Dear Friends,

Second Sunday after Transfiguration

Yesterday was the feast of Saints Thaddeus the Apostle and Santookht the Virgin. These two were the first saints to be martyred for the faith in Armenia. The purpose for reading and reflecting on the lives of the saints is to gain inspiration and the necessary grace and inner strength to remain faithful to Christ and to live according to the teachings of His holy Gospel despite the numerous temptations that we encounter each day. The following short account comes from “Domar.”

Daughter of King Sanadrook, the Princess Santookht was converted to Christianity by the Apostle Thaddeus. When the king heard of her conversion, he tried every means possible that she might forego Christianity and return to paganism. Exhausting all possible means of persuasion, the king finally offered his daughter a choice between the crown and a sword; between martyrdom for Christ and the regal coronet. Remaining steadfast in her faith, she chose the sword, thereby becoming the first martyr saint of the Armenian Church. She is also remembered as the first witness for Christianity in Armenia as well as an apostle in that she, while learning from the Apostle Thaddeus, was instrumental in the conversion of many others.

The Apostle Thaddeus, who was martyred by decapitation at the hand of the same king a few days later, had secretly buried her remains. Both the apostle’s and the first saint’s relics were discovered by means of a divine vision near the field of Shavarshan by a monk name Girigos, some time in the 4th or early 5th century.

Through the intercession and prayers of the holy apostle Thaddeus and Virgin Santookt, may the Lord receive our prayers and save us. Amen.

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With prayers.
Hayr Simeon
July 22, 2007