The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Aristaces I of Armenia
d. c. AD 333 · Catholicos of Armenia · Son of Gregory the Illuminator · Armenia
The Nicene Age
Who Aristaces I of Armenia was
Younger son of Gregory the Illuminator, ascetic-raised, whom his father consecrated as his successor in the Armenian catholicosate and sent to represent Armenia at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Agathangelos's History of the Armenians shows him bringing the council's canons home; a provincial governor he had rebuked had him killed.
Common questions
When did Aristaces I die?
Aristaces I of Armenia is dated d. c. AD 333 in the archive, which places Aristaces I in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Aristaces I?
Aristaces I of Armenia is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Council of Nicaea and Agathangelos. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Aristaces I from?
The archive associates Aristaces I of Armenia with Armenia.
Who were Aristaces I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Aristaces I of Armenia to 2 other figures, including Vrtanes I of Armenia and Constantine the Great. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Subscription lists of the Council of Nicaea (AD 325; working translation of the list entry)
c. AD 325[Contemporary documentary record.] Among the fathers subscribing: 'Aristakes, of Greater Armenia.'The Council of Nicaea · source text
Agathangelos, History of the Armenians 884–885 (c. AD 460; original Armenian, summarized)
c. AD 470[The Armenian national history, ~130 years after the events, relates that King Trdat and Gregory sent Aristakes to the great council at Nicaea, and that he returned bearing the canons of the 318 fathers, which Gregory received and augmented for the churches of Armenia.]Agathangelos · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Aristaces I.
- 1Armeniaprovince only