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{{Short description|Patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church (c.257–c.331)}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix  = [[Saint]]
| name              = Gregory the Illuminator
| birth_date        = 3rd century
| birth_place       = [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]
| death_date        = c. 331
| death_place       = [[Daranali]], [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]<br /><small>(present-day [[Kemah, Erzincan]], Turkey)</small>
| feast_day         = February 20 (Nardò, Italy)<br />March 23 (Anglican Church)<br />Saturday before fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Armenian Apostolic Church – discovery of relics)<br /> Last Saturday of Lent (Armenian Apostolic Church – descent into dungeon)<br /> Saturday before second Sunday after Pentecost (Armenian Apostolic Church – deliverance from dungeon)<br />September 30 (Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Catholic Church),<br />October 1 (Catholic Church- 1962 Roman Missal)
| venerated_in      = [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]<br />[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]<br />[[Catholic Church]]<br />[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br />[[Anglican Communion]]
| image             = Gregory the Illuminator mosaic on Pammakaristos Church in Constantinople.jpg
| imagesize        = 250px
| caption           = A 14th century [[Byzantine mosaics|Byzantine mosaic]] of Gregory at the [[Pammakaristos Church]] in Constantinople (today Fethiye Camii, Istanbul){{sfn|Der Nersessian|1966|p=390}}{{sfn|Ayvazyan|1984|p=45}}
| titles            = [[Catholicos of All Armenians]]<br />(Patriarch of Armenia)
| beatified_date=
| beatified_place=
| beatified_by=
| canonized_date=
| canonized_place=
| canonized_by=
| attributes=
| patronage         = [[Armenia]]; [[Nardò]], Italy
| major_shrine=
| suppressed_date=
| issues=
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}}
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar|expanded=figures}}

'''Gregory the Illuminator'''{{efn|Armenian: ''Grigor Lusavorich'', [[Classical Armenian orthography|classical spelling]]: Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, [[Armenian orthography reform|reformed spelling]]: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, [[Western Armenian]] pronunciation: ''Krikor Lusavorich''.}}{{efn|He is less commonly known as '''Gregory the Enlightener'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Gregory the Enlightener |url=https://armenianchurch.us/the-saints/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |website=armenianchurch.us |publisher=Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830075745/https://armenianchurch.us/the-saints/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |archive-date=30 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schaff |first1=Philip |author1-link=Philip Schaff |title=From Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great, A.D. 311-600, Volume III |date=1867 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons|Charles Scribner and Company]] |location=New York |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7BNOAAAAYAAJ&dq=Gregory+the+Enlightener&pg=PA779 779]}}</ref> Outside Armenia, he is often known as '''Gregory of Armenia''' or '''Gregory the Armenian'''. In Armenian, he is sometimes referred to as '''Gregory the Parthian''' (Գրիգոր Պարթեւ, ''Grigor Part’ev'').}} ({{c.|lk=no|257}}&nbsp;– {{c.|lk=no|331}}) was the founder and first official [[Catholicos of All Armenians|head]] of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]].{{Efn|The Armenian Apostolic Church, as its name suggests, traces its founding to the apostles [[Jude the Apostle|Thaddeus]] and [[Bartholomew the Apostle|Bartholomew]], who are said to have preached Christianity in Armenia in the first century.{{sfn|Lang|1970|p=155}}}} He [[Christianization of Armenia|converted Armenia]] from [[Zoroastrianism in Armenia|Zoroastrianism]]<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Vrej Nersessian|first=Vrej|last=Nersessian|title=Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2vxGAgAAQBAJ|publisher=[[J. Paul Getty Museum]]|location=Los Angeles|year=2001|isbn=9780892366392 |quote=The second break was initiated by the ascendance of Christianity over Zoroastrianism as Armenia's state religion.  |page=[https://www.google.am/books/edition/Treasures_from_the_Ark/2vxGAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=local+of+Zoroastrianism+%22armenia%22&pg=PA18&printsec=frontcover 18]}}</ref> to [[Christianity]] in the early fourth century (traditionally dated to 301), making Armenia the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion. He is venerated as a [[saint]] in the Armenian Apostolic Church and in some other churches.

Gregory is said to have been the son of a [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] nobleman, [[Anak the Parthian|Anak]], who assassinated the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid]] king of Armenia [[Khosrov II of Armenia|Khosrov II]]. The young Gregory was saved from the extermination of Anak's family and was raised as a Christian in [[Caesarea (Mazaca)|Caesarea]] of [[Cappadocia]], then part of the [[Roman Empire]]. Gregory returned to Armenia as an adult and entered the service of King [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]], who had Gregory tortured after he refused to make a sacrifice to a pagan goddess. After discovering Gregory's true identity, Tiridates had him thrown into a deep pit well called [[Khor Virap]] for 14 years. Gregory was miraculously saved from death and released after many years with the help of Tiridates' sister [[Khosrovidukht (sister of Tiridates III of Armenia)|Khosrovidukht]]. Gregory then converted the King to Christianity, and Armenia then became the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD. Gregory, the Illuminator, then healed King Tiridates, who the hagiographical sources say had been transfomed into a boar for his sins, and preached Christianity in Armenia. He was consecrated bishop of Armenia at Caesarea, baptized King Tiridates and the Armenian people, and traveled throughout Armenia, destroying pagan temples and building churches in their place.

