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From Vrej Nersessian's "Treasures from the Ark", p19 - 20.
The Date of Armenia's Conversion to Christianity
In the past twenty-five years remarkable re-evaluations have been made of the sources concerning the Christianization of Armenia. These advances have been accomplished through an analysis of the sources, as well as through some notable revisions in our understanding of the genealogical and chronological aspects of the history of the Armenian Arshakuni kingdom. The exact year in which the conversion of King Trdat tool: place is not agreed among scholars. Tournebize argued that the most probable date lay between 290 and 295. E. Dulaurier, M. Ormanian, M.-L. Chaumont and Father Poghos Ananian, relying largely on the evidence of Movses Khorenatsi's History, have calculated it to have been in or about 302.[12] Movses had concluded that Trdat had begun his reign in the third year of the emperor Diocletian and that St Gregory the Illuminator had 'sat on the throne of Thaddeus in the seventeenth year of Trdat's reign'.[13] Diocletian's reign began in November 284, so Trdat's year of accession would have been 286 or 287, and his seventeenth 302 or 303. H. Manandyan's reading of the evidence leads to a different date.[14] He placed the return of Trdat to Armenia from Rome in 298 or 299, subsequent to the peace established between Rome and Persia after Galerius's victory. Hence Trdat's seventeenth year fell in 314, which, he concluded, was the date of the king's conversion. Behind this conclusion lies Manandyan's proposition that Trdat could not have adopted the Christian faith before 313. It would have been impossible for Trdat, the protege of the Romans and Diocletian in particular, to have adopted officially the Christian faith in his realm when it was opposed by imperial policy. In a passage preserved in the Greek version of Agat'angeghos, Trdat's reliance on Diocletian in matters of religion is put in these terms:
From a youthful age raised and educated by you [Diocletianj ... hailing the gods who saved our power together with ourselves, I loathe the so-called Christians. What is more, I gave over to the bitterest death [after] tortures a certain Cappadocian [named] Gregory beloved by me, throwing [him] into a pit in which dwell snakes who devour [those] thrown therein. And now, Lord emperor, I will fulfill thy orders to me with all haste and willingness.[15]
An external evidence for the dating of Trdat's conversion is provided by St Gregory's consecration in Cappadocia. According to Agat'angeghos's History of the Armenians, Gregory went to Caesarea where a council of bishops had been held on the occasion of his consecration. The date of this council is fixed at 314.[16] This date is consistent with another statement in Agat'angeghos that, on his return from Caesarea, Gregory had brought with him the relics of St Athenogenes. The latter was martyred probably about 303-5, so his relics would have been available in 314. Following this line of the argument, Ananian concluded that the year 314 was also the date of the 'official' conversion of the Armenians.[17] Behind Ananian's conclusion lies Manandyan's proposition that Trdat could not have adopted the Christian faith before 313, as this was the year in which an edict had been promulgated in Milan by the emperors Constantine and Licinius granting freedom of worship to Christians. The non-Armenian evidence for the conversion of Armenia is small, but nevertheless important. Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History refers to the Armenians:
the Armenians were the first to embrace Christianity. It is said that Tiridates, the sovereign of that nation, was converted by means of a miracle which was wrought in his own house: and that he issued commands to all the rulers, by a herald, to adopt the same
religion. Subsequently, the Christian religion became known to the neighbouring tribes, and was very greatly disseminated.[18]
A second external source is Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History. The author records in relation to Emperor Maximinus Daia, who governed the Roman province of Oriens:
In addition to this, the tyrant had the further trouble of the war against the Armenians, men who from ancient times had been friends and allies of the Romans; but as they were Christians and exceedingly earnest in their piety towards the Deity, this hater of God, by attempting to compel them to sacrifice to idols and demons, made them foes instead of friends, and enemies instead of allies.[19]
This war took place in 312. The outcome was that Maximinus Daia 'was worn out along with his commanders in the Armenian war' . The question that now arises is: if Gregory was sent to Caesarea for consecration in 314, when was Trdat's conversion likely to have taken place? Relying on the chronology of the Narratio de rebus Armeniae, compiled in about 700, the Council of Nicaea had been held 'in the thirty-fourth year of Trdat and the twentieth after the deliverance of St Gregory'. The deliverance refers to Gregory's emergence from the dungeon. His release had occurred just before the king's conversion. If the Council of Nicaea was held in June 325, then the release of Gregory and the subsequent conversion of the king took place in 305 or 306. Confirmation of this dating is provided by Patriarch Michael's independent testimony that Gregory's mission took place 'at the beginning of Constantine's reign', i.e. around 306. Furthermore, Trdat's persecution of the Christians now coincides with the Great Persecution that broke out on 23 February 303, led by Diocletian. The flight of the thirty-three Christian nuns to Armenia must have taken place between 304 and 306. It was led by Gayane and Hrip'sime, and they suffered martyrdom at the hands of King Trdat sometime during those years. St John Chrysostom in his panegyric dedicated to St Gregory, written during his exile in Armenia (AD 404-7), refers to the two virgin martyrs. The death of the young women led to the eventual conversion of the king.
