Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God (), also known as the Our Lady of Seven Wounds (), is a 19th-century church in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Occupying the northern side of the

Vartanants Square Vartanants Square ( ''Vartanants Hraparak'') or Vardanants Square, is the large central town square in Gyumri, Armenia. It is bordered by Abovyan street from the west, Gai street from the north, Shahumyan street from the east and Vahan Cheraz stre ...

, the cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Shirak of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

. The church was constructed between 1873 and 1884.

Architecture

The church of the Holy Mother of God belongs to the Cruciform style of the Armenian churches with an external rectangular shape. The belfry is located at the top of the main entrance on the western side of the building. The church is topped with a large dome at the center surrounded with 2 minor domes. Unlike other Armenian churches, the altar at the Holy Mother of God is unique for its multi-iconic decoration. The church remained active during the Soviet years. After the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (), occurred on December 7 at with a surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then ...

, the two minor domes fell down and they were replaced with new ones. The fallen domes are currently placed in the church yard.

Gallery

File:Church 7 Wounds.JPG, The church along with the fallen domes File:Գյումրիի Սուրբ Յոթ Վերք եկեղեցի 28.JPG, The church as seen from the square File:Yot Verqi xorani patkerakal 01.jpg, The altar

References

External links

About Saint Astvatsatsin Church in Gyumri
{{Dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church Buildings and structures in Gyumri Churches completed in 1884 Tourist attractions in Shirak Province