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Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the
mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...
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 ...
, located in the city dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat,
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 ...
. It is usually considered the first
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
built in
ancient Armenia Ancient Armenia refers to the history of Armenia during Classical antiquity, Antiquity. It follows Prehistoric Armenia and covers a period of approximately one thousand years, beginning at the end of the Iron Age with the events that led to the dis ...
, and often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world. The original 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 A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
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 New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...
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 A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...
(museum and room of relics) was constructed at the cathedral's east end. Today, it incorporates styles of different periods of
Armenian architecture Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenians, Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many o ...
. 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 World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
in 2000.


Setting

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). 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 high walls, made of
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
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 , 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. File:Ejmaitsin cathedral aerial 2023.jpg, An aerial view of the cathedral and the Mother See complex surrounding it from a plane File:Ejmiatsin aerial 2023-2.jpg, A closer aerial view File:Ejmiatsin plan Alishan.jpg, A map of the town of Vagharshapat ''(brown)'' and Etchmiadzin monastery ''(red)'' in the late 19th century (by Ghevont Alishan). The cathedral is marked as 1. File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral Plan.jpg, A plan of the monastery H. F. B. Lynch


History


Foundation and etymology

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 Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
Urartian stele dated to the 8th-6th centuries BC was excavated under the main altar in the 1950s. Also excavated under the altar was an amphora, which has been interpreted to have been a part of a fire temple. In his ''History of the Armenians'', Agathangelos narrates the legend of the cathedral's foundation. Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator had a divine vision descending from heaven and striking the earth with a golden hammer to show where the cathedral should be built. Later tradition associated the figure with
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, hence the name of Etchmiadzin (էջ ''ēĵ'' "descent" + մի ''mi'' "only" + -ա- ''-a-'' ( linking element) + ծին ''tsin'' "begotten"), which translates to "the Descent of the Only-Begotten " or "Descended the Only Begotten". However, the name Etchmiadzin did not come into use until the 15th century, while earlier sources call it "Cathedral of Vagharshapat." The Feast of the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin (Տոն Կաթողիկե Սբ. Էջմիածնի) is celebrated by the Armenian Church 64 days after
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
, during which a hymn, written by the 8th century Catholicos Sahak III, retelling St. Gregory's vision, is sung. Malachia Ormanian suggested that the cathedral was built in 303 within seven months because the building was not huge and probably, partially made of wood. He also argued that the foundation of the preexisting temple could have been preserved. Vahagn Grigoryan dismisses these dates as implausible and states that at least several years were needed for its construction. He cites Agathangelos, who does not mention the cathedral in an episode that took place in 306 and suggests the usage of the span of 302 to 325—the reign of Gregory the Illuminator as Catholicos as the dates of the cathedral's construction. Archaeological excavations in 1955–56 and 1959, led by Alexander Sahinian, uncovered the remains of the original fourth-century building, including two levels of pillar bases below the current ones and a narrower altar apse under the present one. Based on these findings, Sahinian asserted that the original church had been a three-naved vaulted
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
, similar to the basilicas of Tekor, Ashtarak and Aparan (Kasagh). However, other scholars, have rejected Sahinian's view. Among them, Suren Yeremian and Armen Khatchatrian held that the original church had been in the form of a rectangle with a dome supported by four pillars. Stepan Mnatsakanian suggested that the original building had been a " canopy erected on a cross lan" while Vahagn Grigoryan proposes what Mnatsakanian describes as an "extreme view," that the cathedral has been essentially in the same form as it is today.


