Page 29 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

30 The Armenian Church

period was followed by the institutionali-
zation of Christianity. St. Gregory destroyed
the ancient pagan temples and statues of
gods and goddesses, transforming some
of them into church edifices. In order for
the Armenian Church to form deep roots,
St. Gregory selected the sons of the pagan
priests, who were familiar with the religious
life of the people, for the priesthood; he
trained them to take leadership in the Chris-
tian faith and discipline and consecrated
them as Christian priests and bishops. St.
Gregory also organized church services by
adopting St. Basil's liturgy as the basic text
for the Holy Mass, composed homilies and
prayers, and prepared spiritual and pastoral
writings. Because the people were accus-
tomed to their ancient indigenous traditions,
St. Gregory also Christianized some of the
pagan feasts, traditions, and practices.
According to historians, St. Gregory also
played a significant part in the evangeli-
zation of an important area of Asia Minor
and the Caucasus. He sent Nouneh, a mem-
ber of the Hripsimiank nuns, to Georgia and
his grandson, Grigoris, to Caucasian Albania,
where he was martyred. The Georgian Church,
which was closely related to the Armenian
Church and recognized its primacy, joined
the family of Chalcedonian churches early
in the 7th Century. The Albanian Church re-
mained under the jurisdiction of the Ar-