Gregory eventually gave up the patriarchate to live as a [[hermit]] and was succeeded by his son [[St. Aristaces I|Aristaces]]. Gregory's descendants, called the [[Gregorids]], hereditarily held the office of Patriarch of Armenia with some interruptions until the fifth century. It is in Gregory's honor that the Armenian Church is sometimes called {{Transliteration|hy|lusavorchakan}} ("of the Illuminator") or Gregorian.{{sfn|"Grigor I Lusavorichʻ," Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|1977}}

== Early life ==

In the Armenian tradition, the standard version of the life of Gregory the Illuminator derives from the fifth-century [[Hagiography|hagiographic]] history attributed to [[Agathangelos]].{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=15}} According to Agathangelos's account, Gregory was the son of the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] nobleman [[Anak the Parthian|Anak]]; the later Armenian historian [[Movses Khorenatsi]] identifies Anak as a member of the Parthian noble house of [[House of Suren|Suren]].{{Sfn|Lang|1970|pp=155–156}}{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=347}} At the incitation of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] king [[Ardashir I]], who promised to return Anak his domain as a reward, the Parthian nobleman went to Armenia and assassinated the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid]] king of Armenia [[Khosrov II of Armenia|Khosrov II]] after gaining his confidence.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=72}} Anak was then put to death by the Armenian nobles along with his entire family․{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=72}} Anak's son Gregory narrowly escaped execution with the help of his nurse, whom Khorenatsi calls Sophy, sister of a Cappadocian notable named Euthalius (Ewtʻagh).{{Sfn|Thomson|1978|p=228}} Gregory was taken to [[Caesarea (Mazaca)|Caesarea]] in [[Cappadocia]], where he received a Christian upbringing.{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|pp=15–16}} [[Jean-Michel Thierry]] described him as of "[[Cappadocian Greeks|Cappadocian culture and religion]]" and credited him with having introduced "Greek civilization to Armenia."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thierry |first1=Jean-Michel |author1-link=Jean-Michel Thierry |last2=Donabédian |first2=Patrick |author2-link=Patrick Donabédian |translator=Celestine Dars |title=Armenian Art |date=1989 |orig-date=1987 |publisher=[[Harry N. Abrams]] |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/ |isbn=0-8109-0625-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/49/mode/1up?view=theater&q=cappadocian 49]}}</ref>

According to Khorenatsi, upon coming of age, Gregory married [[Julitta of Armenia|Mariam]], daughter of a Christian named David.{{Sfn|Thomson|1978|pp=228–229}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=xxxi–xxxii}} He had two children with Mariam: [[St. Aristaces I|Aristaces]] and [[St. Vrtanes I|Vrtanes]], who would later succeed Gregory as patriarchs of Armenia.{{Sfn|Thomson|1978|pp=228–229}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=xxxi–xxxii}}

== Christianization of Armenia ==
{{Main|Christianization of Armenia}}
[[File:San Gregorio Armeno gettato nel pozzo (dettaglio) - F. Fracanzano.png|thumb|upright|St. Gregory of Armenia is cast into the pit by [[Francesco Fracanzano]]]]
After the birth of their sons, [[Julitta of Armenia|Mariam]] and Gregory separated, and Gregory went to Armenia to enter the service of King [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]], son of the assassinated king Khosrov II.{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=xxxi–xxxii}}{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}}{{Efn|One Greek version of Agathangelos tells a significantly different story of Gregory's wife, who is called [[Julitta of Armenia|Julitta]]. In this version, Gregory's wife and sons are implied to have followed him to Armenia, but fled back to Caesarea after Gregory's imprisonment. After Gregory was released from imprisonment, his wife went to Armenia to join him, leaving behind their sons in Caesarea, but Gregory refused to return to married life, instead asking the king to put his wife in charge of the holy virgins and temporarily lead the Christians in worship.{{sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=xxxii–xxxiii}}}} After Gregory refused to sacrifice to the goddess [[Anahit]], the king had Gregory imprisoned and subjected to many tortures.{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=xlii–xliii}} Once Tiridates discovered that Gregory was the son of his father's killer, he had Gregory thrown into a deep pit called [[Khor Virap]] near [[Artaxata]], where he remained for thirteen (or fifteen) years.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}}{{Sfn|Lang|1970|p=156}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1984}} In Agathangelos's history, Gregory is miraculously saved and brought out from the pit after Tiridates' sister [[Khosrovidukht (sister of Tiridates III of Armenia)|Khosrovidukht]] sees a vision.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}} Gregory then healed the king, who, Agathangelos writes, had been transformed into a wild boar for his sinful behavior.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}} Tiridates and his court accepted Christianity, making Armenia the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion.{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=16}}{{efn|Interpretations that favor an earlier date for Tiridates' conversion argue that the Armenian king had grown disillusioned with his alliance with Rome and stopped following [[Diocletian]]'s anti-Christian policy, instead adopting Christianity to strengthen the state and further separate Armenia from Rome and Persia.{{sfn|"Grigor I Lusavorichʻ," Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|1977}} Those who favor the later date of 314 argue that Tiridates, as a loyal client-king of Rome, could not have set up Christianity as Armenia's state religion in contradiction to Rome's anti-Christian policy at the time, and place the conversion after the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=82}}}}

