Vartan and companions

Biography

At that time, the Roman emperor sent his cousin Vartan to Sanadruk, king of Armenia, accompanied by four high-ranking officials. They found Saint Jude at court trying unsuccessfully to convert King Sanadruk. They, however, immediately believed in the Gospel and were baptized. When Sanadruk found out he had the apostle Judas killed. Leaving the court incognito, the new Christians looked for a secluded place where they could, without danger of death, practice the evangelical counsels. They found it at the sources of the Euphrates and settled there, devoting themselves from now on only to prayer and agriculture. As the years went by, the idea came back to them that perhaps it was time to try Sanadruk's conversion again. They set out, but turned back when they learned that the Armenian monarch had promised to exterminate any Christians who fell into his hands. A great consolation awaited them on the way back. They met three Georgians who were going to visit their cousin the Queen of Armenia. Vartán baptized them and, as they expressed a religious vocation, they all returned together to the sources of the Euphrates. They lived happily there under the direction of Vartán until the day Sanadruk's son arrived with the intention of killing them for having become Christians. Along the way, they also killed Vartán and his Roman friends, accused of proselytizing in the kingdom.