However, the Armenians, being patriotic, traditional, principled people, rejected the new religion and killed those two apostles by the king’s order.By the order of the Armenian king Tiridates III, Hripsime and the virgins accompanying her, who had fled Hellenic Rome, were martyred for their Christian faith.Feeling guilty for prosecuting Christians Armenian king Tiridates III acquired a swine-like disease.His sister Khosrovidukht dreamt that the king could be healed by Gregory the Illuminator, who, by the order of the king, been imprisoned for 14 years for his Christian faith, but had miraculously survived.Through Gregory king Tiridates was healed, repented and converted to Christianity. For example, ancient Armenians believed that God was angry with the devil for revealing the secret of fire to people, he says.“Wait, I will create fire because of you, that will frighten people.” And he creates the fire of God, i.e. Christianity was adopted as the state religion of Armenia in 301 AD. St. Gregory the Illuminator built the mother cathedral of the Armenian Church.

Like many ancient nations, before believing in polytheism, that is around 10th Century BC, Armenians worshiped various animals, plants, celestial bodies, etc.The first Armenian pantheon, built in the kingdom of ancient Van, had 70 gods and goddesses. It is a non-Chalcedonic church belonging to the Oriental Orthodoxy. This question is the same as “How many statues are there in Italy”? King Trdat fell in love with a Christian nun named Hripsime, but the nun refused to break her vows to God by marrying the king.

How did that happen?

Christian faith very often defines the identity of Armenians and, in most cases, the word “Christian” is synonymous with “Armenian”. His trip was called the “Visit to the first Christian nation”. St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for years, he survived for 13 years only by the grace of a kind woman who secretly fed him. Here is an introduction about the beliefs of the Armenian people from ancient times to the present day. They have accumulated a rich heritage of religious traditions, like Vardavar and Tyarndarach (or Trndez) that date back to the time of paganism.Vardavar was associated with the worship of the goddess Astghik who symbolized fertility. Moreover, if you want to explore transformations of some pagan feasts and traditions into Christian rite, then Armenia is a must-visit place. If you want to find more about religion in Armenia before your arrival, then the following article is for you. Khoren A. Muradbekyan who was the Catholicos of Armenia during that period was murdered for fighting for the safety of Armenian clergymen and the preservation of the churches and religious buildings, that were being replaced with amusements parks, and social centers. Thereafter, the king went mad, and only after the king’s sister released Gregory from captivity to heal her ailing brother, the King Trdat converted his entire kingdom to Christianity in 301 AD, making Armenia the first nation to accept Christianity as its state religion.

According to the chronicler Agathangeghos, soon after Armenia’s conversion to Christianity, St. Gregory had a vision of the Son of God. The small chapels and churches of abandoned settlements contain surrealistic items of vernacular Christianity, and they are so unique that you start to think that you have discovered a new religion. Located in the heart of Yerevan, this mosque—with its beautiful courtyard—is a very peaceful corner. The Constitution states that religious organizations are separate from the government. The church of Khor Virap (meaning «Deep Pit») was built on the spot of St. Gregory’s captivity.

I hope my articles will help you get acquainted with our culture.".

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Copyright © 2020 «Armenian Trip» | All rights reserved. lightning, and sends it to earth. Temples dotted the country, and one symbol example of that era, a Greek-style temple in the village of Garni, was restored in the 1960’s and still stands. One of these striving fighters was Vardan Mamikonyan – Armenian commander of the 5th century. Effects of Religion: Shaping Armenian Culture and History. It gave birth to amazing artworks, helped to stand enemy attacks, prompted the creation of the Armenian national alphabet and written form of the language, inspired people to build wonderful churches, erect elaborate cross-stones and, finally, forced people to survive. Armenia has approximately 3 million population of which 98.1% are ethnic Armenians. The reason is that man has believed in the existence of the spiritual world since the day of his creation, attributing many invisible phenomena to religion.