Picture: Stepanos Nersisyan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Isaac of Armenia
Armenian saint
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Born
348
Died
439
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Isaac (Sahak), son of St Narses and descendant of St Gregory the Illuminator, was Catholicos of Armenia. When his divided country risked losing its faith and culture, he devised the Armenian alphabet with St Mesrop.
They translated the Bible into Armenian, giving the people Scripture and worship in their own tongue. He died in 439.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A patriarch who gave the Armenians the Bible in their own language.
Connected on this site
- St. Nerses I Saint Father, Parent
- Mesrop Mashtots Saint“He supported Mesrop Mashtots in the creation of the Armenian alphabet and personally participated in the translation of the Bible into Armenian.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Isaac the Great
- Wikidata Q172480 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Isaac of Armenia (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.