Christianization of Armenia

The bachelor's thesis "Christianization of Armenia" focuses on the process of adopting Christianity in Armenia and places it in a broader political and religious context. Armenia historically played the role of a buffer state between the Roman and Persian Empires and accordingly suffered the domination of one or the other side. When the Sasanians took power in Persia in the 3rd century AD, the Armenian Arshak rulers began to seek protection from the sasanian religious and political pressure in the Roman Empire. Armenia is considered the country that first adopted Christianity as a state religion at the beginning of the 4th century, i.e. earlier than Rome. The process of Christianization in Armenia was a long-term and complex matter. Although Armenian written sources speak in several places of the spontaneous conversion of millions of Armenians, in reality the new religion sought its place in Armenia for at least one hundred and fifty years after the official conversion. During this period, the Armenian Church was being formed, which in order to defend its independence, linked its origin to the legendary work of the apostles Jude Thaddeus and Bartholomew on Armenian territory. However, the main wave of Christianization came with the figure of Gregory the Illuminator, who became the main...