GEG H ARD
M O NA S T E R Y
CAUCASUS CHURCH HISTORY By Oey Bie Lan @ Lanny Widjaja
O
19-28 December 2019
I took a tour to the Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia and learned about the history of Christianity in Armenia and Georgia.
A
RM EN I A 1.ARMENIA
Apostles of Jesus Christ - Thaddaeus (Jude) and Bartholomew evangelized Armenians in the 1st
E T C H M I A D Z I N
Century.
1.1.Khor Virap Gregory the Illuminator (257-331) was imprisoned in a dungeon under the church of Khor Virap for 13 years by King Tiridates III. Later when the king went mad, he met Gregory and converted to be a Christian. Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion in 301.
1.2.Mount Ararat At the background of Khor Virap was Mount Ararat. It is identified with “mountains of Ararat” as the resting place of Noah’s Ark in Genesis 8:4. It is the principal national symbol of Armenia and is depicted on the coat of arms of Armenia along with Noah’s Ark.
1.3.Etchmiadzin Cathedral Gregory the Illuminator built Etchmiadzin Cathedral between 301-303 over a pagan temple, symbolizing the conversion from paganism to Christianity. The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the oldest one in the world. It is currently under renovation. Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is important not only religiously, but also politically and culturally to Armenia. Roman Catholic Pope Francis visited this cathedral in 2016. 10
The GOODNEWS | April 2020
C AT H E D R A L
1.4.Geghard Monastery Gregory the Illuminator also founded Geghard Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in the 4th Century. Geghard means “the Monastery of the Spear”. It kept the spear which wounded Jesus at the Crucifixion, allegedly brought to Armenia by Apostle Thaddaeus.
1.5.Armenian Alphabet Park Mesrop Mashtos created the Armenian alphabet in 405. His main motivation is to have an Armenian Bible. Armenian was one of the first languages into which the bible was translated in 436. Mesrop Mashtos also created the Georgian alphabet.
1.6.Oriental Orthodoxy The Armenian Church upheld the Oriental Orthodox Christology position - miaphysitism.
It
differs from the Chalcedonian Definition issued at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Armenian Church officially severed ties with Rome and Constantinople in 554.
1.7.Zvartnots Cathedral We visited the ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, dedicated to Gregory the Illuminator. It was built in 643-653 during the
