On April 1, 2017, according to the Armenian Church Calendar, the commemoration day dedicated to the memory of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the first Catholicos of All Armenians, was celebrated. The feast is dedicated to the torments which St. Gregory suffered during his imprisonment.

The feast was celebrated with pilgrimages and Divine Liturgies in the Armenian Diocese in Georgia. Early in the morning, a group of faithful of Saint Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, led by Rev. Father Husik Harityunyan, Pastor of Armenians in Bolnisi and Tetritskaro (Armenian Diocese in Georgia), made a pilgrimage to the city of Bolnisi in Kvemo Kartli region to attend the Divine Liturgy. There, the church rites are occasionally conducted in the Lutheran Church, since there is no functioning Armenian Church in Bolnisi.

More than 50 pilgrims from Tbilisi were joined by a small number of local Armenians. Rev. Father Husik Harutyunyan celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the feast dedicated to St. Gregory the Illuminator (the Commemoration of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Torments and Commitment to the Pit). On the occasion of the feast the faithful partook of Confession and took Holy Communion.

During the Divine Liturgy, Father Husik, in his sermon, emphasized the importance of church rites in bringing the local Armenian population back to the Armenian Church and uniting them around the Armenian Church, he urged the locals, following the example of Armenian faithful of Tbilisi, to remain faithful to their beliefs and the Holy Church. Rev. Father Husik Harutyunyan, in his sermon, spoke on the message of feast - the torments which St. Gregory had suffered during his 13 years imprisonment in the pit, his strong faith and willpower, his dedication and commitment to Jesus Christ.

The pilgrims returned to Tbilisi filled with the Saint’s willpower and resistance.

After spending 13 years in the pit, St. Gregory the Illuminator is freed from the dungeon and emerges to spread the Light of Christ in Armenia. He thus becomes the first pontiff of the Armenian Church, baptizes the royal family, and evangelizes the whole of the Armenian Nation. Armenia becomes the first nation in the world to officially proclaim Christianity as her state religion. St. Gregory the Illuminator is recognized by all of Christendom as a Saint, and he is commemorated in all traditional Christian Churches.