At the dawn of the third millennium of Christianity and in the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity, what do the saints have to teach us? Is it not through their eyes and from their stories that we begin to understand the forces and people that shaped the Armenian Church? And what does that have to do with our personal relationship to the Lord? In the pages of Profiles in Faith, you will find
• The important events and people of the conversion story
• Daily readings from the Armenian Church lectionary
• Meditations on how this impacts on life today
• Prayers
• Reflection questions
• A 40-day format good for any time, not just Lent
Introduction .......................... vii
Prologue ............................. 1
The Early Church: First and Second Centuries
St. Thaddeus ....................... 7
St. Santoukht ....................... 11
St. Bartholomew .................... 15
St. Apkar .......................... 19
St. Vosgi (Vosgeyan Priests) ............. 23
St. Sookias and Companions (Sookiasians) ... 28
The Conversion of Armenia:
Late Third and Early Fourth Centuries
St. Gregory the Enlightener
Entry into the Pit ................. 32
St. Hripsime ....................... 38
St. Gayane ......................... 42
King Drtad ........................ 46
St. Ashkhen ........................ 50
St. Khosrovitoukht ................... 54
St. Gregory the Enlightener
Deliverance from the Pit ............ 59
Feast of Holy Etchmiadzin ............. 64
Feast of Shoghagat ................... 69
St. Gregory the Enlightener
Discovery of the Relics ............. 74
Sons and Grandsons of St. Gregory ....... 79
Sts. Noone and Mane 86
The Golden Age: Late Fourth and Fifth Centuries
St. Nersess the Great ................. 90
St. Mesrob ......................... 94
St. Sahag Bartev ..................... 98
Holy Translators (Doctors) ............. 104
The Vartanantz Period: Fifth Century
St. Vartan (Vartanantz) ................ 108
Levontian Fathers.................... 114
St. Shoushan ....................... 119
Adovmyan Generals and Their Armies ..... 123
St. Stephen of Oolnia ................. 128
Seventh through Ninth Centuries
Seven Witnesses Called Vegetarians ....... 133
Feast of Holy Cross of Varak ........... 138
St. David of Tvin .................... 143
St. John of Otzoon ................... 147
St. Vahan of Koghtn ................. 152
Sts. Sahag and Hamazasp .............. 157
Eleventh through Fifteenth Centuries
St. Gregory of Nareg ................. 161
St. Nersess the Grace-filled (Shnorhali) ..... 166
St. John of Orotni (Vorodn) ............ 170
St. Gregory of Datev ................. 174
Feast of All Saints ...................... 178
Epilogue ............................. 182
