Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/77

Rh in spite of all the difficulties and severe persecutions he suffered from the people and the king. Tiridates being very anxious to change his mind and course, shut him in a dungeon or several years, but could not prevent the rapid progress of the flame of Christianity which was already consuming the remains of the pagan ages. The most cruel thing attributed to Tiridates was his killing some maiden refugees, who, persecuted by the Roman emperor, had fled to Armenia for shelter. His remorse and shame of this guilt was so strong that he is related to have lost his mind for some time, until one night in his dream he saw the graves of the said martyrs illuminated by a bright light, and upon this vision he at once released Saint Gregore and was baptized by him with all his subordinates, and proclaimed Christianity to be the religion of his dominions. Soon churches were established and the visionary light which was believed to illumine the graves of the martyrs was spread over the country; and at the very site of that heavenly light a magnificent church was erected by the name of "Echmiadzin," the Descent of the Only Begotten, which is until this day the most sacred headquarter of the Armenian church and the seat of the highest religious authority called "Catholicos of the Whole Armenians." (276 A.D.)

Saint Gregore, the Illuminator, being consecrated Bishop of Armenia in 302 A. D., was the first Catholicos or father of that sacred seat, and uninterrupted succession is kept until this day. The present head of the Armenian church is His Holiness Mugerditch