Reconstruction and decline

According to Faustus of Byzantium, the cathedral and the city of Vagharshapat were almost completely destroyed during the invasion of
Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
King Shapur II in the 360s (circa 363). Due to Armenia's unfavorable economic conditions, the cathedral was renovated only partially by Catholicoi Nerses the Great (r. 353–373) and Sahak Parthev (r. 387–439). In 387, Armenia was partitioned between the Roman and
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
s. Etchmiadzin became part of the Persian-controlled east, under the rule of Armenian vassal kings until 428, when the Armenian Kingdom was dissolved. In 450, in an attempt to impose
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
on Armenians, Sasanian King Yazdegerd II built a fire temple inside the cathedral. The pyre of the fire temple was unearthed under the altar of the east apse during the excavations in the 1950s. By the last quarter of the fifth century the cathedral was dilapidated. According to Ghazar Parpetsi, it was rebuilt from the foundations by ''
marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱𐭰𐭠𐭭𐭯 transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱 ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the Middle Persian suffix: 𐭡𐭭𐭯 ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ...
'' (governor) of Persian Armenia Vahan Mamikonian in 483/4, when the country was relatively stable, following the struggle for religious freedom against Persia. Most researchers have concluded that, thus, the church was converted into cruciform church and mostly took its current form. The new church was very different from the original one and "consisted of quadric-apsidal hall built of dull, grey stone containing four free-standing cross-shaped pillars disdained to support a stone cupola." The new cathedral was "in the form of a square enclosing a
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
and contains two chapels, one on either side of the east apse." Although the seat of the Catholicos was transferred to Dvin sometime in the 460s–470s or 484, the cathedral never lost its significance and remained "one of the greatest shrines of the Armenian Church." The last known renovations until the 15th century were made by Catholicos Komitas in 618 (according to Sebeos) and Catholicos Nerses III (r. 640–661). In 982 the cross of the cathedral was reportedly removed by an Arab emir. Over the course of these centuries of neglect, the cathedral deteriorated to such an extent that it inspired the renowned archbishop Stepanos Orbelian to compose one of his better known poems, "Lament on Behalf of the Cathedral", in 1300. In the poem, which tells about the consequences of the Mongol and Mamluk invasions of Armenia and Cilicia, Orbelian portrays Etchmiadzin Cathedral "as a woman in mourning, contemplating her former splendor and exhorting her children to return to their homeland ..and restore its glory."


From revival to plunder

Following the fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375, the See of Sis experienced decline and disarray. The Catholicosate of Aghtamar and the locally influential Syunik bishops enhanced the importance of the region around Etchmiadzin. In 1441 a general council of several hundred religious figures met in Etchmiadzin and voted to reestablish a catholicosate there. The cathedral was restored by Catholicos Kirakos (Cyriacus) between 1441 and 1443. At that time Etchmiadzin was under the control of the Turkic Kara Koyunlu, but in 1502,
Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
gained control of parts of Armenia, including Etchmiadzin, and granted the Armenian Church some privileges. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Armenia suffered from its location between Persia and Ottoman Turkey, and the conflicts between those two empires. Concurrently with the deportation of up to 350,000 Armenians into Persia by Shah Abbas I as part of the
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
policy during the war with the Ottoman Empire, Etchmiadzin was plundered in 1604. The Shah wanted to "dispel Armenian hopes of returning to their homeland" by moving the religious center of the Armenians to Iran in order to provide Persia with a strong Armenian presence. He wanted to destroy the cathedral and have it physically transferred to the newly founded Armenian community of
New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...
near the royal capital of Isfahan. Shah Abbas offered the prospective new cathedral in New Julfa to the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
. Etchmiadzin was not moved, possibly because of the high costs. In the event, only some important stones—the altar, the stone where Jesus Christ descended according to tradition, and Armenian Church's holiest relic, the Right Arm of Gregory the Illuminator—were moved to New Julfa. They were incorporated in the local Armenian St. Georg Church when it was built in 1611. Fifteen stones from Etchmiadzin still remain at St. Georg.


17th–18th centuries

Since 1627, the cathedral underwent a major renovation under Catholicos Movses (Moses), when the dome, ceiling, roof, foundations and paving were repaired. At this time, cells for monks, a guesthouse and other structures were built around the cathedral. Additionally, a wall was built around the cathedral, making it a fort-like complex. The renovation works were interrupted by the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1635–36, during which the cathedral remained intact. The renovations resumed under Catholicos Pilippos (1632–55), who built new cells for monks and renovated the roof. During this century, belfries were added to many Armenian churches. In 1653–54, he started the construction of the belfry in the western wing of Etchmiadzin Cathedral. It was completed in 1658 by Catholicos Hakob IV Jugayetsi. Decades later, in 1682, Catholicos Yeghiazar constructed smaller bell towers with red tuff turrets on the southern, eastern, and northern wings. The renovations of Etchmiadzin continued during the 18th century. In 1720, Catholicos Astvatsatur and then, in 1777–83 Simeon I of Yerevan took actions in preserving the cathedral. In 1770, Simeon I established a publishing house near Etchmiadzin, the first in Armenia. During Simeon's reign, the monastery was completely walled and separated from the city of Vagharshapat. Catholicos Ghukas (Lucas) continued the renovations in 1784–86.


Russian takeover

The
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
gradually penetrated Transcaucasia by the early 19th century. Persia's
Erivan Khanate The Erivan Khanate (), also known as , was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most o ...
, in which Etchmiadzin was located, became an important target for the Russians. In June 1804, during the Russo-Persian War (1804–13), the Russian troops led by General Pavel Tsitsianov tried to take Etchmiadzin, but failed. A few days after the attempt, the Russians returned to Etchmiadzin, where they caught a different Persian force by surprise and routed them. Tsitsianov's forces entered Etchmiadzin, which, according to Auguste Bontems-Lefort, a contemporary French military envoy to Persia, they looted, seriously damaging the Armenian religious buildings. Shortly after, the Russians were forced to withdraw from the area as a result of the successful Persian defense of Erivan. According to Bontems-Lefort, the Russian behaviour at Etchmiadzin contrasted with that of the Persian king, who treated the local Christian population with respect. On 13 April 1827, during the Russo-Persian War (1826–28), Etchmiadzin was captured by the Russian General Ivan Paskevich's troops without fight and was formally annexed by Russia, with the Persian-controlled parts of Armenia, roughly corresponding to the territory of the modern Republic of Armenia (also known as Eastern Armenia), according to the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay. The cathedral prospered under Russian rule, despite the suspicions that the Imperial Russian government had about Etchmiadzin becoming a "possible center of the Armenian nationalist sentiment." Formally, Etchmiadzin became the religious center of the Armenians living within the Russian Empire by the 1836 statute or constitution (''polozhenie''). In 1868, Catholicos Gevorg (George) IV made the last major alteration to the cathedral by adding a
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...
(museum and room of relics) to its east end. In 1874, he established the Gevorgian Seminary, a theological school-college located on the cathedral's premises. Catholicos Markar I undertook the restoration of the interior of the cathedral in 1888.


20th century and on

In 1903, the Russian government issued an edict to confiscate the properties of the Armenian Church, including the treasures of Etchmiadzin. Russian policemen and soldiers entered and occupied the cathedral. Due to popular resistance and the personal defiance of Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian, the edict was canceled in 1905. During the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
, the cathedral of Etchmiadzin and its surrounding became a major center for Turkish Armenian refugees. At the end of 1918, there were about 70,000 refugees in the Etchmiadzin district. A hospital and an orphanage within the cathedral's grounds were established and maintained by the U.S.-based Armenian Near East Relief by 1919. In the spring of 1918 the cathedral was in danger of an attack by the Turks. Prior to the May 1918 Battle of Sardarabad, which took place just miles away from the cathedral, the civilian and military leadership of Armenia suggested Catholicos Gevorg (George) V to leave for Byurakan for security purposes, but he refused. The Armenian forces eventually repelled the Turkish offensive and set the foundations of the
First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...
.


Soviet period


Suppression

After two years of independence, Armenia was Sovietized in December 1920. During the 1921 February Uprising Etchmiadzin was briefly (until April) taken over by the nationalist
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
, which had dominated the pre-Soviet Armenian government between 1918 and 1920. In December 1923, the southern apse of the cathedral collapsed. It was restored under Toros Toramanian's supervision in what was the first case of restoration of an architectural monument in Soviet Armenia. During the
Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
and the radical state atheist policies in the late 1930s, the cathedral was a "besieged institution as the campaign was underway to eradicate religion." The repressions climaxed when Catholicos Khoren I was murdered in April 1938 by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
. In August of that year, the
Armenian Communist Party The Armenian Communist Party (, ՀԿԿ; ''Hayastani Komunistakan Kusaktsutyun'', HKK) is a communist party in Armenia. It considers itself the successor to the Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union), Armenian branch of the Communist Party of th ...
decided to close down the monastery, but the central Soviet government seemingly did not approve of such a measure. Isolated from the outside world, the cathedral barely continued to function and its administrators were reduced to some twenty people. It was reportedly the only church in Soviet Armenia not to have been seized by the Communist government. The dissident anti-Soviet Armenian diocese in the U.S. wrote that "the great cathedral became a hollow monument."


