~ Looys Kreesdosee ~

Presenting the ~ Light of Christ ~ as maintained by the Apostolic Orthodox Church of Armenia

Holy Icons ~Surpabadger~ of those who first brought Christ’s Light to the Armenian people.

St. Gregory:  The Illuminator of Armenia ~AD 301~ The first Christian Nation

St. Thaddaeus the Apostle One of the "1st Illuminators" of Armenia: Martyred c. AD 50

St. Bartholomew the Apostle One of the "1st Illuminators" of Armenia: Martyred c. AD 68

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned."  -S. Madteos 4:16

Armenians have a recorded history of over three thousand years and are the bearers of an ethnic and cultural patrimony which distinguishes them as one of the most ancient, continuous people in the world.  Armenia's majestic Mount Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark rested, making our historic homeland in eastern Anatolia a 'cradle of civilization.'  But more important than these, is the fact that after two centuries of intense persecution upon those who adhered to the faith brought there by the Holy Apostles Thaddaeus and Bartholomew, Armenia became the first nation on earth to "turn to God from idols, to serve the living and true God."  This definitive conversion of the nation, in A.D. 301, was accomplished through the preaching and suffering of Saint Gregory the Illuminator who established the Holy Orthodox Church in Armenia.           Christ's Apostles, Thaddaeus and Bartholomew passed on their Apostolic Authority to their successors, the Bishops of the Armenian Church, and to it's Catholicos-Partriarch.  Often misconceived as an isolated entity, the Armenian Church actually maintains full communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches and is a part of the ecumenical one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.          Today most Armenians are sophisticated in everything except, sadly, knowledge of their faith.  Others study our Church and Tradition like an artifact in a museum or a science project in a lab.  But unless the Orthodox Faith, Liturgy, Hymns, Feasts and Fasts are internalized and actualized in our lives, it does us no good.  Orthodox Christianity must be a real part of our life,  It should impact all that we do if we are to be real Christians, i.e. followers of Jesus Christ.  Many Armenians have lost, abandoned or drifted away from the Faith which Saint Gregory once preached, embracing instead materialism, secularism and even atheism.  We need a New Illumination so that Armenians can once again turn from darkness to the light of the knowledge of God.          The early Church Father, St. Cyprian of Carthage, said, "No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the Church for his mother."  We need to rediscover, as St. Paul wrote, that the Orthodox Church is the “pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Tm 3:15).  When Saints Thaddaeus and Bartholomew evangelized our region, they established His one and only Church and Faith (cf. Eph. 4:4-6).  Saint Gregory the Illuminator in his "Teaching," proclaimed that same Holy Orthodox Faith.  Saints Sahag and Mesrob translated the writings of the Holy Orthodox Fathers to ensure the propagation of that Orthodox Faith.            Today we need to re-proclaim that same Orthodox Faith of the Fathers in order to guard the Armenian Church from the numerous errors now trying to infiltrate her.  We need a Re-Orthodoxification of our Church and a New Illumination of our people.  This web-site is meant, in some small way, to assist with that mission.

As for us, we shall glorify Him who was before the ages, worshipping the Holy Trinity and the one Godhead, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages.  Amen. -The Divine Liturgy of the Church of Armenia

The following pages of this site are for your perusal: I.  Looys Kreesdosee:  The Orthodox Church of Armenia (Homepage)         The Faith of the Apostolic Orthodox Church of Armenia         The Liturgical Tradition of the Church of Armenia         The Soorp Stepanos Deacon's Page II. The Orthodox Evangelization Mission         The Orthodox Faith and Tradition         The Holy Scriptures in the Orthodox Church         Ecumenical Links on the Orthodox and Catholic Church

The webservant, Sub-Deacon Lazarus Der-Ghazarian, serves at St. John the Baptist Armenian Orthodox Church of Southfield, Michigan. Thank you for visiting this website.

Khatchkar: Traditional Armenian Stone Carving of the Holy Cross

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This is an unofficial web-site.  The views expressed herein are those of the authors.  To the best of my knowledge they are fully in accord with authentic Orthodox Holy Tradition.  If in doubt, I invite you to contact me with your questions or concerns (St. Mt. 18:15-17).