Armenia had various names in its past - Ararat country, Ashkenazi state, Urartu. The most significant of the first references to Armenia is found in the Bible. After all, the Bible tells how Noah found salvation at Mount Ararat.
Christianity in Armenia was adopted in 301, much earlier than in the Byzantine Empire and Greece. A huge contribution to the development of Christianity in the country was made by George the Illuminator, who became the first Catholicos of all Armenians.
Apostolic church
In honor of the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, the Armenian church was named Apostolic, much later, when, after the death of St. George the Illuminator, he was canonized, the Armenian church was named after him. It began to be called the Armenian Gregorian Holy Apostolic Church.
King Trdat the Third Great became famous for the fact that before the adoption of Christianity he was a persecutor of Christians. Having been baptized, Trdat made a lot of efforts to spread Christianity throughout Armenia. By his order, all pagan shrines were destroyed and Christian temples were built in their place.
In 303, Etchmiadzin was built - the world-famous cathedral, which is currently the residence of the Catholicos of all Armenians. A synod takes place in Etchmiadzin to elect the next Catholicos. Delegates from all Russian and foreign Armenian dioceses come here.
Alphabet for the word of God
Mesrop Mashtots, who is revered by Christians as a saint, created the first and only Armenian alphabet in 404 from the Nativity of Christ, at the time of its creation it was recognized as the most modern and even then it used the classical style of writing - from left to right.
Together with his followers, Mashtots translated the Bible into Armenian, his book became known throughout the world as the “Queen of Translation” for the perfect translation of the original source.
Mashtots, fulfilling his Christian duty, created the alphabet for the Georgians and Caucasians of the Alans.
Now in Yerevan in the Mashtots Ancient Manuscripts Repository more than 20 thousand manuscripts are stored, which Mashtots himself began to collect. This collection of manuscripts is of great historical and cultural value to the peoples of the whole world.