Revival

Etchmiadzin slowly recovered its religious importance during World War II. The Holy See's official magazine resumed publication in 1944, while the seminary was reopened in September 1945. In 1945 Catholicos Gevorg VI was elected after the seven-year vacancy of the position. The number of baptisms conducted at Etchmiadzin rose greatly: from 200 in 1949 to around 1,700 in 1951. Nevertheless, the cathedral's role was downplayed by the Communist official circles. "For them the ecclesiastical Echmiadzin belongs irrevocably to the past, and even if the monastery and the cathedral are occasionally the scene of impressive ceremonies including the election of a new catholicos, this has little importance from the communist point of view," Walter Kolarz wrote in 1961. Etchmiadzin revived under Catholicos Vazgen I since the Khrushchev Thaw in the mid-1950s, following Stalin's death. Archaeological excavations were held in 1955–56 and in 1959; the cathedral underwent a major renovation during this period. Wealthy diaspora benefactors, such as Calouste Gulbenkian and Alex Manoogian, financially assisted the renovation of the cathedral. Gulbenkian alone provided $400,000 ().


Independent Armenia

In 2000 Etchmiadzin underwent a renovation prior to the celebrations of the 1700th anniversary of the Christianization of Armenia in 2001. Its metal roof was replaced by stone slabs. In 2003 the 1700th anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral was celebrated by the Armenian Church. Catholicos Karekin II declared 2003 the Year of Holy Etchmiadzin. In September of that year an academic conference on the cathedral was held at the Pontifical Residence. The latest renovation of the cathedral began in 2012, with a focus on strengthening and restoring the dome and the roof. Its ceremonial reopening took place on September 29, 2024 in attendance of senior officials, including Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...
. The main benefactors, including diaspora billionaires Noubar Afeyan and Samvel Karapetyan, who had funded to the renovation were awarded by Catholicos Karekin II. The initial goal was to address the external structure, primarily repairing roof tiles, but significant issues with the cathedral's physical condition were subsequently uncovered. Critical structural elements, including columns, arches, the dome, and vaults, were found to be severely deteriorated. Restoration efforts employed high-quality materials, such as injection compounds, waterproofing agents, and mortar, most of which were imported from Italy. Additionally, the frescoes and painted surfaces, covering 2,600 square meters, were meticulously restored. Its 17th century cross, made of thin
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
sheets and in a severely deteriorated condition, was replaced with a bronze one that closely replicates its style and size.


Architecture


Style

Etchmiadzin has a
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
plan, four free-standing piers, and four projecting apses, which are semicircular on the interior and polygonal on the exterior. Its roof is mostly flat, except the conspicuous central
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
with the typically Armenian conical roof on a polygonal drum and the four small belfries on top of the apses. Although the cathedral was renovated many times through the centuries and significant additions were made in the 17th and 19th centuries, it largely retains the form of the building constructed in 483/4, especially the floor plan. The fifth-century building is the core of the cathedral, while the stone cupola, turrets, belfry, and rear extension are later additions. According to Varazdat Harutyunyan, its dome was originally wooden and was replaced with a stone one in a subsequent renovation. Portions of the northern and eastern walls of the original building have survived. Alexander Sahinian argued that Etchmiadzin holds a unique position in Armenian (and non-Armenian) architecture history because it reproduces features of different periods of
Armenian architecture Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenians, Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many o ...
. It makes the building of "immense architectural interest." Christina Maranci has argued that its many rebuildings make it "extremely difficult to analyze." In the West, its style has traditionally been described as Byzantine or linked to
Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...
.
Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli (19 February 1900 – 17 January 1975) was an Italian Archaeology, archaeologist and Art history, art historian. Biography Bianchi Bandinelli was born in Siena to Mario Bianchi Bandinelli (1859–1930) and Margheri ...
disagreed, asserting that fourth century Armenian churches, including Etchmiadzin, considerably differ from
Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
-era Byzantine architecture of Constantinople. He argued that they are local creations that borrow technical elements from the East ( Hatra,
Sarvestan Sarvestan () is a city in the Central District of Sarvestan County, Fars province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is southeast of Shiraz, the capital of Fars province. Many tropical and sub-trop ...
), but are "fundamentally Hellenistic" in their "formal structure and proportional relationships." Similarly, Hewsen suggested that the design of the core of the church is a mixture of a Zoroastrian fire temple and a mausoleum of
classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
.


