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65-475: Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia . Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation . A chapel

130-493: A Christian named David. He had two children with Mariam: Aristaces and Vrtanes , who would later succeed Gregory as patriarchs of Armenia. After the birth of their sons, Mariam and Gregory separated, and Gregory went to Armenia to enter the service of King Tiridates III , son of the assassinated king Khosrov II. After Gregory refused to sacrifice to the goddess Anahit , the king had Gregory imprisoned and subjected to many tortures. Once Tiridates discovered that Gregory

195-607: A beautiful girl, and sent agents to search for the most beautiful woman. They found a girl named Rhipsime in Rome, who was under the tutelage of Abbess Gayane in a Christian nunnery. When Rhipsime heard about the king's marriage proposal, she fled to Armenia to avoid the marriage. A search was launched to locate the girl and punish the people who had helped her escape, and eventually Tiridates located Rhipsime and forcibly brought her to his palace. After unsuccessfully trying to woo her, he ordered that she be dragged into his presence by putting

260-431: A collar around her neck in hopes to persuade Rhipsime to agree to marry him. However, what ensued was the persecution and murder of Rhipsime , Gaiane and many Christians. Tiridates went mad and is "said to have behaved like a wild boar while torments fell on his household and demons possessed the people of the city". It was then that Tiridates's sister, Khosrovidhukt, had a vision in the night, where an angel told her about

325-406: A ladder lead to a small enclosure in the pit. To the right of the altar in the dungeon is the main room. A long ladder from here descends to a large cell of fairly good size, which was Grigor Lusavorich's prison cell. The climb down the well is to a depth of 60 metres (200 ft). The pit is well lit but the climb down the metal ladder requires sturdy shoes. It is also extremely humid down the pit in

390-619: A member of the Parthian noble house of Suren . At the incitation of the Sasanian king Ardashir I , who promised to return Anak his domain as a reward, the Parthian nobleman went to Armenia and assassinated the Arsacid king of Armenia Khosrov II after gaining his confidence. Anak was then put to death by the Armenian nobles along with his entire family․ Anak's son Gregory narrowly escaped execution with

455-569: 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 , by a group of nuns escaping from the Byzantine Empire with the relics of Gregory, including his skull, arms, a femur bone, his staff, the leather straps used in his torture and the manacles that held

520-643: Is a church and a monastery in Naples , Italy named after the Gregory the Illuminator He is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 23. Rhipsime Hripsime ( Armenian : Հռիփսիմէ , died c. 290 ), also called Rhipsime , Ripsime , Ripsima , Ripsimia , Ripsimus , Arbsima or Arsema ( Ge'ez : አርሴማ ), was a martyr of Roman origin; she and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as some of

585-565: 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. 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. 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

650-602: 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 Aghtamar Cathedral in Lake Van . Sixteen scenes depicting Gregory's life are painted in the Church of Tigran Honents in Ani (1215), that contains the most complete painted interior of all medieval Armenian monuments. Gregory

715-530: Is depicted on the silver reliquary of Skevra (1293), the best known work of precious metal from Armenian Cilicia , along with Saint Thaddeus, and on the reliquary of the Holy Sign (1300), another significant piece of Armenian metalwork made at the Monastery of Khotakerats , along with John the Baptist. Gregory is depicted with King Trdat on the left and Hripsime on a 1448 processional banner of embroidered silk kept at

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780-573: Is one of the most venerated saints in Ethiopia. She is known as "Arsema" (አርሴማ) to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Currently there are three well known churches and monasteries named after her in Ethiopia. Among the churches, the oldest one, is found in one of the Lake Tana islands. There are many old icons in the church portraying how she was martyred by Tiridates III ( Dirtadis in Ethiopian languages) and how

845-508: Is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia. The place of imprisonment "virap nerk'in", meaning the "bottommost pit", came to be known as the "virap" or "khor (deep) virap". Khor Virap is located on a hillock in Pokr Vedi ; the village is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the main highway. Yerevan , the capital and largest city of Armenia , is 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the north. It

910-496: Is situated about 100 metres (330 ft) away from the closed Turkish-Armenian border (sealed by barbed wire fencing) and defended by Russian military establishments that guard the border zone. The monastery is surrounded by green pasture lands and vineyards within the Ararat plain and is in view of Mount Ararat . The Arax (or Aras) River flows close by, and the monastery is across from Aralık, Turkey . King Artashes I , founder of

975-527: The Artashesid dynasty , established his Armenian capital at Artashat (also known as Artaxtisata) around 180 BC. It is believed that Hannibal , the Carthaginian General who was persecuted by Rome , was also instrumental in establishing Artashat. Artashat remained the capital of the dynasty till the reign of King Khosrov III (330–339) when it was moved to Dvin . Subsequently, Artashat was destroyed by