[[File:Gregory the Illuminator.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Baptism of the Armenian People'' (1892), by [[Ivan Aivazovsky]]]]

After being released, Gregory preached the Christian faith in Armenia and erected shrines to the martyrs [[Saint Gayane Church|Gayane]] and [[Hripsime]] in [[Vagharshapat]] on a spot indicated to him in a vision.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}}{{Efn|Scholar [[Robert W. Thomson]] notes that, although Vagharshapat-Ejmiatsin had "clearly been a holy shrine" from early on in Christian Armenian history, the association of Gregory with Vagharshapat dates from after the partition of Armenia in 387, when the mother see of the Armenian Church moved to Eastern Armenia. The actual original center of the Armenian Church was at [[Ashtishat]].{{sfn|Thomson|1984}}{{sfn|Thomson|1994|p=19}}}} Vagharshapat would later become home to the [[Etchmiadzin Cathedral|mother church]] of Armenian Christianity and, by medieval times, called Ejmiatsin ("descent of the only-begotten") in reference to Gregory's vision.{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|p=478}}{{Efn|The figure who appears to Gregory was later identified with Christ in the Armenian tradition, although this is not explicitly stated in Agathangelos.{{sfn|Thomson|1994|p=19}}}} Gregory, sometimes accompanied by Tiridates,{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=19}} went around Armenia destroying pagan [[temple]]s, defeating the armed resistance of the pagan priests.{{Sfn|Russell|2004|p=358}} Gregory then went to Caesarea with a retinue of Armenian princes and was consecrated bishop of Armenia by [[Leontius of Caesarea]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=81}} Until the death of [[Nerses I]] in the late fourth century, Gregory's successors would go to Caesarea to be confirmed as bishops of Armenia, and Armenia remained under the titular authority of the metropolitans of Caesarea.{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|p=lxxix}}

Returning to Armenia, Gregory raised churches in place of the destroyed pagan temples and seized their estates and wealth for the Armenian Church and his house.{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=19}}{{Efn|According to the fifth-century history attributed to [[Faustus of Byzantium]], by the time of Gregory's descendant Patriarch [[Nerses I]], the domains of the Gregorid house amounted to fifteen districts (''gawaṛ''s).{{sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=139}}}} On the site of the destroyed temple to [[Vahagn]] at [[Ashtishat]], Gregory raised a church which became the original center of the Armenian Church and remained so until after the partition of the country in 387.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|pp=81–82}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=19}} Gregory met King Tiridates near the town of [[Bagavan]] and baptized the Armenian king, army and people in the [[Euphrates]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|pp=81–82}} In two non-Armenian versions of Agathangelos's history, Gregory also baptizes together with Tiridates the kings of [[Caucasian Albania]], [[Kingdom of Iberia|Georgia]] and [[Lazica]]/Abkhazia.{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=lxviii–lxix}} He founded schools for the Christian education of children, where the languages of instruction were [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Syriac language|Syriac]].{{sfn|"Grigor I Lusavorichʻ," Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|1977}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|p=375}} He established the ecclesiastical structure of Armenia, appointing as bishops some of the children of pagan priests.{{sfn|"Grigor I Lusavorichʻ," Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|1977}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1976|loc=p. 379: "He took some of the pagan priests' children and brought them up in his own sight and under his own care, giving them instruction and raising them with spiritual care and fear. Those who were worthy of attaining the rank of bishop received ordination from him"}} Gregory is also said to have journeyed to Rome with King Tiridates in an embassy to the recently converted [[Constantine the Great]], but scholar [[Robert W. Thomson]] views this as fictional.{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=16}}

The conversion of Armenia to Christianity is traditionally dated to 301, but modern scholarship considers a later date, approximately 314, to be a more likely.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=82}} Additionally, the history of Agathangelos depicts the spread of Christianity of Armenia as having occurred practically entirely within Gregory's lifetime, when, in fact, it was a more gradual process.{{Sfn|Thomson|1994|p=22}}{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|pp=82–83}}

== Retirement and death ==
Some time after converting Armenia to Christianity, Gregory appointed his younger son Aristaces as his successor and went to live an ascetic life in the "cave of Manē" in the district of [[Daranali]] in [[Upper Armenia]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=375}}{{Efn|Agathangelos writes that King Tiridates sent for Aristaces and Vrtanes and had them brought to Armenia from Caesarea after Gregory went to live in seclusion.{{sfn|Thomson|1976|pp=393–397}}}} The Patriarchate of Armenia would be held as a hereditary office, with some interruptions, by the house of Gregory, called the [[Gregorids]], until the death of Patriarch [[Isaac of Armenia|Isaac]] in the fifth century.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=83}}{{Sfn|Terian|2005|p=76}} According to Movses Khorenatsi, Gregory sometimes came out from his hermitage and traveled around the country until Aristaces returned from the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] (325), after which Gregory never appeared to anyone again.{{Sfn|Thomson|1978|pp=248–249}} He died in seclusion in the cave of Manē and was buried nearby by shepherds who did not know who he was.{{Sfn|Thomson|1978|pp=249–250}} All of the sources indicate that Gregory's death occurred not long after the Council of Nicaea; [[Cyril Toumanoff]] gives 328 as the year of Gregory's death.{{Sfn|Toumanoff|1969|p=268}}

== Historical assessment ==
[[Levon Ter-Petrosyan]], philologist and Armenia's first president, postulates that Gregory and [[Mesrop Mashtots]] had the most influence on the course of Armenian history.<ref>{{cite news |title=Լևոն Տեր-Պետրոսյանի նոր գիրքը [Levon Ter-Petrosyan's new book] |url=https://www.ilur.am/news/view/76624.html |work=ilur.am |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730184426/https://www.ilur.am/news/view/76624.html |date=27 July 2019 |archivedate=30 July 2019 |language=hy}} <!-- ... Գրիգոր Լուսավորչի մահվան 1700-ամյակը, որի մեծագործությունն, իր շրջադարձային տարողությամբ եւ հայկյան քաղաքակրթության հետագա ընթացքը պայմանավորող արդյունքով, համեմատելի է թերեւս միայն Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի վաստակի հետ։ --></ref> [[James R. Russell]] argues that both Gregory and Mashtots were visionaries, found a champion for their program in the king, looked to the West, had very strong [[Philhellenism|pro-Hellenic]] bias, trained the children of pagan priests and assembled their own disciples to spread the faith through learning.{{sfn|Russell|2004|pp=605-606}}

== Relics and veneration ==
After his death his corpse was removed to the village of Thodanum (T'ordan, modern [[Doğanköy, Kemah]], near [[Erzincan]]).

The [[Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin]], the [[Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia]], the [[Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] and the [[Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople]] each claim to have relics from the right arm of the saint, in an arm-shaped reliquary.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kouymjian |first1=Dickran |editor1-last=Borgeaud and Youri Volokhine |editor1-first=Philippe |editor2-last=Volokhine |editor2-first=Youri |title=The Right Hand of St. Gregory and other Armenian Arm Relics |journal=Les objets de la mémoire. Pour une approche comparatiste des reliques et de leur culte |year=2005 |pages=215–240 |url=https://www.academia.edu/18448087}}</ref> The [[catholicosate]]s of Etchmiadzin and Cilicia use the arm relic for the blessing of the [[chrism|Holy Myron]] every seven years.

In the calendar of the Armenian Church, the discovery of the relics of St. Gregory is an important feast and is commemorated on the Saturday before the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://armenianchurchsydney.org.au/discovery-of-the-relics-of-st-gregory-the-illuminator/ |title=Discovery of the Relics of St Gregory the Illuminator – Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection}}</ref> Two other feast days in the Armenian Apostolic Church are devoted to St. Gregory: the feast of his entry into [[Khor Virap]], the 'deep pit or dungeon' (commemorated on the last Saturday of Lent) and his deliverance from Khor Virap (commemorated on the Saturday before the second Sunday after Pentecost).<ref>Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2002, pp. 391, 427–28.</ref>

=== Depictions in Armenian art ===
Gregory has been depicted widely in Armenian art since the early Middle Ages on various media. He is most likely the figure, a saint, carved on a seventh-century stele in [[Talin, Armenia|Talin]].{{sfn|Maranci|2018|p=47}} He is depicted next to John the Baptist, the prophet [[Elijah]], and most likely Thaddeus, [[James of Nisibis]], and the apostle Bartholomew on the east façade of the tenth-century [[Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar|Aghtamar Cathedral]] in [[Lake Van]].{{sfn|Maranci|2018|p=70}} Sixteen scenes depicting Gregory's life are painted in the [[Ani#The church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents|Church of Tigran Honents]] in [[Ani]] (1215), that contains the most complete painted interior of all medieval Armenian monuments.{{sfn|Maranci|2018|pp=131-132}}

