The Armenian king Khosrov fought against the Persians for ten years and annoyed the Persian king so much that he turned to his nobles: “I swear!” I will appoint the one who delivered me from Khosrow as my co-ruler!
The cunning Anak volunteered to do this. He came to Armenia with property, wives, and children and threw himself at the feet of Khosrow: “Have mercy on us, O king, give us shelter and protection from the Persians.” And the simple-minded Khosrow not only settled him on his land, but also caressed and elevated him. Anak, waiting for an opportunity, pierced Khosrow with a sword.
The dying king ordered to give chase and exterminate the entire family of the traitor. Overtaken by the river, Anak was drowned. And only by a miracle did his son, Gregory, manage to escape. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the murder of Khosrow, the Persian king invaded Armenia and brought it under his rule. Seeking salvation, the son of the Armenian king Tiridates was forced to flee to Rome and lived there for a long time, learning the art of war.
When the Goths attacked Rome, the outcome of the upcoming battle could be decided by a duel. The Roman Caesar was supposed to oppose their leader, but he began to look for a replacement among his soldiers. “Allow me, Caesar,” Tiridates volunteered and, dressed in royal armor, fearlessly moved towards the enemy.
And so great was his strength that he lifted the Goth with his mighty hands and threw him at the feet of his master. And the Goths, struck by the mighty hero, fled, and, celebrating the victory, Caesar promised Tiridates: “I will give you legions so that you can return the throne of your father.” You will rule Armenia! And when Tiridates regained his father’s kingdom, he decided that it was the Roman gods who helped him. And he ordered them to perform a sacrifice. And now the joyful servants rushed to carry out the orders of Tiridates, and now his nobles and household members were cheerfully preparing to participate in the solemn ceremony. And only his faithful friend and adviser Grigory frowns and averts his eyes. The same son of Anak who, with his long-standing devotion to Tiridat, managed to make amends for his father’s guilt. “Why, my friend, are you not participating in our celebration?” – Tiridates asked him. “Because, lord, I cannot worship idols.” There is no God on earth except Christ! This unexpected confession seemed to Tiridates an unheard-of betrayal: “So you are a Christian?!” - he choked with anger and ordered Gregory to be hanged upside down and his mouth gagged so that no one else would hear him.
So Gregory hung for seven days and all this time he glorified Christ. “Is he still alive?!” - the king was surprised and tried to break the faith of his former friend. “You cry in vain to your God, because you will not receive any help from him.” And you invented new torments for him. They beat the saint with sticks, poisoned him with smoke, forced sulfur with salt and vinegar into his nostrils, drove nails into his soles and forced him to walk, dragged him along the ground studded with nails... And all this time, anger clouded Tiridates’ mind, not allowing him to stop. Finally, in order to completely get rid of Gregory, he ordered him to be thrown into a deep ditch filled with snakes.
But the snakes did not touch the saint, and some widow did not let him die of hunger. She came to the ditch every day and brought meager food with her. At this time, the Roman emperor Diocletian, in search of a wife, sent messengers to all corners of the empire. The Christian Hripsime, who took a vow of celibacy, was recognized as the most beautiful. Together with other nuns, she spent all her time in prayer and in conversations with mentor Gayane. A portrait was made of Hripsime and sent to Diocletian.
Struck by the beauty of the girl, the emperor immediately sent her a letter inviting her to become his wife. But could she break her vow and marry a pagan? Having secretly gathered, together with Mother Superior Gayane and other girls, Hripsime fled to the borders of Armenia. Having received news of the escape, Diocletian turns to Tiridates with a request: “The Christians seduced Hripsime, and she fled to Armenia. Find her and send her to us. If you wish, take her as your wife.
A search was launched and the fugitives were found. Hripsime truly turned out to be an unearthly beauty, and then Tiridates ordered her to be dressed in royal clothes and taken to the palace. But as soon as the guards wanted to carry out the order, a terrible deafening thunder was heard. The frightened soldiers rushed as fast as they could to Tiridates to tell them about the miraculous sign. “Pitiful cowards, they were afraid of the thunderstorm!” - the king shouted at them and sent a whole legion for Hripsime with the order to kill all her companions. Hripsime herself came out to meet them: “Don’t touch anyone, I’ll go to the king!”
Tiridates, who saw Hripsime, was immediately captivated by her and wanted to hug her. But no matter how much he approached her, she walked away from his caresses. Then the king left the chambers and sent for Gayane: “Let the old woman persuade the girl to submit to me, otherwise a cruel death awaits everyone.” Gayane came, but when she was allowed to see Hripsima, she began to persuade her not to be afraid of the king’s threats. Tiridates was informed about the “treachery of Gayane.” The abbess was seized, hit in the teeth with a stone, and then kicked out of the palace. The king himself again approached Hripsima, but, as before, was unable to take possession of it. And then rage overtook him.
And the next morning all the girls were subjected to terrible torture: they burned them with candles and cut them into pieces. And one after another, in great suffering, they went to Christ. And the last to die, especially painfully, was their mentor Gayane.
A week has passed. The king, as if nothing had happened, went hunting. And then something happened to him and his companions. Some strange, unprecedented disease suddenly attacked them. They began to growl at each other, bite, rush at people... And it seemed that nothing could be done to help them. Only at this very time does Tiridata’s sister see a dream. Some brilliant, formidable young man appears to her and says: “Tiridas will be healed if Gregory comes out of the ditch.” Waking up, the princess was perplexed for a long time: “Fourteen years have passed since Gregory was thrown into the pit, is he really still alive?”
Just in case, she sent servants for him. “Gregory, are you alive?” - they called out to the saint in the ditch. “Alive,” he answered. Pale, thin, covered with matted hair, he came into the world. With great hope they took him to Tiridates. For days now he had been roaring like a wild boar, going mad. But Gregory did not want to heal him right away. He went and first collected the remains of the innocent virgins and mourned for a long time the torment of the brides of Christ and the evil madness of their tormentors. Then he ordered the construction of a church and transferred the remains there.
Gregory brought Tiridates to the bodies of the destroyed virgins. And obedient to the will of the saint, Tiridates here asked for forgiveness for his great sin and prayed to the holy virgins for intercession. And his repentance was so sincere, and his prayer was so fervent, that healing came to him. And behind healing is lordship. And behind the lordship is faith. And behind faith is goodness. And behind goodness there is holiness. Tiridates now built temples, founded monasteries, and at the same time became so meek that people hardly recognized him as the former tormentor and tyrant. They say that towards the end of his life he became like a hermit and reached extraordinary spiritual heights.
Gregory, having received the rank of bishop, did not stop at preaching the Gospel only to the Armenians, but managed to enlighten other peoples as well. He established many Christian monasteries and only at the end of his life did he retire into the desert to spend the rest of his days in contemplation. Saints Gregory, Hripsime, Gayane, bright maidens and King Tiridates, pray to God for us!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru