This section contains 473 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR was the chief bishop of Armenia from circa 314 to 325, one of the major saints of the Armenian church, and author of the conversion of the Armenian people to Christianity. Information about him derives mainly from two fifth-century sources, Agathangelos's History of the Armenians and the Greek Life of Gregory.
According to Agathangelos's legendary account, Gregory was the son of the Parthian prince Anak who killed his kinsman King Khosrov of Armenia. The Armenians retaliated by killing Anak's family, Gregory being the sole survivor. He was taken to Caesarea Mazaca (modern Kayseri, Turkey), where he was raised a Christian. There he married a Christian woman with whom he had two sons. He entered the service of King Tiridates III of Armenia (298–330), accompanying him to Greater Armenia in 298 when the Romans restored the king to the throne of his ancestors. Gregory's refusal to...
This section contains 473 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |