Page 30 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

Long History in Brief 31

menian Church and, because of its ethnic and
cultural affinities, gradually assimilated with
the Armenians. St. Mesrob Mashdots (Mesrop
Mašdoc‘), the inventor of the Armenian alpha-
bet, also created alphabets for the Georgian
and Albanian peoples.
In his advanced age, St. Gregory went
to the mountains and dedicated himself to an
ascetic life. There are no historical records
about the last days of his life. He died in
the year 325 and was succeeded by his son,
Aristakes, who, in 333, was succeeded by
Gregory’s elder son, Vertanes, who, in turn,
was succeeded in 341 by Gregory’s grandson,
Housig. The last two descendants of St. Gre-
gory the Illuminator were Nerses the Great
(353-373), who was the grandson of Housig,
and Sahak (Sahak, 387-436), who was the son
of Nerses the Great. After the 5th Century,
celibacy was adopted by the Armenian
Church; from that time on, the catholicoi
were elected from among the celibate clergy.
St. Gregory the Illuminator (Surb Grigor
Lusaworič‘) is considered the Second Illumi-
nator, the patron saint and the first catholicos
of the Armenian Church. His rich legacy is
deeply rooted in the history and in all aspects
of the Armenian Church. His memory is
commemorated several times during the
liturgical year; the most significant feasts are
the date he entered the pit, the date he emer-
ged from the pit, and the date his relics were