Nobody can convert us from this faith, neither the angels, nor people,
Nor swords, nor fire, nor water and nor any other severe blow…”

Archimandrite Yeghishe

Armenians are familiar with the Church being an inseparable part of the nation, especially during the catastrophic moments in our history. A brilliant example of that is the Vardanants War, the truly sacred war of the Armenians for their faith. It is not by chance that the image of St. Vardan Mamikonyan the General, the spirit of the Battle of Avarayr, his brilliant phenomenon of a hero and a martyr, as St. Nerses Shnorhali described it, is the criterion of dedication to the Nation and the Church for more than 1 and a half millennia, as well as a source of inspiration for dozens and dozens of generations of Armenians. The name of the General has been the name of one of the saints of the Armenian Church for a long time already.

On the Thursday preceding the Great Lent (this year on February 27), according to the holiday calendar of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, is the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyrs of Vardanants. On the Tuesday before that, the Armenian Church traditionally commemorates the memory of the Holy Ghevondyants, that is, St. Ghevond, Catholicos Hovsep Hoghotsmets and 7 other martyred clergymen who, after the Battle of Avarayr, were taken to Persia in chains, sent to prison and sentenced to death after much torturing.

The Arshakunyats Kingdom ended in Armenia in 428. The part of Armenia that went under the dominance of the Persians became a province, and Vasak Syuni was appointed the governor. The Persian King Haskert, Vram’s son, was very obsessed with preserving the laws of religion and wanted to convert all of the subjects living within the boundaries of his dominance into Zradasht (Zroastrianism). In 449, he issued an edict by which all subjects living within the boundaries of the dominance were obliged to be Zroastrian (worshipping fire).

In this period, the Armenian ministers led by Commander Vardan Mamikonyan and Catholicos Hovsep Hoghotsmets convene a meeting in Artashat where they write a response to Haskert: “Nobody can convert us from this faith, neither the angels, nor people, nor swords, nor fire, nor water and nor any other severe blow. All of our possessions are in your hands, and our bodies are in front of you, do whatever you please. If you leave us with our faith, we won’t accept any other ruler on this land and no other God in heaven to replace Jesus Christ, besides which there is no other God.”

This response frustrated Haskert. Ten of the great ministers were called to Tizbon where, after numerous tortures, they reject Christianity with the thought that by staying alive through falsifying and returning to the homeland, they can prepare for resistance.

Hearing the news about the ministers’ renunciation, the people stand up. In the Anggh settlement of Tsakhkotn province, vicar Ghevond, the Church’s cenobites and the people attacked the mages with stones and sticks and drove them away by beating them.

In the spring of 451, the Persian army led by Mushkan Nusalavurt enters Armenia, reaches Artaz province and places an army on the right side of Tghmut River. The Persian army had 200 soldiers, making it three times bigger than the Armenian army. On May 25, the forces prepared for the decisive battle. Vardan Mamikonyan was encouraging the unity of the ministers, the army and the almighty crowd.

“…Don’t be afraid of the pagans in high number, and let’s not turn our backs on the terrible weapons so that if the Lord grants us victory, we eliminate them and raise the truth, and if the time has come for us to die in this war, let’s accept that death happily, but let’s be brave, not cowards…

Fear is a sign of underestimation, which we have declined a long time ago. May that underestimation vanish from our thoughts…”

The clergymen baptized those who haven’t been baptized. Everyone united by the oath of the Holy Bible by which the place of gathering of the Armenians was similar to a moving Church with the Holy Basin, Bibles, Crosses, the icons of Saints and even the clergymen, starting from the Catholicos to the Psalms.

The battle began on May 26. Fighting heroically with his soldiers in Avarayr, the brave Vardan, as well as his 7 notable ministers, including Artak Paluni, Khoren Khorkhoruni, Hmayak Dimaksyan, Tatchat Gntuni, Vahan Gnuni, Arsen Entsayetsi, Garegin Srvandztyan, and their noblemen died (296 people). On the same day, the Armenian voluntary fighters fought at different sites, lost another 740 soldiers, making the total number of martyrs 1,036.

The enemy lost three times more. The traitor Vasak, who stayed alive, died in jail by the edict of the Persian king.

Clergymen who unconditionally served the Armenian Church, the faith and the sacred act of defending the homeland also participated in the Battle of Avarayr, and among them were the St. Ghevondyans.

The Ghevondyans took their name from the head of the soldiers and martyrdom, the notable Ghevond, who was one of the students of St. Sahak Partev and St. Mesrop Mashtots. The elder among the Ghevondyants was Catholicos of All Armenians St. Hovsep Hoghotsmets. One of the martyr clergymen of the Ghevondyan was Bishop Sahak Rshtunyats.

The martyrdom of the St. Ghevondyants took place three years after the martyrdom of the Vardanants, but in the Holiday Calendar the first holiday is the Ghevondyants Day, the day of those who prepared the ideology for the Vardanants War.

The symbol of Vardanants is eternal and has always been with the Armenians throughout history. The spirit of Vardanants is the guarantee of Armenians’ eternity and victories. Today, our lives are a unique Avarayr against the foreign sects and new sectarians that wish to “complete” Haskert’s edict.

But we, “We recognize the Holy Bible as our father, and the Catholike Apostolic Church as our mother, and may nobody separate us from each other by setting a barrier.” (Yeghishe).

Prepared by Hayk Karapetyan