Gregory is depicted on the silver reliquary of Skevra (1293), the best known work of precious metal from [[Armenian Cilicia]], along with Saint Thaddeus,{{sfn|Maranci|2018|p=121}} and on the reliquary of the Holy Sign (1300), another significant piece of Armenian metalwork made at the [[:hy:Խոտակերաց վանք|Monastery of Khotakerats]], along with John the Baptist.{{sfn|Maranci|2018|p=152}} Gregory is depicted with King Trdat on the left and Hripsime on a 1448 processional banner of embroidered silk kept at the Treasury of Etchmiadzin.{{sfn|Maranci|2018|pp=181-3}} At the [[Vank Cathedral]] in [[New Julfa]], the Armenian district of [[Isfahan]], Iran, Gregory's martyrdom was painted in a European style by the Italian-trained [[Hovhannes M'rkuz Jułayeci]] in 1646.{{sfn|Maranci|2018|p=195}}

<gallery caption="Armenian depictions of Gregory" mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Saint Grégoire et la foule, 1569.jpg|A [[Armenian illuminated manuscripts|miniature]] of Gregory and Trdat (as a boar) by [[:hy:Վարդան Բաղիշեցի (մանրանկարիչ)|Vardan Baghishetsi]] on a manuscript from [[Baghesh]], [[Vaspurakan]], {{circa|1569–70}}<ref>Illuminated by Vardan of Baghesh (Vardan Baghishets‘i; act. 1569–1578). Scribe: Hakob the deacon (sarkawag) (act. second half 16th century). Tempera and ink on paper; 353 folios. [[Matenadaran]], Yerevan, Armenia (ms 1920) {{cite book |last1=Piñon |first1=Erin |editor1-last=Evans |editor1-first=Helen C. |editor1-link=Helen C. Evans |title=Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages |date=2018 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] and [[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-1-58839-660-0 |oclc=1028910888 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Armenia_Art_Religion_and_Trade_in_the_Middle_Ages |chapter=Revival of Early Narratives in Manuscripts |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ezNtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 210]}}</ref>
File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral Gregory the Illuminator relief.jpg|[[Etchmiadzin Cathedral]], 17th century
File:Անհայտ հայ նկարիչ, 18-րդ դար Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ.jpg|An 18th century painting by an unknown author
File:Gregory the Illuminator.jpg|''The Baptism of the Armenian People. Gregory the Illuminator'' by [[Ivan Aivazovsky]] (1892)
File:Սուրենյանց Վարդգես. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ.jpg|A painting by [[Vardges Sureniants]]
</gallery>

=== Byzantium and the Orthodox world ===
Gregory is commemorated on September 30 by the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], which styles him "Holy Hieromartyr Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia, Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Armenia."

His relics were scattered near and far in the reign of the [[Eastern Roman Emperor]] [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]].{{sfn|Ayvazyan|1984|p=41}} Relic fragments are found at the [[Karakallou Monastery]] and [[Iviron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]]; the [[Gregoriou Monastery]] claims to have the saint's skull.<ref>{{cite web |title=Άγιος Γρηγόριος ο Ιερομάρτυρας επίσκοπος της Μεγάλης Αρμενίας |url=https://www.agiamarinaalykou.gr/%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BE%CE%AC%CF%81%CE%B9/%CF%80%CE%AD%CE%BC%CF%80%CF%84%CE%B7-30-%CF%83%CE%B5%CF%80%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%BC%CE%B2%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85-2021/ |website=Ιερό Προσκύνημα Αγίας Μαρίνας Αλυκού |access-date=2 March 2024 |date=30 September 2021 |last1=Νεκτάριος |first1=Πάτερ }}</ref>

Veneration of Gregory began in the [[Byzantine Empire]] in the late 9th century with the ascend of [[Basil I]]. A 9th century mosaic of Gregory was uncovered in [[Hagia Sophia]] under a layer of plaster in 1847–49 during the restoration by the [[Fossati brothers]].{{sfn|Mango|Hawkins|1972|p=6}} Located in the south [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]], next to the [[Fathers of the Church]], it shows Gregory standing in bishop robes, blessing with one hand and holding the [[Book of the Gospels]] with the other.{{sfn|Der Nersessian|1966|p=386}} The mosaic, thought to have been destroyed in the [[1894 Istanbul earthquake|1894 earthquake]], survives in drawing by [[:de:Wilhelm Salzenberg|Wilhelm Salzenberg]] and the Fossati brothers. [[Sirarpie Der Nersessian]] argued that his inclusion in the series of the Church Fathers is explained by the myth of the Arsacid origin of Basil I, likely fabricated by Patriarch [[Photios I of Constantinople]].{{sfn|Der Nersessian|1966|p=389}}{{sfn|Mango|Hawkins|1972|p=38}}

Gregory is depicted in two prominent Byzantine illuminated manuscripts—the ''[[Menologion of Basil II]]'' (c. 1000)<ref name="Menologion">{{cite web |title=Manuscript – Vat.gr.1613 |url=https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1613/0096?sid=a7590df9b8aca22111c8359533716419&zoomlevel=4 |website=vatlib.it |publisher=[[Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230212162232/https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1613/0096?sid=a7590df9b8aca22111c8359533716419&zoomlevel=4 |archive-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> and the ''[[Theodore Psalter]]'' (1066)<ref name="BLcontent" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Add MS 19352: f.48r |url=https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_19352_f048r |website=bl.uk |publisher=[[British Library]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230212161542/https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_19352_f048r |archive-date=12 February 2023}}</ref>—and in a number of Byzantine churches and monasteries, most notably [[Hosios Loukas]] (11th century),{{sfn|Mango|Hawkins|1972|p=25}} [[Church of Panagia Chalkeon]] in [[Thessaloniki]] (11th century), and the [[Pammakaristos Church]] in Constantinople (14th century).{{sfn|Der Nersessian|1966|p=390}}