Dimensions and appearance

The cathedral measures , with its dome rising approximately . Small by European standards, it is one of the largest churches of its time and one of the largest churches in Armenia. The cathedral's core is built in grey stone, while the 17th century additions in bright red. James Bryce found little distinctive about its exterior and H. F. B. Lynch did not admire its architecture. Robert Ker Porter said its architecture is "of a rude character, when compared with even the roughest styles of Gothic churches that may be seen in England." A ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' writer described it as an "austere and commanding work", while two Soviet authors described it as a "massive cube surmounted by a faceted cone on a simple cylinder." Robert H. Hewsen noted that it is "neither the largest nor the most beautiful of Armenian churches", nevertheless, "the overall impression presented by the ensemble is inspiring, and Armenians hold the building in great reverence." The rear extension, added by Catholicos Gevorg IV in 1868, was criticized by 19th century visitors for being out of harmony with the rest of the church. File:Էջմիածնի Մայր Տաճար.jpg, View of the cathedral from the south-east Etchmiadzin cathedral 2024.jpg, Etchmiadzin cathedral view in 2024 File:Echmiadzin Cathedral (view from the back).jpg, Side view File:Etchmiadzin.jpg, The bell tower File:Etchmiadzin drum.jpg, The dome


Reliefs

The exterior contains extensive decorative geometric and floral patterns as well as blind arcades and medallions depicting saints. The most significant
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s are on the northern wall, which Vahagn Grigoryan has described as the most discussed sculptures of early medieval Armenia. One depicts a standing Saint Thecla and
Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
seated on cross-legged stool. The other contains an equal-armed cross (
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
) with a series of Greek inscriptions that contain several names, including Arxia, Elpid, Daniel, Tirer, and Garikinis, none of whom have been identified. The last two are interpreted to be the Armenian names Tirayr and Garegin. The stones measure and . File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral cross relief with Greek inscriptions.png File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral cross relief.png File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral Thecla & Paul relief.png File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral Thecla & Paul.png Maranci found the inscription difficult to date. These reliefs have been tentatively dated between the first and sixth centuries. Some like Shahkhatunian and Ghevont Alishan suggested that these reliefs were created before the invention of the
Armenian alphabet The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...
, while Sirarpie Der Nersessian believed that they are from the fifth or sixth century. Grigoryan insisted that the reliefs were created in the early fourth century and were part of the original building of Gregory the Illuminator. According to Hasratyan, they are the earliest reliefs on the cathedral's walls and among the earliest examples of Christian Armenian sculpture art.


Tibetan bell

The 17th century bell tower previously housed a bell with a Tibetan
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
inscription, which was reported by foreign travelers and scholars throughout the 19th century. According to Simon Maghakyan, the bell was removed in the late 1930s by the Soviets and has disappeared without a trace. The inscription survives as a copy in an 1890 book by Ghevont Alishan: Dan Martin, a scholar of Tibet, wrote that the three-syllable mantra ''oṃ aḥ hūṃ'', repeated thrice on the bell, is ubiquitous in Secret Mantra Buddhism and is used for blessing offerings. He argued that the inscription suggests that the bell was a consecrated Buddhist object. An evidence of Armenian contacts with Buddhism, the bell, Hewsen suggested, was "probably the long-forgotten gift of some Mongol or
Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
khan." Martin proposed an alternative theory; suggesting that the bell may have originally been housed at a Buddhist temple in the area and was later salvaged and transferred to Etchmiadzin or may have been brought from
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
to Armenia by
New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...
merchants in the 17th century, around the time the bell tower was built.


Interior

Etchmiadzin's interior is extensively decorated with Persian-influenced frescoes. They depict flowers, birds,
scrollwork The scroll in art is an element of ornament (art), ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant- ...
, arabesque ornamentations. Bryce and Villari found the interior impressive, while Lynch called it "sufficiently remarkable". Porter found the interior "dark and gloomy" with the "ill-drawn, and worse-coloured" paintings and "dingy fresco" adding to the "gloom, without increasing the solemnity." Telfer described it as "gloomy, ineffective, and entirely deficient in any fascinating touches of architectural force and decoration". Bryce said it had a "certain sombre dignity, and an air of hoar antiquity about everything." Stepanos Lehatsi (Stephen of Poland) painted the belfry in 1664. The early frescoes inside the cathedral were restored in the 18th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Armenian painters created frescoes of scenes from the old testament and Armenian saints. Naghash Hovnatan painted parts of the interior between 1712 and 1721. His paintings on the dome and the painting of the Mother of God under the altar have survived to this day. Other members of the prominent
Hovnatanian The Hovnatanyan family (, ''Hovnat'anyanner'') was a prominent Armenian family of painters. They include five generations from 17th to 19th centuries. Hovnatanyans are originally from the village of Shorot, Yernjak district in Nakhichevan (now ...
family (Hakob, Harutyun and Hovnatan) created paintings throughout the 18th century. Their work was continued by the succeeding generations of the same family (Mkrtum and Hakob) in the 19th century. The wooden doors of the cathedral were carved in
Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
in 1889. The paintings were moved out of the cathedral by the order of Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian in 1891 and are now kept in various museums in Armenia, including the National Gallery of Armenia. The frescoes inside the cathedral were restored by Lydia Durnovo in 1956, and in 1981–82 by Vardges Baghdasaryan. In the 1950s, the stone floor was replaced with one of marble. File:+Mayr Ator Vagharshapat 02.jpg File:Etchmiadzin cupola.jpg, The cupola File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral dome interior.jpg, Frescoes on the dome File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral interior.jpg, The interior File:Մայր աթոռ156.JPG, The altar File:Etchmiadzin Cathedral main entrance.jpg, The main entrance


