Mount Ararat with the historic Khor Virap monastery visible at center-left

First Christian Nation

Around 301 AD a group of around 37 Christian women — nuns living in Rome under their abbess Gayane — fled westward to escape persecution by Emperor Diocletian. Among them was Hripsime, a noblewoman whose refusal to marry the emperor had triggered their flight. They reached the Armenian capital Vagharshapat and took shelter in an abandoned wine press.

Source

Illuminate
Armenia

Around 301 AD a group of around 37 Christian women — nuns living in Rome under their abbess Gayane — fled westward to escape persecution by Emperor Diocletian. Among them was Hripsime, a noblewoman whose refusal to marry the emperor had triggered their flight. They reached the Armenian capital Vagharshapat and took shelter in an abandoned wine press. 

428First Christian Nation