One of the sections of Moscow's iconic [[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] is named after Gregory the Armenian (''Tserkov Grigoriya Armyanskogo''). It is dedicated to the capture of Ars Tower of the [[Kazan Kremlin]] by [[Ivan the Terrible]] during the [[Siege of Kazan]] on September 30, 1552, on his feast day.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brunov |first=N. I. |title=Храм Василия Блаженного в Москве. Покровский собор [Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed in Moscow: Pokrovsky Cathedral] |publisher=[[Iskusstvo]] |language=ru |year=1988 |pages=6–10}}, supplemental tables.</ref>

<gallery caption="Byzantine depictions of Gregory" mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Gregory the Illuminator mosaic in Hagia Sophia by Wilhelm Salzenberg.jpg|Lost mosaic from [[Hagia Sophia]] (9th century){{efn|As reproduced by [[:de:Wilhelm Salzenberg|Wilhelm Salzenberg]].<ref>{{cite web |title=C. W.; Salzenberg, W. [Editor] Alt-christliche Baudenkmale von Constantinopel vom V. bis XII. Jahrhundert |url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/salzenberg1854/0097/image,info |website=uni-heidelberg.de |publisher=[[Heidelberg University]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206065030/https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/salzenberg1854/0097/image,info |archive-date=6 February 2023 |page=29}}</ref>}}
<!-- File:Fossati 003.JPG| -->
File:Menologion of Basil 038.jpg|in the ''[[Menologion of Basil II]]'' (c. 1000)<ref name="Menologion" />
File:Theodore Psalter. Gregory brings Tiridates to Christ.jpg|in the ''[[Theodore Psalter]]'' (1066){{efn|"St. Gregory brings Tiridates to Christ. (Gregory has purple tunic, pink cloak, and white stole w. black crosses)."<ref name="BLcontent">{{cite web |title=Add MS 19352: Theodore Psalter |url=https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_19352 |website=bl.uk |publisher=[[British Library]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230212161318/https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_19352 |archive-date=12 February 2023}}</ref>}}
File:Istanbul - Chiesa Pammacaristos (Fetiye camii) - San Gregorio armeniaco - Foto G. Dall'Orto 26-5-2006.jpg|A mosaic at the [[Pammakaristos Church]] (14th century){{sfn|Der Nersessian|1966|p=390}}
</gallery>

=== Italy and the Catholic world ===
[[File:Gregory the Illuminator, of Armenia statue, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Vatican4.jpg|thumb|A statue of St. Gregory in Vatican's [[St. Peter's Basilica]] inaugurated in 2005. ]]

In the 8th century, the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclast]] decrees in Greece caused a number of religious orders to flee the [[Byzantine Empire]] and seek refuge elsewhere. [[San Gregorio Armeno]] in [[Naples]] was built in that century over the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]], by a group of nuns escaping from the Byzantine Empire with the relics of Gregory,<ref name="Fortescue">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07023a.htm Fortescue, Adrian. "Gregory the Illuminator." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 13 Aug. 2014]</ref> including his skull, arms, a femur bone, his staff, the leather straps used in his torture and the manacles that held the saint.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TksBAAAAQAAJ&q=chains+saint+gregory+illuminator+naples&pg=PA31 |title=Mysteries of the Neapolitan cloister |last1=Caracciolo |first1=Enrichetta |year=1865}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Hovhannes Tomajan and the Queen of Naples |journal=Hay Endanik |date=March–April 1987 |page=42-43 |publisher=Mekhitarist Order of San Lazzaro, Venice, Italy |url=https://www.stthomasarmenianchurch.com/religious-information/saints-feast-days/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |archive-date=2018-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312215928/https://www.stthomasarmenianchurch.com/religious-information/saints-feast-days/st-gregory-the-enlightener/ |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> The femur and manacles were returned by [[Pope John Paul II]] to Catholicos [[Karekin II]] and are now enshrined at [[Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan|Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral]] in [[Yerevan]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://asbarez.com/44044/relics-of-st-gregory-returned-to-etchmiadzin/ |title=Relics of St. Gregory Returned to Etchmiadzin |date=13 November 2000}}</ref>

