THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION

Written by Gevork Nazaryan

King Trdat III, initially at the beginning of his reign had a very negative and hostile stance toward Christianity, viewing it as a weak religion of the masses and not the Armenian warrior aristocracy. Two of the prominent Christian virgin martyrs were St. Gayanē and St. Hripsimē who along with their dozens of maidens from their convent were martyred by the order of the King. But by the end of the third century a new underground movement was becoming more evident headed by Gregory. As we saw, the later Catholicos to be was the son of the accused assassin of King Xosrov Aršakuni, father of King Trdat III. St. Gregory after his preaching activity in Lesser Armenia, on the western side of the Euphrates river came to Vałaršapat, the capital of Greater Armenia. Upon his arrival in Vałaršapat, St. Gregory was promptly arrested by the royal guards on  charges of undermining the authority and order of the King and the State. According to the account told by contemporary historian Agat'angełos, King Trdat imprisoned St. Gregory by placing him in a dungeon of Khor Virap (literary -- deep pit). Christianity in the late third century was viciously persecuted and put down by the monarchs throughout the ancient world who viewed it as a pacifist religion that rejected the here and now and promised redemption in the then and there. Trdat being a close friend and an ally of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, also pursued similar policy of suppressing the spread of Christianity. Gregory remained imprisoned for twelve long years in the dark chambers of Khor Virap. Things quickly began to change in

THE ALTAR OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR ON SAN LAZZARO ISLAND, VENICE --
AN INTERNATIONAL LEARNING CENTER OF AND FOR ANCIENT ARMENIAN CULTURE
AND CIVILIZATION -- THE HOME OF THE MONASTIC HEADQUARTERS OF THE WORLDWIDE
MEKHITARIST ORDER [THE MEKHITARIST FATHERS FROM THE XVIIITH CENTURY
SPEARHEADED THE NATIONAL AWAKENING THROUGH EDUCATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT
BY ESTABLISHING THE FIRST DE FACTO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
THAT PRODUCED SOME OF THE LEADING INTELLECTUALS OF THE ERA
INCLUDING PROMINENT ARTISTS, SCIENTISTS, ARCHITECTS,
WRITERS, POETS AND THINKERS] IN SAN LAZZARO.
 DEPICTING A CLASSICAL PAINTING OF THE BAPTISM OF KING TRDAT III,
THE ROYAL FAMILY AND THE COURT BY ST. GREGORY.

THE TRADITIONAL CATHOLICOSAL/PATRIARCHAL MITRE [MITHRAS] IN THE FORM OF
A PENTAGON WAS IN CONTINUATION OF EARLIER NATIONAL HERITAGE
OF THE SYMBOL OF EA [SPLIT FISH TAIL]. THE EIGHT POINTED
CROSS [FOUR FOLD WITH 'FISH TAILS' MALTESE CROSS
COMING TO EIGHT POINTS...
LEADING TO THE CENTER -- NINTH POINT -- ENNEAD].
NOTE THE RED RUBY WITH THE SUNBURST IN THE CENTER,
THE APEX OF THE MITRE IS CAPPED BY THE PATRIARCHAL CROSS.

ARMANI MITHRAIC CONIC DOMES UNITED THE TRIANGLE AND THE SPHERE...
[MALE + FEMALE UNION].

ARMENIAN SACRED BOOKS METICULOUSLY WRITTEN AND ILLUMINATED.
THE LOVE FOR BOOKS AND KNOWLEDGE IS PART AND PARCEL OF
ARMENIAN CULTURE.

THE PRIMORDIAL EQUILATERAL GOLDEN MITHRAIC CROSS WITHIN A CIRCLE.
NOTE THE GREEN EMERALD JEWELS. THE CENTER PORTION CONTAINS
A MARKED SQUARE THAT HAS
AN OCTAGON WITHIN WHICH IS AN 'S' SPIRAL GOING THROUGH A
GOLD CIRCLE [DUALITY SYMBOL OF OPPOSING YET COMPLEMENTING UNION]
AND A RED DOT IN THE VERY CORE OF THE HEART.

PROFOUND SYMBOLS THROUGHOUT THE ANCIENT CROSS
MADE BY ARMENIAN MASTER GOLDSMITHS.
29 EMERALD, RUBY AND DIAMOND PRECIOUS STONES ARE ALIGNED WITHIN
TWO CIRCLES [CIRCLE INSIDE A CIRCLE] IN THE PERIPHERY.
FERTILITY SYMBOLS AS BLOSSOMED FLORA AND
VULVAS [ETERNAL FEMALE PRINCIPLE].
NOTE THE ONE DIAMOND AT THE TOP CENTER
AND THE THREE DOTS FORMING DOWNWARD POINTING TRIANGLE POINTS
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CIRCLES.
THE FOUR ARMS OF THE CROSS ARE EMBELLISHED WITH
20 STONES [4 SETS OF 5] +4 WITH SQUARE AND +1 CENTER = 25 TOTAL.

