Isaac of Armenia Սահակ Պարթեւ | |
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Catholicos of All Armenians | |
Born | c. 350 |
Died | c. 438 |
Venerated in | Armenian Apostolic Church Roman Catholic Church |
Feast | 8 September[1] or the Thursday after the third Sunday after Assumption (Roman Catholic Church)[2] Saturday preceding the penultimate Sunday before Lent (Armenian Apostolic Church) |
Isaac or Sahak of Armenia (c. 350 – c. 438) was the catholicos (or patriarch) of the Armenian Church from c. 387 until c. 438. He is sometimes known as Isaac the Great or Sahak the Parthian (Armenian: Սահակ Պարթեւ, Sahak Part῾ew) in reference to his father's Parthian origin. He was the last Armenian patriarch who was directly descended from Gregory the Illuminator, who converted the Kingdom of Armenia to Christianity in the early fourth century and became the first head of the Armenian Church. He supported Mesrop Mashtots in the creation of the Armenian alphabet and personally participated in the translation of the Bible into Armenian.