The earliest surviving Armenian tragedy, The Martyrdom of St. Hripsime, was written in 1668 by Louis Marie Pidou, the head of the Theatine school in Lvov.

The earliest surviving Armenian tragedy, The Martyrdom of St. Hripsime, was written in 1668 by Louis Marie Pidou, the head of the Theatine school in Lvov. (The Armenian community of Lvov had accepted papal supremacy in 1635.) The play is written according to neoclassical dramatic conventions and preaches unity with Rome: in the epilogue, Hripsime's spirit promises intercession on behalf of the Armenians as long they remain faithful to the church of her homeland. Some later Armenian plays with the same theme appear to have drawn inspiration from this work.