ENGRAVING OF THE BAPTISM OF QUEEN AŠXĒN AND KING TRDAT III ARSACID
AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL COURT BY ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR.
MANY OF THE EUROPEAN ROYAL HOUSES INCLUDING THE HOUSE OF WINDSOR
OF THE UNITED KINGDOM STEM FROM THE LINEAGE OF QUEEN AŠXĒN,
KING TRDAT AND THE ARSACID HOUSE THROUGH PARTHIAN --
SCYTHIAN-SCOTT [ASKANAZEAN GUND] -- CELTIC/DRUIDIC -- MEROVINGIAN LINEAGE.
PRINCESS DIANA [ANAHID IN RETROGRADE] OF ARMENIAN BLOODLINE
LIKE TSOVINAR GAVE BIRTH TO TWO PRINCES...NOTE THE PATRIARCHAL CROSS
AND THE FISH-TAIL MITRE [MITHRAS] OF THE ILLUMINATOR.
THE DOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS BELOW
THE RAY OF ILLUMINATION FROM ABOVE.

IN THE ANCIENT DRUIDIC LORE
ANAHID/DIHANA WAS ARDUINA [CONNECTED WITH ARD[I]NI
[INDRA IN RETROGRADE]-MUSASIR-
ARDENNES...ORVAL...OR...GOLD -- VAL -- GREEN]
ARCADIA COMES FROM ARKAS [ARKA=KING]
BROTHER OF ARTEMIS [URSA MAJOR -- THE GREAT BEAR GOD/DESS]
BEAR IN ARM. ARCH...[GATEWAY...]
ARTHUR-ARTH-URSUS...ALL FROM SACRED AR-UR-IR-ER-OR ROOT.
AYR...IN AR-MAN LIT. MAN...ALSO...FIRE...[AYRUM, AYREL]
IRELAND [AYR-LAND] IRAN [AYR-AN] ON AND ON ALL FROM
AR-MEN [FIRE, SUN...ENERGY LIFE FORCE].

THE DOWNSIDE OF THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY WAS THE DESTRUCTION OF
THE ANCIENT AND RICH HEATHEN [FROM ETHNOS...NATION-AL]
 HERITAGE OF ARMENIA INCLUDING COUNTLESS SACRED BEAUTIFUL
 MITHRĆAI OF MIHR-MITHRAS THE GOD OF LIGHT AND TRUTH.
THE INITIAL FANATICISM OF THE NEW CHRISTIAN CONVERTS OFTEN LED BY
OUTSIDE CLERGY WOULD EVENTUALLY
GIVE WAY TO INCORPORATING THE SACRED RITES, RITUALS AND SYMBOLS
OF THE SUN GOD INTO NEWLY FORMING HOLY APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF
ARMENIA WHICH IN MANY WAYS PRESERVED AND LATER
 ENRICHED THE NATIONAL HERITAGE.

EUTIUN [OV METSAMOR ASTRONOMER SCIENTISTS]...
ĒSSENCIA [OV LATIN COLLEGIVM MITHRAIC MYSTERY SCHOOLS] ..
EISIN [E'I OV DELPHIC ORACLES]...VIBRATIONAL...TRANSCENDENTAL
VOLUME OF Ē...ĒNERGY...WITHIN THE ETERNITY OF
OUROBOROS...ETERNAL ARMAN ORACLE WISDOM
[PURE CONSCIOUSNESS] WITHIN PRIMORDIAL CHAOS.

the year 297. Trdat, having seen the true nature of his "best friend" Diocletian, who in 297 invaded Armenia and even behind Trdat's back and signed a treacherous treaty with the hated rivals the Sassanians, was furious. Another IVth century historian Faust Buzand IVth tells us that Trdat, soon after was sickened with "madness" turning into a "wild boar." As the story goes, in desperation he sought the help "of that wizard who is still alive in that pit" -- as one of court advisors told the King. Trdat ordered the release of St. Gregory who after a quick prayer cures Trdat who turns back into a human form. The story, written by Buzand shows the rapid change from persecution of Christianity, to toleration, acceptance and eventually advocacy.

ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR

RELIQUARY TREASURE BOX OF GEŁARD. THE HOLY LANCE.

In 301, St. Gregory officially baptized king Trdat III along with the members of royal court and upper class. Trdat issued a decree by which he granted the right to start the conversion of the entire heathen Armenia. Unfortunately, this process of converting Armenia had with the positive a negative impact on the cultural rich pre-Christian heritage of Armenia. Many temples, written mehian [Mihrian - named after Armenian Solar God Mithras] manuscripts, and other priceless cultural monuments were obliterated and destroyed by the fanaticism of the newly converted followers of St. Gregory. So the Word was spread with the Sword unfortunately. Often hunting down and killing pagan high priests, who at that time in the temples kept the ancient wisdom traditions of Armenia that went back to time immemorial - a lot of knowledge was forever lost. Many new churches, including the Mother Church of Holy Echmiadzin [completed in 303] were erected right on the remnants of destroyed fire and solar temples - whose very important locations on lay lines, vortexes and crisscrossing grids were specifically chosen by the ancient Armenian master builders.

F I V E   D O M E S... FOUR  AROUND  ONE  CENTER.

T  H  E    M  O  T  H  E  R    C  H  U  R  C  H    O  F    T  H  E    H  O  L  Y    S  E  E