The Armenian Church commemorates the day when the relics of St John the Forerunner (the Baptist) and Bishop Atanagine were transferred to Armenia.
Mariam, the wife of St Gregory the Illuminator, had a brother named Atanagine. He was the Bishop of Pitacton and died while defending the faith. After his consecration in Caesarea, St Gregory brought the relics of St John and Bishop Atanagine to Armenia and buried them in locations named Innaknya and Bagavan, in the region of Ashtishat and built martyriums (shrines) at those sites.
After baptising King Tiridates and the royal court in 301 AD, St Gregory the Illuminator celebrated the Divine Liturgy and gave instructions that the memories of St John and Bishop Atanagine should be commemorated on that specific day, every year, instead of the feast of Vanatour, which was the pagan god of the New Year.