1040-774: 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. Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the area as St. Gregory the Illuminator Courtyard in February 2008. Church of San Gregorio Armeno

1105-541: The Euphrates . In two non-Armenian versions of Agathangelos's history, Gregory also baptizes together with Tiridates the kings of Caucasian Albania , Georgia and Lazica /Abkhazia. He founded schools for the Christian education of children, where the languages of instruction were Greek and Syriac . He established the ecclesiastical structure of Armenia, appointing as bishops some of the children of pagan priests. Gregory

1170-529: The Georgian Orthodox Church . Another version of the Saint's Acts indicates that, upon discovering Hripsime's whereabouts, Diocletian sent a letter to Tiridates insisting that he either send her back or take her for himself. The king's servants found her among her companions, the nuns , and urged her to follow his wishes. She responded that she could not marry as she was betrothed to Jesus Christ , as were

1235-744: The Pammakaristos Church in Constantinople (14th century). 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. In the 8th century, the iconoclast decrees in Greece caused

1300-548: The 7th century around the famous pit, was of white limestone. Though plain in appearance, a monastery was built around a large enclosure that surrounds the ruins of the old chapel. This church, known as the Church of the Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatzatzin), has a twelve-sided tholobate and dome and is dedicated to S. Astvatsatsin. The altar pulpit is well decorated. Though most Armenian churches have an east–west orientation, placing

1365-539: The Armenian Church is sometimes called lusavorchʻakan ("of the Illuminator") or Gregorian. In the Armenian tradition, the standard version of the life of Gregory the Illuminator derives from the fifth-century hagiographic history attributed to Agathangelos . According to Agathangelos's account, Gregory was the son of the Parthian nobleman Anak ; the later Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi identifies Anak as

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1430-456: 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 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

1495-541: The Council of Nicaea; Cyril Toumanoff gives 328 as the year of Gregory's death. 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. 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 pro-Hellenic bias, trained

1560-626: The European Council (2021). [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical Armenian : Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ , reformed spelling : Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, Grigor Lusavorich ; c.  257  – c.  328 ) was the founder and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church . He converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism to Christianity in

1625-647: The Persian King Shapur II . Artashat is close to the hillock of Khor Virap. Until its chapel was built, Khor Virap was used as royal prison. When King Tiridates III ruled over Armenia, his assistant was the Christian Grigor ( Gregory ) Lusavorich who preached the Christian religion . However, Tiridates, a follower of pagan religion, was not pleased with having an advisor with a different religion, and he subjected Gregory to severe torture. When news reached

1690-808: The Treasury of Etchmiadzin. 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. 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

1755-456: The altar at the east end, St. Gevorg Chapel is oriented northwest–southeast. The pit where Gregory was imprisoned is southwest of the main church, underneath St. Gevorg Chapel which is a small basilica replete with a semicircular apse . Of the two pits inside the chapel, Grigor's is the farther one, 6 metres (20 ft) deep and 4.4 metres (14 ft) wide. The pit is approached through two unmarked holes. A small chamber, winding stairway, and

1820-457: The armed resistance of the pagan priests. Gregory then went to Caesarea with a retinue of Armenian princes and was consecrated bishop of Armenia by Leontius of Caesarea . 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. Returning to Armenia, Gregory raised churches in place of

1885-447: The atrocities committed, and saw the bodies of the martyrs who were later cremated. The king, accompanied by his court, approached Gregory, seeking forgiveness for all the sins they committed. Henceforth, Gregory started preaching Christianity to the king, his court, and his army. King Tiridates, who had embraced Christianity as his religion following the miraculous cure effected by Gregory's divine intervention, proclaimed Christianity as

1950-627: The children of pagan priests and assembled their own disciples to spread the faith through learning. 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

2015-409: 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, which is carried in processions, and the other,

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2080-400: The community was put to the sword, their bodies thrown to the beasts to be eaten. By God's Will, Tiridates and his soldiers were punished by God for their actions; the soldiers were beset by devils and began acting like wild animals, running through the forests, gnawing at themselves, and tearing their clothes. The King was then turned into a wild boar for his actions, and had to be saved by

2145-492: The cruel king was changed into a beast after killing her. There is annual pilgrimage by Ethiopian Christians to this church in January. There are also Christian songs praising her faith and martyrdom. The book entitled Gedle Arsema , meaning "Martyr of Arsema", is found almost in every spiritual bookshop throughout Ethiopia. Her story is told in the Ethiopian Synaxarium on Mäskäräm 29 (which equates to 26 or 27 September on