Influence


On Armenian architecture

The design of the cathedral—classified as a "four-apsed square with ciborium," and called "Etchmiadzin-type" in Armenian architectural historiography—was not common in Armenia in the early medieval period. The now-destroyed St. Theodore Church of Bagaran, dating from 624 to 631, was the only known church with a significantly similar plan and structure from that period. suggested that the type is also seen in the Mastara Church (). In the 19th century, during an architectural revival that looked back to Armenia's past, Etchmiadzin's plan was directly copied in new Armenian churches. Some notable examples from this period include the narthex of the St. Thaddeus Monastery in northern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, dating from 1811 or 1819 through 1830, and the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, dating from 1868. Its plan was also replicated in the
Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
, such as in the plans and designs of the Armenian Church of Singapore (1835) and the Armenian Church of Bucharest in Romania (1911–12).


On European architecture

Josef Strzygowski, who was the first European to thoroughly study Armenian architecture and place Armenia in the center of European architecture, suggested that several churches and chapels in Western Europe have been influenced by the cathedrals of Etchmiadzin and Bagaran due to similarities found within their plans. According to Strzygowski, some examples of churches influenced by Etchmiadzin and Bagaran are the 9th-century church of Germigny-des-Prés in France (built by Odo of Metz, an Armenian architect) and San Satiro of Milan, Italy. This view was later supported by Alexander Sahinian and Varazdat Harutyunyan. Sahinian suggested that Armenian church architecture was spread in Western Europe in the 8th–9th centuries by the Paulicians, who migrated from Armenia en mase after being suppressed by the Byzantines during the Iconoclasm period. Sahinian added many other medieval churches in Europe, such as the Palatine Chapel of Aachen in Germany, to the list of churches to have been influenced by the cathedrals of Etchmiadzin and Bagaran and by Byzantine
decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...
. According to Murad Hasratyan, Etchmiadzin's design was spread to Europe via the Eastern Roman Empire and served as a model—besides Germigny-des-Prés and San Satiro—for the Nea Ekklesia church in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and the churches of
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
in Greece.


Protection and heritage designation

The cathedral and the surrounding complex covers an area of and is property of the Armenian Apostolic Church ( Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin). Recognized as a national monument in 1983 by the Soviet Armenian government, this designation was reaffirmed by the government of Armenia in 2002. Joint councils consisting of the Ministry of Culture and the Armenian Apostolic Church are responsible for regulating its conservation, rehabilitation, and usage. In 2000 the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
added Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the churches of St. Hripsime, St. Gayane, Shoghakat and the ruined Zvartnots Cathedral to the list of
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s. The UNESCO highlights that the cathedral and churches "graphically illustrate the evolution and development of the Armenian central-domed cross-hall type of church, which exerted a profound influence on architectural and artistic development in the region."


Relics

The museum of the cathedral has numerous items on display, including manuscripts and religious objects. Among its notable exhibits are the
Holy Lance The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus (named after Longinus, Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is alleged to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his Crucifixion of Jes ...
(Spear), relics belonging to Apostles of Jesus and
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, and a fragment of Noah's Ark. Its
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...
also originally held items belonging to Athenogenes of Pedachtoë, though it is unclear if these are still within the church.


