Saint Sarkis Cathedral (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: , , (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: , ) 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 in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, completed in 1970 and named after

Saint Sarkis the Warrior Saint Sargis the General or Sergius Stratelates ( hy, Սուրբ Սարգիս Զորավար, Sourb Sargis Zoravar; died 362/3) is revered as a martyr and military saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The name Sargis (Sarkis) is the Armenian for ...

. It is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran, one of three Armenian dioceses in Iran, whose prelate is archbishop Sepuh Sargsyan.

Location

Saint Sarkis Cathedral is located at Karimkhan Zand Street, at the beginning of Nejatollahi Street (former Villa Street) in Tehran.کلیسای سرکیس مقدس تهران،کلیساهای تاریخی ایران،درگاه کویر، معماری و بناها
hurch of the Holy Sarkis of Tehran, Historical Churches of Iran, Desert Harbor, Architecture and buildings

Architecture

Saint Sarkis Cathedral, which is the largest church in Tehran, has a length of 36.5 meters and a width of 17.8 meters. It is a single-nave church built out of concrete whose exterior and interior walls as well as the floor are covered with white marble. It was originally built without interior columns with the hexagonal dome borne just by its walls, but when the danger of the dome falling down was seen, four bearing columns were added. The church has a gallery for the choir from which hymns are performed. The church has two belfries with domes on top, one on each side of the entrance hall on the western side. The bells are pulled by electric power. The belfry domes as well as the main dome are decorated with octagonal rods.Information panel at Saint Sarkis Church, Tehran
/ref> As in other Armenian churches, the half-circle altar is on the eastern side of the building. On both sides of the altar there are vestries with side entrances. The walls above the altar and its two sides are covered with paintings showing Bible themes: Saint Mary with Jesus, the Ascension of Christ into Heaven, John the Baptist baptizing Jesus and the Crucifixion of Jesus.

History

Since the completion of Holy Mother of God Church in central Tehran in 1945, the Tehran

prelacy A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

was located in the premises of that church. In the early 1960s it was decided to change the site of the prelacy offices into new location. So therefore the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and committee members of the time asked Markar Sarkisian, an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n benefactor, to help them in this cause. Since Markar died soon, his sons Gurgen and Vasgen Sarkisian financed the church project in memory of their parents. The committee bought land located at the end of Villa Street (now called Nejatollahi Street). The construction of St. Sarkis Church in

began in 1964 and was completed in 1970. The church was renovated in 2000. In 2006 Mr. Hrair Hagopian renovated the baptism pool and the church in memory of his beloved wife Vartoohi Davidian.

Armenian Genocide Memorial in Tehran

Armenian Genocide memorial in Saint Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran

In the courtyard there is an

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

memorial made of white marble. It is 3.50 meters high, and on its pedestal there are inscriptions in Persian and Armenian as well as the date 24 April 1915. The monument was unveiled on 24 April 1973, on the fifty-eighth anniversary of the Armenian genocide.Edward Harutonian. Armenian Genocide Memorial, 2014.

Bibliography

* دانشنامه ایرانیان ارمنی، نویسنده: ژانت د. لازاریان،انتشارات هیرمند، چاپ دوم:۱۳۸۸، شابک:۰-۵۰-۶۹۷۴-۹۶۴-۹۷۸ anet D. Lazarian. Encyclopedia of Iranian Armenians. Hirmand Publication, Second Edition: 2009 * کلیسای سرکیس مقدس تهران،کلیساهای تاریخی ایران،درگاه کویر، معماری و بناها hurch of the Holy Sarkis of Tehran, Historical Churches of Iran, Desert Harbor, Architecture and buildings * بنای یادبود شهیدان نژادکشی ارمنیان، نویسنده: ادوارد هاروتونیان، فصلنامه فرهنگی پیمان - شماره ۶۹ - سال هجدهم - پاییز ۱۳۹۳ dward Harutonian. Armenian Genocide Memorial. Peyman Cultural Petition - No. 69 - Eighteenth Year - Autumn 2014 * کلیساهای ارامنه ایران، مؤلف: لینا ملکمیان، چاپ دوم، زمستان۱۳۸۰ دفتر پژوهشهای فرهنگی ina Malcolmian. Churches of Armenians in Iran. Second Edition, Winter 2001, Office of Cultural Studies

References