2210-420: The destroyed pagan temples and seized their estates and wealth for the Armenian Church and his house. 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. Gregory met King Tiridates near the town of Bagavan and baptized the Armenian king, army and people in

2275-497: 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 nobleman, Anak , who assassinated the Arsacid king of Armenia Khosrov II . The young Gregory was saved from the extermination of Anak's family and

2340-505: 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). 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 . He

2405-472: The fifth century. According to Movses Khorenatsi, Gregory sometimes came out from his hermitage and traveled around the country until Aristaces returned from the Council of Nicaea (325), after which Gregory never appeared to anyone again. He died in seclusion in the cave of Manē and was buried nearby by shepherds who did not know who he was. All of the sources indicate that Gregory's death occurred not long after

2470-569: The first Christian martyrs of Armenia . According to legend, Hripsime was possibly of noble birth. She belonged to a community of virgins in Rome, numbering 35 under the leadership of Gayane . She was known to be extremely beautiful and attracted the notice of Diocletian . To avoid his advances she, along with her community, fled the city, going first to Alexandria before settling in Vagharshapat . The varying accounts of her martyrdom diverge at this point. One story indicates that Hripsime again

2535-555: The first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion. After being released, Gregory preached the Christian faith in Armenia and erected shrines to the martyrs Gayane and Hripsime in Vagharshapat on a spot indicated to him in a vision. Vagharshapat would later become home to the mother church of Armenian Christianity and, by medieval times, called Ejmiatsin ("descent of the only-begotten") in reference to Gregory's vision. Gregory, sometimes accompanied by Tiridates, went around Armenia destroying pagan temples , defeating

2600-488: The help of Tiridates' sister 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

2665-493: The help of his nurse, whom Khorenatsi calls Sophy, sister of a Cappadocian notable named Euthalius (Ewtʻagh). Gregory was taken to Caesarea in Cappadocia , where he received a Christian upbringing. Jean-Michel Thierry described him as of " Cappadocian culture and religion " and credited him with having introduced "Greek civilization to Armenia." According to Khorenatsi, upon coming of age, Gregory married Mariam , daughter of

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2730-475: The hope they will fly to Mount Ararat. In the mid-1990s, young volunteers for the Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia, CYMA, helped renovate/restore the cathedral. Early European visitors to Khor Virap included Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (c. 1700), James Bryce (1876), and H. F. B. Lynch (1893). Recent visitors have included, among others, Pope Francis (2016) and Charles Michel , president of

2795-460: The intervention of Gregory the Illuminator . St. Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin is dedicated to Hripsime; the current structure was consecrated in 618, and contains her tomb in the catacombs beneath the building. According to legend, Christ designated the spot for the shrine by descending from heaven in a shaft of light and smiting the ground with a golden hammer until the earth shook. Some of

2860-515: The king that Gregory's father Anak the Parthian was responsible for the murder of the king's father, the king ordered that Gregory's hands and legs be tied and that he be thrown into the Khor Virap to die in the dark dungeon located in Artashat. In addition, Gregory's refusal to offer sacrifice to the goddess Anahita provoked the king to torture him and condemn him to imprisonment in the Khor Virap. He

2925-662: The metacarpus, is kept within a silver arm-shaped reliquary. 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 of the Extraordinary Form of the Catholic Church ; however, the 1962 Roman Missal and its previous editions list the feast day of "Saint Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia and Martyr" on October 1. A 5.7 m (19 ft) tall statue of Gregory in

2990-512: The northern slope of the third hill from the northeast. The anniversary of the deliverance of Gregory is also celebrated in the Illuminator's cathedral built in Yerevan . On New Year's Day, light is brought from Khor Virap as a religious celebration. In a recent event, Catholicos Garegin II climbed down the same deep prison pit where the first Catholicos Grigor had passed many agonizing years, and came out of

3055-410: The others. At this, a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "Be brave and fear not, for I am with you". Upon this, Tiridates ordered that Hripsime be tortured; her tongue was cut out, her stomach cut open, and she was blinded before being killed. Her body was then cut into pieces. Inspired by her example, Gayane and two other nuns gave themselves over to similar treatment before being beheaded. The rest of

3120-414: The pit by holding a lighted candle as symbol of the light that illuminated Armenians several centuries ago. As a pilgrimage centre, people visit Khor Virap for baptism or subsequent to a wedding to perform a matagh animal sacrifice. The monastery attracts a very large number of tourists, and there are a number of souvenir kiosks here. Of interest for visitors is the releasing of doves from Khor Virap, with