On February 20, 1743, [[Nardò]], Italy was hit by a devastating earthquake that destroyed almost the entire city. The only structure to survive intact after the quake was the city's statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to the city's registers, only 350 out of the city's 10,000 inhabitants died in the earthquake, leading the inhabitants to believe that St. Gregory saved the city. Every year, they mark the anniversary of the earthquake by holding three days of celebrations in his honor. Two relics of the saint are at [[Nardò Cathedral]]: one is kept in a silver bust of the saint,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gaballo |first1=Marcello |title=Un busto di San Gregorio armeno tra i tesori della cattedrale di Nardò |url=https://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2013/02/19/un-busto-di-san-gregorio-armeno-tra-i-tesori-della-cattedrale-di-nardo-2/ |website=Fondazione Terra D'Otranto |access-date=1 March 2024 |date=19 February 2013}}</ref> which is carried in processions, and the other, the metacarpus, is kept within a silver arm-shaped reliquary.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gaballo |first1=Marcello |title=20 febbraio. San Gregorio armeno l'Illuminatore, patrono di Nardò |url=https://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2013/02/20/20-febbraio-san-gregorio-armeno-lilluminatore-patrono-di-nardo-2/ |website=Fondazione Terra D'Otranto |access-date=1 March 2024 |date=20 February 2013}}</ref>

The feast day of Saint Gregory the Illuminator is on September 30 according to both the 2004 [[Roman Martyrology]] of the [[Ordinary Form]] and the 1956 Roman Martyrology<ref>{{cite book |title=The Roman martyrology, in which are to be found the eulogies of the saints and blessed approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites up to 1961 |date=1962 |publisher=The Newman Press |pages=214 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanmartyrology0000cath/page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=2 March 2024}}</ref> of the [[Extraordinary Form]] of the [[Catholic Church]]; however, the 1962 [[Roman Missal]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Missale Romanum 1962 |pages=204 |url=https://media.musicasacra.com/pdf/missale62.pdf}}</ref> and its previous editions list the feast day of "Saint Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia and Martyr" on October 1.

A {{convert|5.7|m|abbr=on}} tall statue of Gregory in the [[Carrara marble]] was installed in the north courtyard of [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Vatican City]] in January 2005. Sculpted by France-based Lebanese-Armenian sculptor Khatchik Kazandjian, the statue was inaugurated by [[Pope John Paul II]]. Gregory is depicted holding a cross in one hand and the Bible in the other.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator |url=https://asbarez.com/vatican-unveils-monument-of-saint-gregory-the-illuminator/ |work=[[Asbarez]] |date=January 19, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207183756/https://asbarez.com/vatican-unveils-monument-of-saint-gregory-the-illuminator/ |archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pope extends special greeting to Armenian Patriarch |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/2872/pope-extends-special-greeting-to-armenian-patriarch |agency=[[Catholic News Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207185114/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/2872/pope-extends-special-greeting-to-armenian-patriarch |archive-date=7 February 2023 |date=January 18, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Monument To Grigor Enlightener To Be Erected |url=https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/politics/news/11920/ |agency=[[PanARMENIAN.Net]] |date=January 17, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208154741/https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/politics/news/11920/ |archive-date=8 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=St. Gregory Finds a Niche at a Vatican: Pope Blesses Statue of Apostle of Armenia |url=https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2488/Re:_St._Gregory_Finds_a_Niche_ |agency=[[Zenit News Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207185111/https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2488/Re:_St._Gregory_Finds_a_Niche_ |archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> [[Pope Benedict XVI]] inaugurated the area as [[:File:Gregory the Illuminator, of Armenia courtyard, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Vatican.jpg|St. Gregory the Illuminator Courtyard]] in February 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI During the Inauguration of A Plaque of St Gregory the Illuminator in the North Courtyard of the Vatican Basilica |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080222_san-gregorio.html |website=vatican.va |publisher=[[Libreria Editrice Vaticana]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207183752/https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080222_san-gregorio.html |archive-date=7 February 2023 |date=22 February 2008}}</ref>

Church of [[San Gregorio Armeno]] is a church and a monastery in [[Naples]], [[Italy]] named after the Gregory the Illuminator

=== Anglican Communion ===
He is honored with a [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] on the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)|liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)]] on March 23.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3e7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=2019-12-01 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-234-7 |language=en}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Stgregoryilluminator.jpg|14th-century Byzantine icon of St. Gregory
File:The Right Hand of St Gregory the Illuminator.jpg|The Right Arm of Gregory in the museum of the [[Holy See of Cilicia]] in [[Antelias]], Lebanon
File:Moscow Armenian cathedral Gregory, Trdat.jpg|A relief depicting Gregory the Illuminator and [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates III]] in [[Armenian Cathedral of Moscow]]
File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (05) cropped.jpg|[[Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan]], completed in 2001, contains the remains of Gregory
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Eastern Christianity]]
* [[Gregorids]]
* [[Gregory of Narek]], similarly named saint venerated by Armenian Christians
* [[Vardapet]], Armenian preaching monks

