Tiridates III of Armenia Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Conversion== {{Infobox saint |honorific_prefix= [[Saint]] |name= Tiridates III the Great<br /><small>{{lang|hy|Սբ. Տրդատ Մեծ թագավոր}}</small> |birth_date= |death_date= |feast_day= Saturday before fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Armenian Apostolic Church){{Sfn|Domar|2002|p=443}} |venerated_in=[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]<br />[[Catholic Church]] |image= Տրդատ Գ Մեծ Արշակունի.jpg |imagesize=200px |caption= Tiridates III the Great, the Great King of the Armenians. |birth_place= |death_place= |resting_place= [[Kemah, Erzincan]], Armenia |titles= [[King of Armenia]] |beatified_date= |beatified_place= |beatified_by= |canonized_date= |canonized_place= |canonized_by= |attributes= Crown<br />Sword<br />Cross<br />Globus cruciger |patronage= Armenia |major_shrine= |suppressed_date= |issues= |prayer= |prayer_attrib= }} The traditional story of the conversion of the king and the nation is primarily based on the fifth-century Armenian history attributed to [[Agathangelos]].{{Sfn|Bournoutian|2006|p=47}}{{Sfn|Agathangelos|1976}} It tells of [[Gregory the Illuminator]], the son of Anak, who was brought up as a Christian and, feeling guilt for his own father's sin, joined the Armenian army and worked as a secretary to the king. Christianity in Armenia had a strong footing by the end of the 3rd century, but the nation by and large still followed [[Zoroastrianism]]. Tiridates was no exception as he too worshiped various ancient gods. During a Zoroastrian religious ceremony Tiridates ordered Gregory to place a flower wreath at the foot of the statue of the goddess [[Anahit]] in Eriza. Gregory refused, proclaiming his Christian faith. This act infuriated the king. His fury was only exacerbated when several individuals declared that Gregory was in fact, the son of Anak, the traitor who had killed Tiridates's father. Gregory was tortured and finally thrown in [[Khor Virap]], a deep underground dungeon. During the years of Gregory's imprisonment, a group of virgin nuns, led by [[Saint Gayane Church|Gayane]], came to Armenia as they fled the Roman persecution of their Christian faith. Tiridates heard about the group and the legendary beauty of one of its members, [[Rhipsime]]. He brought them to the palace and demanded to marry the beautiful virgin; she refused. The king had the whole group tortured and killed. After this event, he fell ill and according to legend, adopted the behavior of a wild boar, aimlessly wandering around in the forest. Khosrovidukht had a dream wherein Gregory was still alive in the dungeon, and he was the only one able to cure the king. At this point it had been 13 years since his imprisonment, and the odds of him being alive were slim. They retrieved him, and, despite being incredibly malnourished, he was still alive. He was kept alive by a kind-hearted woman who threw a loaf of bread down in Khor Virap every day for him. Tiridates was brought to Gregory and was miraculously cured of his illness. Persuaded by the power of the cure, the king immediately proclaimed Christianity the official state religion. Thus, Armenia became a nominally Christian kingdom and the first state to officially adopt Christianity. Tiridates appointed Gregory as [[Catholicos]] of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]. The conversion to Christianity proved to be a pivotal event in Armenian history. According to the scholar of Zoroastrianism [[Mary Boyce]], it seems that the Christianisation of Armenia by the Arsacids of Armenia was partly in defiance of the Sassanids.{{Sfn|Boyce|2001|loc=p. 84: "[...] and there is no doubt that during the latter part of the Parthian period Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian adhering land. Thereafter, it embraced Christianity (partly, it seems, in defiance of the Sasanians) [...]}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page