Hripsimē

d. c. AD 300/301 (martyr) · Consecrated virgin · Martyr · Vagharshapat, Armenia

The Ante-Nicene Church

Who Hripsimē was

A Roman-born consecrated virgin who fled east with her company to escape a forced imperial marriage and was martyred at Vagharshapat on King Trdat’s order when she refused him too. Agathangelos makes her death the hinge of the whole Armenian conversion: it is the sin for which Trdat is struck down, and the sin Gregory is brought out of the pit to heal. The cathedral raised over her grave still stands. Her company is counted at 33, 35, 37 and 38 across the different recensions of the History — the archive records the variation rather than choosing a number, and the companions themselves are never individually named.

Verified single attestation

Named in the fifth-century Armenian sources only — late attestation for a fourth-century figure, on the same footing as Gregory, Trdat and Nerses in this archive.

Also listed in martyrs and women.

Common questions

When did Hripsimē die?

Hripsimē is dated d. c. AD 300/301 (martyr) in the archive, which places Hripsimē in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). 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 Hripsimē?

Hripsimē is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Agathangelos. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Hripsimē from?

The archive associates Hripsimē with Vagharshapat, Armenia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Hripsimē’s contemporaries?

The archive links Hripsimē to 4 other figures, including Gayanē, King Tiridates III of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator and Xosroviduxt. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Primary-source mentions (1)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

History of the Armenians §§137–210 — composed mid-fifth century, a century and a half after the events it narrates

c. AD 470

[Hripsimē and her company flee to Armenia; the king demands her, is refused, and has the women killed. The account is the core of the Armenian conversion narrative.]

Agathangelos · History of the Armenians §§137–210 · source text