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 Baptism of the Armenian Nation: Saint Gregory Scott 1176-1178 (2001) Armenia and Malta vie for the title as to which ‘nation’ was first converted to Christianity. Malta's claim lies with the arrival of St. Paul, who was shipwrecked on the island in 60 A.D while on his way to Rome. Armenia traces its conversion to the work of the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus (Jude), who are believed to have introduced Christianity to the region. However, the formal conversion of Armenia dates to the year 301 AD, when St. Gregory the Illuminator baptized an Armenian king and the royal court. Christianization of the entire country followed. Armenia’s Christians are part of either the Armenian Apostolic Church (which is part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition) or the Armenian Catholic Church (which is an Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church). Some factors leading to the separation of the two churches stem from various religious controversies of 5th century church councils. Throughout history, Armenia has been over-run by various empires: Rome, Byzantium, the Mongols, and the Ottoman Turks. During World War I, Armenian Christians were persecuted by the Turks in the Massacres of 1915, often labeled genocide, during which time one million died and another million emigrated. During the communist era, Armenia was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but became a republic in 1991, enshrining the Armenian Apostolic Church as a state church in its new constitution. In addition to the stamps at the top of this article, commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the conversion of Armenia to Christendom, two other Vatican City stamp sets focus on important figures in the history of Armenian Christianity. The 1973 three stamp set below honors St. Nerses Shnorali (an Armenian bishop, theologian, poet, and writer), and the two stamp set from 2015 features St. Gregory of Narek (one of the Doctors of the Church) and Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (a martyr sacrificed during the Armenian genocide). 
 St. Nerses Shnorali: 8th Century of Death Scott 545-547 (1973)  St. Gregory of Narek & Blessed Martyr Ignatius Maloyan Scott 1595 (2015) Article Link: |
