first to preach the gospel there. The Armenian Church counts them as its founders, and a feast is kept in their honor.¹²

According to the Church, Thaddeus preached first in Palestine and Syria, then in Caesarea of Cappadocia, in Edessa and in northern Mesopotamia. He then came to Artaz in Vaspurakan, where he was put to death by the sword. His tomb is the Monastery of Saint Thaddeus, in what is now Iran.¹ Tradition places his mission in the years 35 to 43.²

The Armenian Church says that Thaddeus brought to Armenia the Holy Lance that pierced Christ’s side, called the Geghard, and the blessed oil of the Lord, which is still mixed with the Holy Myron, the oil that the Church consecrates for baptism and anointing.¹ The preaching of Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and the founding of the episcopal sees of Artaz and Goghtn, began the Armenian Church.¹² The conversion of the nation by Gregory the Illuminator is told in Conversion of Armenia to Christianity.