3185-455: The prisoner Gregory in the city of Artashat who could end the torments with the words "when he comes he will teach you the remedies for all your ills". People did not place much reliance on this vision, as most thought that Gregory had died within days of his being cast into the pit. But Khosrovidhukt had the same dream repeatedly, eventually threatened that if the dream's instructions were not followed, there would be dire consequences. Prince Awtay

3250-669: The reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno . Relic fragments are found at the Karakallou Monastery and Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos ; the Gregoriou Monastery claims to have the saint's skull. 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

3315-672: The restoration by the Fossati brothers . Located in the south 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. The mosaic, thought to have been destroyed in the 1894 earthquake , survives in drawing by Wilhelm Salzenberg and the Fossati brothers. Sirarpie Der Nersessian argued that his inclusion in

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3380-554: The right arm of the saint, in an arm-shaped reliquary. The catholicosates of Etchmiadzin and Cilicia use the arm relic for the blessing of the 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. Two other feast days in the Armenian Apostolic Church are devoted to St. Gregory:

3445-674: The saint's relics, along with items relating to Tiridates and Gregory the Illuminator, were pillaged by Persians during an invasion in 1604, but were restored in 1638. In the Catholic tradition, Hripsime and her companions are commemorated with a feast day of 29 September; the Orthodox Church in America commemorates them on 30 September. The Armenian Apostolic Church remembers Hripsime and her companions on 4 June; Gayane and her companions are commemorated separately, on 5 June. Saint Hripsime

3510-479: The saint. 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 in Yerevan . 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

3575-745: 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 . Gregory is depicted in two prominent Byzantine illuminated manuscripts—the Menologion of Basil II (c. 1000) and the Theodore Psalter (1066) —and in a number of Byzantine churches and monasteries, most notably Hosios Loukas (11th century), Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki (11th century), and

3640-445: The state religion of Armenia in 301 AD. Gregory became the Bishop of Caesarea and remained in service of the King until about 314 AD. Another version attributed to Tiridates's conversion to Christianity is that it was a strategic move to create national unity to checkmate the hegemony of Zoroastrian Persia and Pagan Rome , and since then, the Christian Church has acted as a strong influence in Armenia. The Nerses chapel, built in

3705-428: The summer months so be cautious and don't bring candles down as this adds to the heat. The 17th century church built around the pit is a simple structure surrounding a large courtyard which looks like a fort complex. In his 1876 book John Buchan Telfer wrote: "the old Monastery of Khorvyrab surrounded by a wall, and looking very much like some old feudal castle." Archaeological sites were excavated starting in 1970 in

3770-510: The thirteen hills (maximum height 70 metres (230 ft)) around Khor Virap and up to the valley of the river. Excavations in hills 1 and 4, and sections of hills 5, 7 and 8 and of the neck of the land between Hills 1 and 2 are in progress. Some archaeological excavations have also been carried out outside the walls of the church at the site of Artashat , the capital of the Tiridat dynasty. In addition to ancient coins and potshards, excavations have unearthed well preserved mud-brick fortifications on

3835-431: Was a more gradual process. 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 . 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 in

3900-446: Was deputed to get Gregory from Kirat Virap. He went to the pit and shouted to Gregory, saying "Gregory, if you are somewhere down there, come out. The God whom you worship has commanded that you be brought out". Gregory was brought out in a miserable state. He was taken to the king, who had gone mad "foraging among the pigs at Valarshapar", tearing his own skin. Gregory cured the king and brought him back to his senses. Gregory knew of all

3965-404: Was initially built in 642 at the site of Khor Virap by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Regular church services are held in this church. It

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4030-407: Was noticed for her beauty, this time by King Tiridates III , who proceeded to pursue her. Upon being brought before him, she refused his advances and was punished by being roasted alive. Gayane was then put to death by Tiridates' soldiers, as were all the members of her community except for Nune (or Marine), who was later a missionary in Georgia and, as Saint Nino , is praised as the founder of

4095-460: Was raised as a Christian in Caesarea of Cappadocia , then part of the Roman Empire . Gregory returned to Armenia as an adult and entered the service of King 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

4160-488: 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. In Agathangelos's history, Gregory is miraculously saved and brought out from the pit after Tiridates' sister Khosrovidukht sees a vision. Gregory then healed the king, who, Agathangelos writes, had been transformed into a wild boar for his sinful behavior. Tiridates and his court accepted Christianity, making Armenia

4225-420: Was then forgotten and the King waged wars and persecution among Christian minorities. However, Gregory did not die during his 13 years of imprisonment. His survival was attributed to a Christian widow from the local town who, under the influence of strange dream vision, regularly fed Gregory by dropping a loaf of freshly baked bread into the pit. During this period, the Roman Emperor Diocletian wanted to marry

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