Gregory the Illuminator

Saint Gregory the Illuminator (classical Armenian: Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ; transliterated Grigor Lusavorich, Greek: Γρηγόριος Φωστήρ or Φωτιστής, Gregorios Phoster or Photistes; c. 257 – c. 331) is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301. Armenia thus became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

Beginnings

Gregory was the son of the Armenian Parthian noblesAnak the Parthian and Okohe. His father Anak, was a Prince said to be related to the Arsacid Kings of Armenia or was from the House of Suren, one of the seven branches of the ruling Arsacid dynasty of Sakastan. Anak was charged with assassinating Khosrov II, one of the kings of the Arsacid dynasty and was put to death. Gregory narrowly escaped execution with the help of Sopia and Yevtagh, his caretakers. He was taken to Caesarea in Cappadocia where Sopia and Yevtagh hoped to raise him. Gregory was given to the Christian Holy Father Phirmilianos (Euthalius) to be educated and was brought up as a devout Christian.

Pope Gregory I

Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I; c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was Pope from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Eastern texts will sometimes list him as Gregory "Dialogos" or the Latinized equivalent "Dialogus".

A senator's son and himself the Prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory tried the monastery but soon returned to active public life, ending his life and the century as pope. Although he was the first pope from a monastic background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator, who successfully established papal supremacy. He was stronger than the emperors of declining Rome, and challenged the power of the Patriarch of Constantinople in the battle between East and West. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France, and sent missionaries to England. The realignment of barbarian allegiance to Rome from their Arian Christian alliances shaped medieval Europe. Gregory saw Franks, Lombards, and Visigoths align with Rome in religion.

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, also referred to as the Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian Church in the world, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, teaching that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles, and practicing what it understands to be the original faith passed down from the Apostles.

United in communion with the Latin Church before the East–West Schism in 1054, and with the Oriental churches for the first quarter of its history, Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Byzantine Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople.

Eastern Orthodoxy has no Papacy or similar authority, but instead teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, and each autocephalous church is typically governed by a Holy Synod. This is one of the main reasons for the division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The commonly-used but unofficial designation "Eastern" derives from the geographical location of the main centers of Orthodoxy in relation to the "Western" churches (now known as the Roman Catholic Church), and from Constantinople being the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, Hay Aṙak’elakan Yekeghetsi) is the national church of the Armenian people. It is part of Oriental Orthodoxy and is one of the most ancient Christian communities.Armenia is an early center of Christianity, and it was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in the early 4th century (traditionally in 301), by establishing this church. The church claims to have originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century.

It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Orthodox Church or Gregorian Church. The latter is not preferred by the church itself, as it views the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus as its founders, and St. Gregory the Illuminator as merely the first official governor of the church. It is also simply known as the Armenian Church.

History

Origins

The Armenian Church claims apostolic succession through the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. According to legend, the latter of the two apostles is said to have cured Abgar V of Edessa of leprosy with the Image of Edessa, leading to his conversion in 30 AD. Thaddaeus was then commissioned by Abgar to proselytize throughout Armenia, where he converted the king Sanatruk's daughter, who was eventually martyred alongside Thaddeus when Sanatruk later fell into apostasy. After this, Bartholomew came to Armenia, bringing a portrait of the virgin Mary, which he placed in a nunnery he founded over a former temple of Anahit. Bartholomew then converted the sister of Sanatruk, who once again martyred a female relative and the apostle who converted her. Both apostles ordained native bishops before their execution, and some other Armenians had been ordained outside of Armenia by James the Just.

Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy (Armenian: Սուրբ Պատարագ Surb Patarag;Bulgarian: Божествена литургия Bozhestvena liturgiya; Georgian: საღმრთო ლიტურგია saghmrto lit'urgia; Greek: Θεία Λειτουργία Theia Leitourgia; Romanian: Sfânta Liturghie; Russian: Божественная литургия Bozhestvennaya liturgiya; Serbian: Света Литургија or Sveta Liturgija) is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term. Some Oriental Orthodox employ the term "holy offering" (Syriac: qurbana qadisha) for their Eucharistic liturgies instead. The term is sometimes applied also to Roman Rite Eucharistic liturgies, though the term Mass is more commonly used there.