Vartan Mamigonian

Posted on February 16, 2012 by krikOrian

Vartan Mamigonian fougt and died for his Christian faith and belief and determined the fate of Armenia, here’s the story

Year451 AD. The year of the defeat of the Scourge of God, Atilla the Hun at the hands of the Romans. Place The plain of Avarayr, near the Biblical homeland of the Armenian people, Mount Ararat, the place where Noah landed in his mystical Ark. For already 150 years, Armenian was a Christian land. After the baptism of King Trdat by St Gregory the Illuminator, Armenia was able to take the title of the First Christian nation. A century and a half later, the Armenians are fighting for their very survival.
The cause was religious . Armenia had developed its own culture with great zeal and In this period, the Bible was translated into the Armenian language and Christianity flourished in the country. This period was known as the “Golden Age” of Armenian history, begun by Saint Mesrob Mashdots, who invented the Armenian alphabet

Armenians slowly drifted away from their Persian rulers. This slow loss of Persian influence in Armenian caused the Persian king to send a decree, stating that all of Armenian would be converted to Zoroastrianism.The Armenians, in a mass meeting of the clergy and ruling princes, gave a bold answer to this royal decree insisting that they had not the slightest intention of denying their Christian faith. The Persians countered this boldness with a heavy hand. They sent a huge army of some 220,000 strong to Armenia to crush the resistance and to convert the country to paganism by force.

Statue of Saint Mesrop Mashtots, founder of the Armenian alphabet

In 451 A.D. on the field of Avarayr, near Mount Ararat, a band of 66,000 semi-trained and poorly equipped Armenian fighters, under the leadership of St. Vartan Mamigonian, Vartan and his comrades suffered a military defeat, dying to the man, but in reality the victory was theirs. They lost the battle but had not lost the war. In the end, they attained the aim for which they were fighting. The Persians eventually stopped their attempt to convert the country to their religion. They realized how steadfast Armenians were in their faith and convictions. The defeat of the of the brave Armenians became a moral victory. For their extreme faith, Vartan and his companion Hayr Ghevont were both canonized into the Armenian church.

Vartanants is one of the most popular feast days for Armenians. It is filled with both religious and nationalistic symbolisms of conscience, faith, and resolve to preserve identity and freedom of religion. It is commemorated each year on the Thursday prior to Poon Paregentan and the beginning of Lent.