FEAST OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR, APOSTLE TO ARMENIA (MARCH 23, JUNE 1, SEPT 30)
The Byzantine Icon of St. Gregory the Illuminator, Restored from the 7th Century Image Now Lost from the Hagia Sophia, Where St. Gregory was Once Heralded as a Great Founder of Orthodoxy and a Pillar of the Faith Edited and Compiled by Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) St. Gregory the Illuminator, the great Apostle to Armenia, was born in the third century AD to noble parents of the Parthian royal line. His father, Anak, a prince of the Arsacid dynasty, tragically murdered King Khosrov of Armenia, and Gregory was taken to safety in Cappadocia. Raised as a Christian, he was well-instructed in the faith and, as he grew in grace and wisdom, was called to a life of apostolic ministry. Gregory married a pious woman named Miriam, and together they were blessed with two sons, Aristakes and Vrtanes, who would later follow in their father’s holy footsteps as bishops and defenders of the faith. Gregory’s grandson, St. Husik, and his great-grandsons, St. Nerses the Great and St...