Bibliography
12. Tournebize, Fr., Histoire politique et religieuse de l'Armenie. Paris, 1910, pp. 428-44; Dulaurier, E., Recherches sur la chronologie armenienne. Paris, 1859, p. 47; Ormanian, M., The Church of Armenia, 2nd edn, London, 1955, p. 8; Chaumont, Marie-Louise, NOTES
Recherches sur I'histoire d' Armenie. Sassanides conversion du Royaume. Paris, 1969, pp. 156-8; Manaseryan, Ruben, Hayastane Artavazdits mintchev Trdat Meds (Armenia from Artavazd to Trdat the Great). Erevan, 1997, pp. 196-201.
13. Movses Khorenatsi, History of the Armenians, transl. R.W. Thomson. Cambridge, MA, 1980, II, 82 and 91.
14. Manandyan, Hakob, K'nnakan tesut'yun hay zhoghovrdi patmut'yan (Critical analysis of Armenian history). Erevan, 1957, vol. 2(1 ), 114-28; Mirichian Ara, 'Samuel Anetsin Rayots K'ristoneut'iwn endunelu t'uali:ani aintchut'eamb' (Samuel Anetsi on the date of the conversion of Armenia to Christianity), Shoghakat (July 1953), 193-6; Fntglian Garnik, Hayots dardzn i I('ristoneut'iwn (The conversion of Armenia to Christianity), pp. 20-21.
15. Garitte, G., Documents pour I'etude du livre d'Agathange (Studie Testi 127). Vatican City, 1946, pp. 37 and 293.
16. Lebon, J., 'Sur un concile de Cesaree', Le Museon 51 (1938), 89-132.
17. Ananian' Poghos, Grigor Lusavortchi jernadrut'ean t'uakane ev paraganere (The date and circumstances of Gregory the Illuminator's consecration). Venice, 1960, p. 172.
18. Sozomen, The Ecclesiastical History. Bli:. II, 8, transl. by Edward Walford. London, 1855, p. 63.
19. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine, transl. and introduction by H.J. Lawlor. London, 1927-28, pp. 214, 286; Frend, W.H.C., The Early Church. Philadelphia, 1982, p. 123.
The Date of Armenia's Conversion to Christianity
In the past twenty-five years remarkable re-evaluations have been made of the sources concerning the Christianization of Armenia. These advances have been accomplished through an analysis of the sources, as well as through some notable revisions in our understanding of the genealogical and chronological aspects of the history of the Armenian Arshakuni kingdom. The exact year in which the conversion of King Trdat tool: place is not agreed among scholars. Tournebize argued that the most probable date lay between 290 and 295. E. Dulaurier, M. Ormanian, M.-L. Chaumont and Father Poghos Ananian, relying largely on the evidence of Movses Khorenatsi's History, have calculated it to have been in or about 302.[12] Movses had concluded that Trdat had begun his reign in the third year of the emperor Diocletian and that St Gregory the Illuminator had 'sat on the throne of Thaddeus in the seventeenth year of Trdat's reign'.[13] Diocletian's reign began in November 284, so Trdat's year of accession would have been 286 or 287, and his seventeenth 302 or 303. H. Manandyan's reading of the evidence leads to a different date.[14] He placed the return of Trdat to Armenia from Rome in 298 or 299, subsequent to the peace established between Rome and Persia after Galerius's victory. Hence Trdat's seventeenth year fell in 314, which, he concluded, was the date of the king's conversion. Behind this conclusion lies Manandyan's proposition that Trdat could not have adopted the Christian faith before 313. It would have been impossible for Trdat, the protege of the Romans and Diocletian in particular, to have adopted officially the Christian faith in his realm when it was opposed by imperial policy. In a passage preserved in the Greek version of Agat'angeghos, Trdat's reliance on Diocletian in matters of religion is put in these terms:
From a youthful age raised and educated by you [Diocletianj ... hailing the gods who saved our power together with ourselves, I loathe the so-called Christians. What is more, I gave over to the bitterest death [after] tortures a certain Cappadocian [named] Gregory beloved by me, throwing [him] into a pit in which dwell snakes who devour [those] thrown therein. And now, Lord emperor, I will fulfill thy orders to me with all haste and willingness.[15]
An external evidence for the dating of Trdat's conversion is provided by St Gregory's consecration in Cappadocia. According to Agat'angeghos's History of the Armenians, Gregory went to Caesarea where a council of bishops had been held on the occasion of his consecration. The date of this council is fixed at 314.[16] This date is consistent with another statement in Agat'angeghos that, on his return from Caesarea, Gregory had brought with him the relics of St Athenogenes. The latter was martyred probably about 303-5, so his relics would have been available in 314. Following this line of the argument, Ananian concluded that the year 314 was also the date of the 'official' conversion of the Armenians.[17] Behind Ananian's conclusion lies Manandyan's proposition that Trdat could not have adopted the Christian faith before 313, as this was the year in which an edict had been promulgated in Milan by the emperors Constantine and Licinius granting freedom of worship to Christians. The non-Armenian evidence for the conversion of Armenia is small, but nevertheless important. Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History refers to the Armenians:
