Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs ( hy, Սրբոց Նահատակաց եկեղեցի), in Gyumri, Armenia, is the cathedral of the Ordinariate for Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe of the Armenian Catholic Church. It is located on the Victory (Haghtanak) Avenue, next to the Dzitoghtsyan Museum of National Architecture. Construction began in December 2010 and was completed in 2015. The cathedral was originally to be named "Holy Cross", but changed to "Holy Martyrs" in honour of the canonized martyrs of the Armenian genocide.

Architecture

The church of the Holy Martyrs is a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

of forms derived from medieval Armenian architecture, in particular Zvartnots. It has a belfry at its entrance. The architect is Hakob Jivanyan, while the construction engineer is Hakob Baghdasaryan. The decorative sculptures are composed by Razmik Ayvazyan.

Consecration

On 24 September 2015, the cathedral was consecrated by Krikor Bedros XX Gabroyan,

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

- Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, and Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The ceremony was held as part of the commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian genocide. The cathedral is named "Holy Martyrs" in memory of victims of the Armenian genocide (in 2015 the Armenian Apostolic Church canonized them as martyrs).Armenian Church makes saints of 1.5 million genocide victims
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Papal visit

On 25 June 2016, Pope Francis, accompanied by

Karekin II, visited the cathedral.

Gallery

File:Gyumri Catholic cathedral2020.2.jpg File:Gyumri Catholic cathedral2020.jpg File:Armenian Catholic slogan.jpg, Armenian Catholic Church motto on the portal

References

External links