Sts. Hripsime and her companions are venerated as the earliest martyrs in Armenian history. In the Monastery of Saint Paul in Rome, a community of Roman virgins lived under the leadership of Abbess Gayane. Fleeing the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (284–305 AD), they journeyed eastward, visiting the holy sites associated with the earthly life of the Savior. Passing through Edessa, they arrived in Armenia and settled near the capital, Vagharshapat, and found shelter in wine cellars.
King Trdat III of Armenia (Tiridates III, 287–330 AD) was captivated by the radiant beauty of the virgin Hripsime and desired to take her as his wife. When she steadfastly refused him, he ordered that all the virgins be put to death. That occurred in Vagharshapat in 301 AD, just a few days before Saint Gregory the Illuminator was released from imprisonment in the pit of Khor Virap.
Saint Hripsime, together with thirty-two of her faithful sisters, received the crown of martyrdom on the northeastern side of the city; Abbess Saint Gayane, with two companions, suffered martyrdom on the southern side; while Saint Mariamne, weakened by illness and unable to escape, received her martyr’s crown in the cellars.
This account comes to us through the writings of the 5th-century historian Agathangelos. Saint Gregory the Illuminator gathered the relics of these holy virgins at the sites of their martyrdom and raised three wooden chapels over the relics of the nuns. Later, during the time of St. Sahak Partev, these chapels were rebuilt and, in the 7th century, two cathedrals were erected that remain enduring witnesses to their unwavering faith to this day. The holy virgins Hripsime and Gayane are venerated in the Armenian, Greek, Russian, and Latin church traditions; they are also mentioned in the Coptic and Arab Orthodox traditions.