The Armenian Church ( ro, Biserica Armeană Sfânta Născătoare) is an

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

church located at 22 Armeană Street in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. It is known for certain that the church was restored in 1803. The inscription found on an old brick in the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

, which includes the date 1395, has given rise to much commentary that has not shed light on the building's prior existence. The Armenian community used neither the Julian nor the Gregorian dating system at the time, and neither did the Romanians, leading to the conclusion that the inscription is a later forgery. However, it is true that Armenians built a church in Iași, dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, in the 14th century. It appears to have existed in 1583-1586, when it drew the attention of a foreign visitor. According to tradition, the neighboring Saint Sabbas Church was built on the site of an Armenian church taken by the Romanian Orthodox. A second Armenian church, dedicated to Saint Gregory the Great, burned in 1827. There is evidence that

Princes A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some Euro ...

Mihai Racoviță Mihai or Mihail Racoviță (c. 1660 – July 1744) was a Prince of Moldavia on three separate occasions (September 1703 – February 23, 1705; July 31, 1707 – October 28, 1709; January 5, 1716 – October 1726) and Prince of Wallachia on two oc ...

, Nicholas Mavrocordatos and Dimitrie Cantemir granted tax exemptions to the clergy of the two parishes. Around 1830-1832, an old Armenian cemetery existed behind the Vulpe Church. It was used for those who died during epidemics and could not be buried around the city churches. The church has three bells, of which two are dated. A small one has a Latin inscription from 1607, and a larger one is written in Old Church Slavonic in 1887. Repairs were carried out in 1732, 1803 (from the foundations), 1929-1932 and, following World War II bombardment, 1946. Andi Emanuel Mihalache
History
at the Iași County Cultural Office site The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, as is the neighboring Armenian atheneum, built in 1932 and now used as the parish house.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Iași
File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi15.jpg, Niche with the 1395 inscription File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi51.jpg, Entrance File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi25.jpg, Iconostasis File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi38.jpg, Choir File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi32.jpg, Madonna and Child icon File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi78.jpg, Merchant's grave File:RO , IS , Iasi , Armenian Church 38.JPG, Churchyard headstones File:Biserica armeneasca din Iasi75.jpg, Parish house

Notes

External links

Official site
{{coord, 47.16246, 27.58899, format=dms, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title Religious buildings and structures in Iași Historic monuments in Iași County Iasi Churches completed in 1803 19th-century churches in Romania