HOW ARMENIA BECAME THE FIRST CHRISTIAN COUNTRY ON EARTH

 Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. This country is located in southwestern Asia and currently has a population of about 2.9 million people. 

Since 40 AD, 2 of the 12 apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew preached in Armenia, leaving a mark on the nation. Christian communities were established following their preachings. But the event of Christianity becoming the country's official religion took place years later. This event revolved around two central figures of the Armenian history, King Tiridates lll and St. Gregory the illuminator. King Tiridates III ascended to the throne after his father, Khosrov II and mother were killed by Anak the Parthian. 

This same Anak was the father of St. Gregory and Gregory was the only survivor of the family after they were all executed for the murder of the king. Tiridates ruled well, driving enemies away and reestablishing peace within the kingdom. He forged Roman alliance and pushed Persians out of Armenia and the nation was doing very great. Meanwhile, Gregory was growing up in Capadocia where he was educated amongst Christians. He married a devout Christian called Miriam and had two sons, before leaving to lead a monastic life, hoping to evangelize Armenia and atone for the sins of his father.

When Gregory arrived in Armenia, he sought to help king Tiridates and began working as a secretary within the army. At this time, idol worshipping was still prevalent in the nation. During one pagan festival, the king ordered Gregory to make an offering to the goddess called Anahit. When he refused because of his Christian faith, his peers reported him to the king and reminded the king how Gregory was related to Annak who murdered his father. King Tiridates got infuriated and gave an order that Gregory be tortured and thrown into a pit of dungeon.

Gregory was expected to die slowly from starvation yet he survived through the visions of a Christian widow. The widow had a strange dream where she was instructed to toss a loaf of freshly baked bread into the pit. Throughout the 13 years of his imprisonment in the pit, this woman fed him with a loaf of freshly baked bread on daily basis. This kept Gregory alive.

Throughout the period of his imprisonment, Tiridates was executing Christians throughout the nation. At a point, he became mentally unstable which in turn led to full blown madness. One day, his sister had a vision in which God visited her and told her that the king's only hope to be cured relied on Gregory. She went and told the king and the king ordered that Gregory be taken out of the pit in order to cure his madness. Gregory prayed and the king was healed. From that point on, the king started helping Gregory to spread Christianity throughout Armenia. Later in 301 AD, Christianity was adopted as the country's official religion.

As of today, 94% of Armenians are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. This branch of the Orthodox church derived its faith directly from the apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew who preached in the country earlier. The religion has shaped Armenian culture so intimately