Gregory the Enlightener
| Saint Gregory the Enlightener Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ | |
|---|---|
 Icon of St. Gregory the Enlightener
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| Titles | Equal of the Apostles, Enlightener of Armenia, Hieromartyr |
| Born | c. 257 |
| Reposed | c. 331 Mount Sepuh, Upper Armenia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches |
| Major shrine | Khor Virap; Etchmiadzin |
| Feast | September 30; several further feasts in the Armenian Church |
Our father among the saints Gregory the Enlightener also Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian: Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ translit. Grigor Lusavorich, Greek: Γρηγόριος Φωστήρ or Φωτιστής, Gregorios Phoster or Photistes), Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Armenia, was the religious leader credited with forging the Christian identity of Armenia by converting its people from pagan beliefs. 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, around 314. This great missionary saint is commemorated on September 30.
Life
Gregory was born about 257. His father Anak, a Parthian nobleman, 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. The elder, Vrtanes (also written Orthanes), became a priest; the younger, Aristaces, became first a monk and later a bishop, and attended the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea. Both sons would in turn succeed their father as head of the Armenian Church.
About 280, Gregory returned to Armenia and entered the service of King Tiridates III, the son of the murdered Khosrov. Tiridates was hostile to Christianity and demanded that Gregory renounce his faith, which he refused to do. Gregory was tortured and then imprisoned in a pit infested with snakes, where he remained for some thirteen years (some accounts say fifteen). Meanwhile Tiridates continued his campaign against the Christians. He had St. Rhipsime, the abbess Gaiana and their companions, a community of 35 virgins who had fled persecution in the Roman Empire, put to death. Tiridates was then struck by a severe illness that left him disfigured. When Gregory was brought out of the pit and the king was healed through his prayers, Tiridates' heart was softened.
Gregory then began to preach to the people, urging them to reject the worship of idols and to follow Christ. Tiridates, repenting of his crimes, accepted Gregory's preaching along with most of the people of Armenia. Gregory baptized the king, and Christianity became the religion of the country. Temples to the idols were destroyed and churches were built in their place.
Gregory was consecrated bishop of all the Armenians, their Catholicos, by Leontius of Caesarea. Tradition places this in 302, but Leontius is known to have been bishop of Caesarea around 314, which is one of the main reasons scholars now date the conversion of Armenia to about that year. At Vagharshapat Gregory founded the cathedral of Etchmiadzin, which remains the seat of the Armenian Catholicos. Late in life he consecrated his son Aristaces to succeed him, and sent his grandson Grigoris to spread the Gospel of Christ in the Caucasus. Gregory then withdrew to a hermitage on Mount Sepuh in the Daranaghi district of Upper Armenia, where he reposed about 331.
Khor Virap
The pit in which Gregory was held was at Artashat, the royal capital of the time, on the Ararat plain. The site is now the monastery of Khor Virap (Armenian for "deep pit"), close to the Turkish border and facing Mount Ararat. In 642 Catholicos Nerses III built a chapel over the pit in Gregory's honour; most of the present monastery buildings are later. The pit itself can still be visited, and pilgrims climb down into it by a ladder. Khor Virap is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia.
Veneration
Gregory lived more than a century before the Council of Chalcedon (451), so he is honoured as a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 30 (October 13 on the Old Calendar). The Armenian Church, whose calendar of saints' days moves from year to year, keeps several feasts of St. Gregory, including his entry into the pit, his release from it, and the finding of his relics.
His relics were later divided and taken to many places. A relic of his right hand is kept at Etchmiadzin and is used by the Catholicos in the blessing of the Holy Chrism (Myron). In 2000 relics kept in Naples were returned to Armenia, and they are now in the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Yerevan.
Hymns
Troparion (Tone 4)
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.
Kontakion (Tone 2)
Today, let us the faithful, praise with songs and hymns the admirable hierarch Gregory as an initiate in the sacred mysteries. He was a contender for the truth, a vigilant pastor and teacher, a light for the whole world, interceding with Christ that our souls may be saved!
Succession
Gregory the Enlightener | ||
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| Preceded by: none |
Catholicos of All Armenians early 4th century–c. 325 |
Succeeded by: Aristaces I |
Sources
- Gregory the Illuminator (Wikipedia)
- Khor Virap (Wikipedia)
- Hieromartyr Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia, Equal of the Apostles (OCA)
- Gregory the Illuminator (Catholic Encyclopedia)
- Gregory the Illuminator (satucket.com)