Editor's info:
"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat."
(GENESIS 8:1-5)
After his descent from Ararat, Noah first stepped on the land which over centuries became the first Christian country. Christianity has been the Armenian state religion since 301 AD, 79 years before it became the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
The history of Christianity in Armenia refers to the time when Apostles St. Thaddeus and Bartholomew preached in Armenia around 100 AD. According to the legend, at the end of the 3rd century King Trdat III began persecuting Christians in Armenia. He executed a group of thirty-seven Christian virgins who had fled to Armenia to escape Roman persecution. The leader of this group was Gayane, who, along with Hripsime is considered one of the founding saints of the Armenian Church. After committing this criminal execution, King Trdat became insane. The sister of Trdat, Khosrovidoukht, had a dream that the persecution of Christians should stop. She told her brother that he would be cured if he would release Gregory the Illuminator from the Khor Virap prison. The King agreed and Gregory restored Trdat's mental health. In 301 AD King Trdat declared Christianity the state religion of Armenia.
Later, Gregory had a vision in which Christ descended from Heaven and struck the earth at the town of Vagharshapat with a golden hammer. Following this, Gregory had another vision of a great Christian temple rising from the ashes. Gregory built the church of his dream. He re....... more
Editor's info:
"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat."
(GENESIS 8:1-5)
After his descent from Ararat, Noah first stepped on the land which over centuries became the first Christian country. Christianity has been the Armenian state religion since 301 AD, 79 years before it became the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
The history of Christianity in Armenia refers to the time when Apostles St. Thaddeus and Bartholomew preached in Armenia around 100 AD. According to the legend, at the end of the 3rd century King Trdat III began persecuting Christians in Armenia. He executed a group of thirty-seven Christian virgins who had fled to Armenia to escape Roman persecution. The leader of this group was Gayane, who, along with Hripsime is considered one of the founding saints of the Armenian Church. After committing this criminal execution, King Trdat became insane. The sister of Trdat, Khosrovidoukht, had a dream that the persecution of Christians should stop. She told her brother that he would be cured if he would release Gregory the Illuminator from the Khor Virap prison. The King agreed and Gregory restored Trdat's mental health. In 301 AD King Trdat declared Christianity the state religion of Armenia.
Later, Gregory had a vision in which Christ descended from Heaven and struck the earth at the town of Vagharshapat with a golden hammer. Following this, Gregory had another vision of a great Christian temple rising from the ashes. Gregory built the church of his dream. He re....... more