Saint Hripsime

[valley ranch]

Saint Hripsime a Roman lady fled to Vagharshapat, Armenia as the Roman Emperor Diocletian 284-305 demanded her for his wife ~ she was said to be beautiful~ after a time~ she became known to King Tridates III ( Տիրատադէս) had her brought to him~ he also wanted her to marry him~ she refused ~ saying she was married to Christ``` Tridates had her tortured and killed along with Saint Gayane and her companions~ there were 35 ladies``` Nune one of the ladies left and went to Georgia where she is said to convert the population and is credited by many with founding the Gregorian Orthodox Church:

She is a venerated saint in Armenian culture and other nations such as far off Ethopia https://www.facebook.com/2735454960...64124.273545496095068/476418685807747/?type=3


Many Churches are named for her in Armenian and elsewhere as well as here in the US```

 

[valley ranch]

This is the first church built in her honor



King Tiridates III was said to have gone mad~ crawling the ground as and animal~ Many in the Royal family had become Christian~ His sister

Kosrovidut went to the Royal Prison to see if Krikor Lusavor ( Gregory the Illuminator (Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ) who had been thrown into the Khor Virap dungeon for telling of Christ and converting people to Christianity~ but that’s another story```

 

[Nyboy]

When was that church built ? It seems to have a lot of Gothic elements.

 

[valley ranch]

Saint Hripsime Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Հռիփսիմե եկեղեցի, Surb Hřip’simē yekeghetsi; sometimes Hripsimeh)[6][7] is a seventh century Armenian Apostolicchurch in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in the country. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas to replace the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsime to whom the church is dedicated. The current structure was completed in 618 AD. It is known for its fine Armenian-style architecture of the classical period, which has influenced many other Armenian churches since. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other nearby churches, including Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's mother church, in 2000.

I see no Gothic~ Goth is braces and flying buttress only in the last few hundred years does the Arch come into use~that we used in the first century~ Look at the flying buttress on Notre Dame~ to keep the walls from falling out``Beautiful building~ but the builders didn't understand the Arch yet```

 

[valley ranch]

A great many Armenians were converted in the first Century By the teaching of Saint Thaddeus 35-43 and Saint Barthholomew who were both martyred by Royal order```For the next two hundred years~ until the healing of King Tiridates III Christians were persecuted or not at the will or the king of that day```
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St. Thaddeus and St Bartholomew are credited with founding the Church in Armenia
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With the conversion of King Tiridates III ~Christianity was not just legal but the Faith of the nation```

In 301 at the beginning of the forth century Christianity became the dominant religion in Armenia
Evidences of this wonderful conversion are to be found not only in the narratives of contemporary writers, and of historians of the succeeding century, but also in the existence of monuments such as the churches of St. Rhipsime, of St. Gaiane, and of St. Mariamne, or of Schoghakath, which were built in the fourth century in the vicinity of Etchmiadzin (formerly Vagharschapat); and in the tombs of the martyred virgins, as well as in authentic inscriptions which relate to them. A further testimony, not less valuable, is also to be found in the writings of Eusebius, who mentions the war of the year 311, which the emperor Maximianus, the Dacian, declared against the Armenians on account of their recent conversion.

 

[valley ranch]

No~ as a fact he had lived~ there is the story that he lived without food~ but people believe he was secretly fed by the Christian population who bribed the Royal Gards```

I have been~ with the whole family in the pit~ there is a iron ladder now you can climb down~ the pit is pretty large```

This is Khor Virap in the Shadow of Big Masis Mount Ararat ```

It is said that Krikor (Gregory) was dark with grim and when cleaned up went with Khosrovidukht to the palace and indeed cured the king and baptized him~Christianity has been the national faith of Armenia and it's people to this day``

Saint Gregory the Illuminator 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.



For thirteen centuries, the Khor Virap church has stood on a small hill in the Ararat plain with Mount Ararat visible in the distance. Now a remote landmark in the middle of farmland, this hilltop and those around it were the site of the ancient Armenian capital Artashat. It is here that St. Gregory – known as “the Illuminator” for his role in spreading the gospel to Armenia – was imprisoned for his faith (Khor Virap means “deepest pit”).
History tells how Gregory, whose parents were of noble blood, narrowly escaped death as a child in retaliation for his father’s part in the assassination of the king of Armenia. He was hidden away and raised by a Christian nurse, receiving his education from another Christian, Father Phirmilianos, who confirmed him in his faith. As a young man, he joined the court of the Armenian king, Tiridates III, hoping to atone for his father’s action by bringing the Christian faith to Armenia. But when called upon by the king to participate in the worship of idols, Gregory refused and spoke openly about his faith. Court officials, having uncovered his identity as the son of an assassin, enraged Tiridates against Gregory.
The king’s men subjected Gregory to a series of frightful tortures before throwing him into a pit, where he was expected to die a slow death from starvation. A pious widow who brought him bread helped him stay alive. Meanwhile Tiridates – like the emperor Diocletian who ruled at the same time – persecuted the Christians in his realm until God punished him by making him mad. God told the king’s sister in a vision that Gregory alone could cure Tiridates’ madness, and after twelve years he was taken from the pit and brought to the king. Gregory’s prayers healed Tiridates and brought him to faith, and from that moment the two men worked together to spread the Christian faith to Armenia, which in AD 301 became the first country to officially adopt Christianity as its religion.
Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness’s haunting “Prayer of St. Gregory,” written immediately after World War II, recalls the saint’s ordeal in prison, with a solo trumpet giving voice to Gregory’s enduring faith.