the Armenians were the first to embrace Christianity. It is said that Tiridates, the sovereign of that nation, was converted by means of a miracle which was wrought in his own house: and that he issued commands to all the rulers, by a herald, to adopt the same
religion. Subsequently, the Christian religion became known to the neighbouring tribes, and was very greatly disseminated.[18]
A second external source is Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History. The author records in relation to Emperor Maximinus Daia, who governed the Roman province of Oriens:
In addition to this, the tyrant had the further trouble of the war against the Armenians, men who from ancient times had been friends and allies of the Romans; but as they were Christians and exceedingly earnest in their piety towards the Deity, this hater of God, by attempting to compel them to sacrifice to idols and demons, made them foes instead of friends, and enemies instead of allies.[19]
This war took place in 312. The outcome was that Maximinus Daia 'was worn out along with his commanders in the Armenian war' . The question that now arises is: if Gregory was sent to Caesarea for consecration in 314, when was Trdat's conversion likely to have taken place? Relying on the chronology of the Narratio de rebus Armeniae, compiled in about 700, the Council of Nicaea had been held 'in the thirty-fourth year of Trdat and the twentieth after the deliverance of St Gregory'. The deliverance refers to Gregory's emergence from the dungeon. His release had occurred just before the king's conversion. If the Council of Nicaea was held in June 325, then the release of Gregory and the subsequent conversion of the king took place in 305 or 306. Confirmation of this dating is provided by Patriarch Michael's independent testimony that Gregory's mission took place 'at the beginning of Constantine's reign', i.e. around 306. Furthermore, Trdat's persecution of the Christians now coincides with the Great Persecution that broke out on 23 February 303, led by Diocletian. The flight of the thirty-three Christian nuns to Armenia must have taken place between 304 and 306. It was led by Gayane and Hrip'sime, and they suffered martyrdom at the hands of King Trdat sometime during those years. St John Chrysostom in his panegyric dedicated to St Gregory, written during his exile in Armenia (AD 404-7), refers to the two virgin martyrs. The death of the young women led to the eventual conversion of the king.
Bibliography
12. Tournebize, Fr., Histoire politique et religieuse de l'Armenie. Paris, 1910, pp. 428-44; Dulaurier, E., Recherches sur la chronologie armenienne. Paris, 1859, p. 47; Ormanian, M., The Church of Armenia, 2nd edn, London, 1955, p. 8; Chaumont, Marie-Louise, NOTES
Recherches sur I'histoire d' Armenie. Sassanides conversion du Royaume. Paris, 1969, pp. 156-8; Manaseryan, Ruben, Hayastane Artavazdits mintchev Trdat Meds (Armenia from Artavazd to Trdat the Great). Erevan, 1997, pp. 196-201.
13. Movses Khorenatsi, History of the Armenians, transl. R.W. Thomson. Cambridge, MA, 1980, II, 82 and 91.
14. Manandyan, Hakob, K'nnakan tesut'yun hay zhoghovrdi patmut'yan (Critical analysis of Armenian history). Erevan, 1957, vol. 2(1 ), 114-28; Mirichian Ara, 'Samuel Anetsin Rayots K'ristoneut'iwn endunelu t'uali:ani aintchut'eamb' (Samuel Anetsi on the date of the conversion of Armenia to Christianity), Shoghakat (July 1953), 193-6; Fntglian Garnik, Hayots dardzn i I('ristoneut'iwn (The conversion of Armenia to Christianity), pp. 20-21.
15. Garitte, G., Documents pour I'etude du livre d'Agathange (Studie Testi 127). Vatican City, 1946, pp. 37 and 293.
16. Lebon, J., 'Sur un concile de Cesaree', Le Museon 51 (1938), 89-132.
17. Ananian' Poghos, Grigor Lusavortchi jernadrut'ean t'uakane ev paraganere (The date and circumstances of Gregory the Illuminator's consecration). Venice, 1960, p. 172.
18. Sozomen, The Ecclesiastical History. Bli:. II, 8, transl. by Edward Walford. London, 1855, p. 63.
19. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine, transl. and introduction by H.J. Lawlor. London, 1927-28, pp. 214, 286; Frend, W.H.C., The Early Church. Philadelphia, 1982, p. 123.
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