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Trdat of Armenia
King Trdat (Trdat III or Trdat IV depending on the source) was the first Christian king of Armenia.
According to legend, he at first persecuted Christians. One family was completely wiped out except for a child, Gregory (St. Gregory the Illuminator or Krikor Loosavorich). Gregory was captured by Trdat, who imprisoned him at Khor Virap for 13 years. Trdat's Christian sister urged Trdat to release him. In 301 Gregory converted Trdat to Christinaity, and the mass conversion of Armenia followed. As a result, Armenians were the first people to adopt Christianity as their official religion.
His name is also given as Tiridates.
See also
Last updated: 05-27-2005 04:59:42
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details