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{sfn whitelist |CITEREFThomson1984}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Gregory the Illuminator |volume= 12 |last= Conybeare |first= Frederick Cornwallis  |author-link= 
Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare |pages=565-566 |short=1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Garsoïan |first=Nina |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1997 |isbn=0-312-10169-4 |editor-last=Hovannisian |editor-first=Richard G. |editor-link=Richard Hovannisian |volume=1 |location=New York |chapter=The Aršakuni Dynasty |author-link=Nina Garsoïan}}
* {{Cite book |last=Garsoïan |first=Nina G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSnXAAAAMAAJ |title=The Epic Histories Attributed to Pʻawstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ) |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-674-25865-7 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=1977 |title=Grigor I Lusavorichʻ |encyclopedia=[[Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran]] |location=Yerevan |url=https://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/%D4%B7%D5%BB:%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%8D%D5%B8%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A3%D5%AB%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6_(Soviet_Armenian_Encyclopedia)_3.djvu/212 |volume=3 |pages=212 |language=hy |ref={{harvid|"Grigor I Lusavorichʻ," Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia|1977}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lang |first1=David Marshall |title=Armenia, Cradle of Civilization |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=0-04-956007-7 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/armeniacradleofc0000lang |year=1970 |location=London}}
* {{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=James R. |title=Armenian and Iranian Studies |date=2004 |publisher=Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University |isbn=978-0-935411-19-5 |page=358 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yW0bAQAAIAAJ&q=gregory+the+illuminator+house+of+suren}}
* {{Cite book |last=Terian |first=Abraham |title=Patriotism and Piety in Armenian Christianity: The Early Panegyrics On Saint Gregory |date=2005 |publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press |isbn=978-0-88141-293-2}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica|volume=1|fascicle=6|pages=607-608|title=Agathangelos|year=1984|first=R. W.|last=Thomson|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/agathangelos}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=Robert W. |title=Studies in Classical Armenian Literature |publisher=Caravan Books |year=1994 |editor-last=Greppin |editor-first=John A. C. |location=Delmar, New York |pages=15–26 |chapter=Agathangelos |author-link=Robert W. Thomson |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/thomson-1980-agatangeghos}}
* {{cite book |last1=Thomson |first1=Robert W. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofarmenia0000agat |title=''Agathangelos'', History of the Armenians |publisher=SUNY |year=1976 |isbn=0-87395-323-1 |location=Albany |author1-link=Robert W. Thomson |translator-link=}}
* {{cite book |last1=Thomson |first1=Robert W. |title=''Moses Khorenatsʻi'', History of the Armenians |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1978 |isbn=0-674-39571-9 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |author1-link=Robert W. Thomson |translator-link=}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Toumanoff |first=Cyril |author-link=Cyril Toumanoff |year=1969 |title=The Third-Century Armenian Arsacids: A Chronological and Genealogical Commentary |url=https://archive.org/details/toumanoff1969arsacids |journal=Revue des études arméniennes |volume=6 |pages=233–281}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Der Nersessian |first1=Sirarpie |author1-link=Sirarpie Der Nersessian |title=Les portraits de Grégoire l'Illuminateur dans l'art byzantin [Portraits of Gregory the Illuminator in Byzantine Art] |journal=Byzantion |year=1966 |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=386–395 |jstor=44169213 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44169213 |language=fr}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mango |first1=Cyril |last2=Hawkins |first2=Ernest J. W. |author1-link=Cyril Mango |title=The Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. The Church Fathers in the North Tympanum |journal=[[Dumbarton Oaks Papers]] |year=1972 |volume=26 |pages=1–41 |doi=10.2307/1291315 |jstor=1291315 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291315|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ayvazyan |first1=Gh. V. |title=Գրիգոր Լուսավորչի պաշտամունքը Բյուզանդական կայսրությունում [The Cult of Gregory the Illuminator in the Byzantine Empire] |journal=[[Etchmiadzin (magazine)|Etchmiadzin]] |year=1984 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=40–47 |url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/268361/edition/245832/content |language=hy}}
* {{cite book |last1=Maranci |first1=Christina |authorlink1=Christina Maranci |title=The Art of Armenia: An Introduction |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-026900-5}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gregory the Illuminator}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = St Gregory the Illuminator |volume= XI | page=179 |short=1}}
* [http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/agathangelos/en/AGATHANGELOS.html ''Agathangelos: History of St. Gregory and the Conversion of Armenia'']
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Gregory, St.|year=1921 |short=x}}
* [http://www.gandzasar.com/ Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before= New creation}}
{{s-ttl|title= [[List of Catholicoi of Armenia|Catholicos of the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin and All Armenians]] | years= 288–325}}
{{s-aft|after= [[St. Aristaces I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Christian History|collapsed}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:250s births]]
[[Category:328 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Armenian people]]
[[Category:3rd-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:4th-century Armenian bishops]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Armenian hermits]]
[[Category:Armenian people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:Catholicoi of Armenia]]
[[Category:Catholicoi of Cilicia]]
[[Category:Gregorids]]
[[Category:History of Eastern Catholicism]]
[[Category:House of Suren]]
[[Category:People from Cappadocia]]