St. John of Orotni (Vorodn) was born in the village of Vaghantan in 1315, a period of time when the Unitors were trying strenuously to Latinize the Armenian Church and thereby undermine her national and theological identity.  St. John of Orotni worked to assure the public had a proper theological education, in order to safeguard the Armenian Church.  He was a member of the monastery of Kailitzor, where he served as an instructor.  Later he moved to the monastery of Datev.

While in Datev, he was offered the leadership role at the Archepiscopal See of the Siunik Province, but refused in order to continue his scholarly work, which included commentaries on the Gospel of John and the Pauline letters.

St. John of Otzoon served as Catholicos Hovhan between 717 and 728 A.D.  Born in the province of Dashratz in the village of Otzoon, he studied with celebrated theologians.  During the Arab rule of Armenia, he endeared himself to Arab leaders and ushered in a period of tolerance and cooperation.  Through his farsightedness, statesmanship, and piety, he secured some basic and important rights for Armenian Christians, such as religious freedom, exemption from taxes for churches, and the right to worship freely.  He also stopped forced conversion of Christians to Islam. 

As a writer, he contributed to the Book of Sharagans, and wrote many epistles and essays.  Respected for his personality, for being righteous, pious, brave, and humble, in addition to being a great statesmen and writer, St. John lived his later years as a monk in a mountain monastery.

St. John of Jerusalem was named Bishop of Jerusalem in either 388 or 390 A.D., succeeding Bishop Cyrill.  St. John was well known for his holiness and his close friendships with many early church leaders, such as St. John Christostom, St. Jerome, St. Augistine, and St. Oregen.  A bastion of orthodoxy, St. John was a strong defender of the faith against heretics.

St. Gregory of Datev (also called Krikor Datevatzi) was born in 1346 in the province of Vaiotz Tzor.  He was one of the famous students of Hovhannes Vorodnetzi and received the Holy Orders while on a pilgrimage with his mentor to Jerusalem in 1373.  Well versed in Latin, he studied all the great philosophers of the time, which led him to write the famous "Kirk Hartzmantz" ("The Book of Questions"), a work of practical theology.  He also authored two collections of sermons, the style and depth of which set a new standard for Armenian preaching. 

Though spending most of his time in the Monastery of Datev, St. Gregory did travel through the country to teach, bringing more people into monastic study.  For his tireless efforts to promote the Armenian Christian faith, he is often called the "Second Gregory the Illuminator."

Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastia

The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastia were martyred in approximately 320 AD.  They were Christians from various towns and cities of Lesser Armenia who served as soldiers in the royal regiment of Sebastia. 

Upon the decree of Roman Emperor Likianos, Lucias, Duke of Caesarea, organized interrogations to identify Christian soldiers among the regiment.  Forty of the soldiers remained steadfast in their faith, defying the judges by their brave answers, and were imprisoned.  One cold winter night the soldiers were thrown into a lake near Sebastia, to freeze to death.  

One of the 40 soldiers, unable to endure the torments, came out of the water to find salvation in a bathhouse built on the bank. The lone soldier died, deprived of both earthly and heavenly life.

At dawn, halos are seen encircling the heads of the remaining soldiers. One of the guards charged with the execution of the 40, witnessing the holy phenomenon, accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and threw himself into the lake to be martyred along with the others.  In the morning, it became apparent that through a divine miracle, the 40 soldiers have been saved from freezing.  This infuriated their captors and subsequently executed all them. 

The martyrs' remains are buried in Sebastia, where subsequently a 40-domed Cathedral was built.  The Cathedral of Sebastia stood for nearly 1,000 years, until the invasion of Tamerlane and the Mongols at the end of the 14th century.  However, the "Forty Martyrs Cathedral" name has survived to this day.