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Etchmiadzin Cathedral
Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat, Armenia. Constructed at the turn of the fourth century, it is usually considered the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world.
The original Etchmiadzin church was built in the early fourth century—between 301 and 303 according to tradition—by Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III. It was built over a pagan temple, symbolizing the conversion from paganism to Christianity. The core of the current building was built in 483/4 by Vahan Mamikonian after the cathedral was severely damaged in a Persian invasion. From its foundation until the second half of the fifth century, Etchmiadzin was the seat of the Catholicos, the supreme head of the Armenian Church.
Although never losing its significance, the cathedral subsequently suffered centuries of virtual neglect. In 1441 it was restored as catholicosate and remains as such to this day. Since then the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church. Etchmiadzin was plundered by Shah Abbas I of Persia in 1604, when relics and stones were taken out of the cathedral to New Julfa in an effort to undermine Armenians' attachment to their land. Since then the cathedral has undergone a number of renovations. Belfries were added in the latter half of the seventeenth century and in 1868 a sacristy (museum and room of relics) was constructed at the cathedral's east end. Today, it incorporates styles of different periods of Armenian architecture. Diminished during the early Soviet period, Etchmiadzin revived again in the second half of the twentieth century, and under independent Armenia.
As the center of Armenian Christianity, Etchmiadzin has been an important location in Armenia not only religiously, but also politically and culturally. A major pilgrimage site, it is one of the most visited places in the country. Along with several important early medieval churches located nearby, the cathedral was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
The cathedral is located at the center of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in the town dually known as Vagharshapat or Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin). The seventh century churches of St. Hripsime, St. Gayane, the ruined Zvartnots Cathedral, and the 17th century Shoghakat Church are all located in the same town, within short distances from the cathedral.
For much of its history, the complex around the cathedral, which includes the residence of the Catholicos (patriarch), has been known as the Monastery of Etchmiadzin (Էջմիածնի վանք). It was formerly surrounded by 30 ft (9.1 m) high walls, made of brick or cob, and had eight circular towers (turrets). Its external appearance led 19th century visitors to widely compare it to a fortress. The walled monastery, a vast quadrangular enclosure, could have been accessed through four gates.
The cathedral stood—and continues to stand—at the center of a courtyard (a quadrangle), which by Lynch's measurements in the 1890s, was 349 ft 6 in × 335 ft 2 in (106.53 m × 102.16 m), making it larger than the Trinity Great Court in Cambridge, England. He suggested that it may have been at the time the largest quadrangle in the world.
In the early fourth century the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tiridates III, become the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Armenian church tradition places the cathedral's foundation between 301 and 303. It was built near the royal palace in what was then the Armenian capital of Vagharshapat, on the site of a pagan temple, which was dated by Alexander Sahinian to the Urartian period. Although no historical sources point to a pre-Christian place of worship in its place, a granite Urartian stele dated to the 8th-6th centuries BC was excavated under the main altar in the 1950s suggesting the existence of a temple. Also excavated under the altar was an amphora, which has been interpreted to have been a part of a fire temple.
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Etchmiadzin Cathedral
Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat, Armenia. Constructed at the turn of the fourth century, it is usually considered the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world.
The original Etchmiadzin church was built in the early fourth century—between 301 and 303 according to tradition—by Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III. It was built over a pagan temple, symbolizing the conversion from paganism to Christianity. The core of the current building was built in 483/4 by Vahan Mamikonian after the cathedral was severely damaged in a Persian invasion. From its foundation until the second half of the fifth century, Etchmiadzin was the seat of the Catholicos, the supreme head of the Armenian Church.
Although never losing its significance, the cathedral subsequently suffered centuries of virtual neglect. In 1441 it was restored as catholicosate and remains as such to this day. Since then the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church. Etchmiadzin was plundered by Shah Abbas I of Persia in 1604, when relics and stones were taken out of the cathedral to New Julfa in an effort to undermine Armenians' attachment to their land. Since then the cathedral has undergone a number of renovations. Belfries were added in the latter half of the seventeenth century and in 1868 a sacristy (museum and room of relics) was constructed at the cathedral's east end. Today, it incorporates styles of different periods of Armenian architecture. Diminished during the early Soviet period, Etchmiadzin revived again in the second half of the twentieth century, and under independent Armenia.
As the center of Armenian Christianity, Etchmiadzin has been an important location in Armenia not only religiously, but also politically and culturally. A major pilgrimage site, it is one of the most visited places in the country. Along with several important early medieval churches located nearby, the cathedral was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
The cathedral is located at the center of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in the town dually known as Vagharshapat or Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin). The seventh century churches of St. Hripsime, St. Gayane, the ruined Zvartnots Cathedral, and the 17th century Shoghakat Church are all located in the same town, within short distances from the cathedral.
For much of its history, the complex around the cathedral, which includes the residence of the Catholicos (patriarch), has been known as the Monastery of Etchmiadzin (Էջմիածնի վանք). It was formerly surrounded by 30 ft (9.1 m) high walls, made of brick or cob, and had eight circular towers (turrets). Its external appearance led 19th century visitors to widely compare it to a fortress. The walled monastery, a vast quadrangular enclosure, could have been accessed through four gates.
The cathedral stood—and continues to stand—at the center of a courtyard (a quadrangle), which by Lynch's measurements in the 1890s, was 349 ft 6 in × 335 ft 2 in (106.53 m × 102.16 m), making it larger than the Trinity Great Court in Cambridge, England. He suggested that it may have been at the time the largest quadrangle in the world.
In the early fourth century the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tiridates III, become the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Armenian church tradition places the cathedral's foundation between 301 and 303. It was built near the royal palace in what was then the Armenian capital of Vagharshapat, on the site of a pagan temple, which was dated by Alexander Sahinian to the Urartian period. Although no historical sources point to a pre-Christian place of worship in its place, a granite Urartian stele dated to the 8th-6th centuries BC was excavated under the main altar in the 1950s suggesting the existence of a temple. Also excavated under the altar was an amphora, which has been interpreted to have been a part of a fire temple.