Bartholomew and Jude, two of the 12 apostles of Jesus, went to the land of Armenia with the good news of Jesus and his resurrection. By the year 301 A.D., Armenia declared Christianity its state religion. The first Christian nation was officially born.
How did this happen? Early Armenian Christians were first persecuted by their kings. Then came Gregory the Illuminator. As a child, he was saved from death during a political conflict between his own father and the king of Armenia. Gregory survived after being taken away from Armenia to the Roman Empire by his nurse. There Gregory was raised as a Christian.
As an adult, he returned to Armenia. After enduring torture and prison himself by the king of Armenia, Gregory persuaded him to receive Christ, baptizing him in the Euphrates River.
Gregory, the first head of the Armenian Church, built churches and schools for the study of Syriac and Greek— Scriptural languages.
By 405 A.D., Mesrop Mashtots, who was an Armenian theologian, created an Armenian alphabet for the purpose of translating the Scriptures from Greek into Armenian. This solidified the Christian faith across the nation.
God uses language, both spoken and written, to unify his church, even nations.
During the 5th Century, the Persian Shah used Zoroastrian priests to coerce Armenians into renouncing Jesus and accepting the pagan religion. The Armenian Church held fast to Christ.
The Armenian Church has stood for close to 2000 years and continues to do so, despite persecution even into modern times.
As Jesus is alive, so too has he kept his church alive.
“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:7)
In 2016, “The Catholic Thing” publication reported that approximately 9 million people are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, while 750,00 belong to the Armenian Uniate Catholic Church.
Listen to liturgical Armenian prayer:
To honor the Lord and the Armenian Church, the Armenian words of the Lord, “It’s me,” from John 18:5 have been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”
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More about the art piece: “I AM”
(C) Kelly Jadon, 2025