(c) Mah=death, mi=no or not, ah=fear. Death in Armenian meant no fear. Shows belief in the hereafter.

[37] A sample of the polytheistic Babylonian’s prayer:

“May the god whom I know not be appeased!
May the goddess whom I know not be appeased!
May both the god I know and the god I know not be appeased!”

IV.
THE CONVERSION OF THE ARMENIANS

Hardly will it be necessary to turn the attention of the reader to the condition of the world, especially in western Asia, at the time of Christ’s Advent. Sabeism or Sabianism of Ancient Babylonia had not quite expired yet, though her votaries, in despair, were getting ready to give her a magnificent burial. In vain had the Assyrians tried to resuscitate her (fancying that the number of gods was not sufficient to keep Sabeism alive), by raising some imaginary powers into the dignity of deities. The Persians thought Zoroastrianism a plausible hypothesis to account for the constant conflict of the good and evil in the world by assuming Ormazd the supreme good god and Ahriman the evil being, but they were conscious of its insufficiency and following the example of the Assyrians and Babylonians, they adopted other gods and a goddess, too. Yet these additions, instead of improving the faith of Zoroaster corrupted it with the impurities of immorality. The Grecian invasion of western Asia was the means of introducing there a gross polytheism which increased the darkness of the moral and religious condition of the East. The noble religion of the patriarchs and the prophets had fallen into a ritualistic literalism in the hands of the Pharisees; and in the hand of skeptical Saducees it had become an object of incredulity. In one word, the world was lying in wickedness, enveloped in the darkest clouds of idolatry, superstitions and sin.

Then it was that the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in His wings and chased away the darkness which had enveloped the whole world. Christ’s fame had already spread far and nigh and reached the ear of the Armenian Prince of Edessa, and it had revived in his heart hopes of recovery from an incurable disease. Therefore sent he for Christ, according to the tradition of the entire Christian Church. Soon after the ascension of Christ three of His apostles, Thaddeus, Bartholomew and Jude, successively and successfully preached the gospel in Armenia. Some even affirm that not only the seed of the gospel was planted there by these apostles, and they watered it by their blood—having suffered martyrdom there—but by the apostolic preaching of Gregory the Illuminator, the churches which they organized survived all manner of persecution till the final conquest of Christianity over Armenia.

The following is from the pen of H. B. Tristram, D.D., LL.D., F.R.S., canon of Durham, England, writing on the subject: “There were certain Greeks.”[38] “It is a very early tradition, and the pretended letter of Abgarus, and the reply of Jesus, are recorded by Eusebius, and were accepted in his time. He professes to have obtained them from the archives of Edessa. The Armenians identify the messengers with their nationality and claim that Abgarus was King of Armenia. But, though all historical critics agree in pronouncing the letters apocryphal, there is less reason for rejecting the tradition that Thaddæus, soon after the dispersion of the disciples from Jerusalem, carried the gospel into Armenia. We know that when Gregory the Illuminator, who was born A.D. 257, proclaimed the message throughout Armenia, he found Christians everywhere, and a church which though sorely persecuted and oppressed, had existed from apostolic times. He was, in fact, rather the restorer than the founder of the Armenian church, which became the Church of the whole nation half a century before the cross was emblazoned on the standard of Rome. The Armenians may justly claim to be the oldest Christian nation in the world.”

Though Christianity was first introduced into Armenia by the Apostles, who laid the foundation of the ennobling, regenerating, purifying religion of Christ so early as in the middle of the first century of the Christian era, yet the completion of that work and the demolition of heathenism were reserved for St. Gregory.

Prince Anak, Gregory’s father, was of the royal family of Arsacidae of Parthia, whose reign was overthrown by Artaxerxes, the founder of the Sassanian dynasty of Persia. But the Armenian branch of Arsacidae was still in full vigor in the person of Chosroves I, the King of Armenia, who had tried to restore the seized scepter of power to the deprived royal family of Parthia from the revolter, Artaxerxes, the Persian. The latter could not be secure on his throne, so long as Chosroves was the ruler of Armenia. So he attempted to reduce Armenia. But, failing to do this, by force of arms, he resorted to treachery. Anak, who was related to Chosroves, was induced by Artaxerxes, with promises of large reward, to play the part of an assassin. It was so arranged that Anak would be driven out of Persia as a person dangerous to the safety of the newly established sovereignty there because he was a member of the Arsacide dynasty. “Anak, with his wife, his children, his brother, and a train of attendants, pretended to take refuge in Armenia from the threatened vengeance of his sovereign, who caused his troops to pursue him, as a rebel and deserter, to the very borders of Armenia.”[39] Anak was received by Chosroves, who listened to his story with great credulity and sympathy. With the first opportunity, Anak committed the crime of assassination of the king, but the latter lived long enough to request the complete destruction of the assassin and his family. Anak had no time to effect his escape and being seized, he and his brother received the due punishment of their crime. His son, Gregory, however, who was only an infant, was saved by the faithfulness of his nurse, who took the child and escaped into the city of Cæsarea, Cappadocia, where he was brought up in a Christian family, with a thorough Christian education.

On the other hand, Artaxerxes attained his object without paying for it, and, hearing of the condition of affairs in Armenia, he immediately hastened thither with his army and took the people by surprise. He doomed the royal family of Arsacidae to death, so as not to leave any to rival him for the throne. However, Tiridates, the son of Chosroves, escaped into the Roman province of Armenia, and thence to Rome, where he received a military training. His sister was hid in the stronghold of Ani.