Significance

The locus of Etchmiadzin is "a sanctified soil" similar to
Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
and the
Golden Temple The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the Holy place, holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, Pakistan, ...
, for
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
, respectively. In his first encyclical (1893) as Catholicos, Mkrtich Khrimian called the cathedral the " Zion of Ararat." In 1991 Catholicos Vazgen I described the cathedral as "our Solomon's Temple." The cathedral complex has been called "Armenian
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
" as it is a major pilgrimage site for Armenians worldwide. Since the cathedral has been so important to the development of Armenians' sense of identity, a pilgrimage to Etchmiadzin is "as much as ethnic as a religious experience." Theodore Edward Dowling wrote in 1910 that Etchmiadzin and
Mount Ararat Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...
are the "two great objects of Armenian veneration." For many centuries, Etchmiadzin was the national and political center of the stateless Armenian people, with one journalist describing it as "the focal point of Armenians everywhere." Before the foundation of the
First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...
and the official designation of
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
as its capital in 1918, Western sources emphasized Etchmiadzin's political significance. A 1920 book prepared by the Historical Section of the British Foreign Office acknowledged that Etchmiadzin "was regarded as the national capital of the Armenians."


Oldest cathedral

Etchmiadzin is usually considered Armenia's first cathedral. A number of sources also hold that Etchmiadzin is the oldest cathedral in the Christendom. It has sometimes been described as Armenia's first church building, but this claim has found little support among scholars, who usually posit that the country's first church was in Ashtishat, in the Taron region. A 2020 book on the cathedral, authorized by the Armenian Church, insisted that Etchmiadzin is the first church of Christian Armenia, although earlier Christian places of worship such as
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
s or shrines existed prior. Robert W. Thomson argues that although Etchmiadzin was not the original center of the Armenian Church (which was and remained in Ashtishat until after the division of the country in 387), it had "clearly been a holy shrine" from the "earliest Christian time in Armenia." Despite its
state atheism State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into Forms of government, political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments ...
, the Soviets often promoted its antiquity. A 1982 Soviet guidebook called it the "first Christian church to be built on the territory of the Soviet Union", while travel writer Georgi Kublitsky wrote in 1984 that the cathedral is "believed by some to be the oldest extant building on Soviet territory."


Notable visitors

Early European visitors to Etchmiadzin who gave descriptions of the cathedral included Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (before 1668), Jean Chardin (1673),
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (5 June 165628 December 1708) was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants. Botanist Charles Plumier was his pupil and accompanied him on his voyages. Li ...
(c. 1700), James Morier (1810–16), Robert Ker Porter (1817–20), Friedrich Parrot (1829), Eli Smith and H. G. O. Dwight (1829), August von Haxthausen (1843), Moritz Wagner (1843), Douglas Freshfield (1869), John Buchan Telfer (1870s), James Bryce (1876), H. F. B. Lynch (1893). Many prominent individuals have visited Etchmiadzin, including Russian diplomat and playwright Alexander Griboedov (1828), Russian mystic
Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an internat ...
(1849), Russian poets Valery Bryusov and
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev (, ; – 8 January 1934), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely, was a Russian novelist, Symbolist poet, theorist and literary critic. He was a committed anthroposophist and follower of Rudolf Steiner. Hi ...
(1929), Fridtjof Nansen (1925), Glenn T. Seaborg (1971), Armenian American writer William Saroyan (1976), English composer Benjamin Britten, Indian Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
, Russian singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian-American poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky, Andrei Sakharov,
Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
, Alain Delon,
Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...
and many others. Religious leaders like Patriarch Cyril of Bulgaria (1967),
Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...
Donald Coggan (1977) and George Carey (1993), Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia (1978, 1997, 2003),
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
(2001), Bartholomew I of Constantinople (2001), Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (2002), Patriarch Kirill of Moscow (2010),
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
(2016) have visited Etchmiadzin. Francis gave a prayer at the cathedral on 24 June 2016, where he called the cathedral "a witness to the history of your people and the centre from which its spirituality radiates." Leaders of several countries, such as Russia (
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
in 2005), France (
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
in 2006 and Nicolas Sarkozy in 2011), Georgia (
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...
in 2004, Giorgi Margvelashvili in 2014), Romania ( Emil Constantinescu in 1998), Lebanon ( Michel Aoun, 2018), Germany ( Angela Merkel, 2018), and royalty, such as
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...
(1837), King Mahendra of Nepal (1958), Prince Charles (2013) have visited the cathedral as part of their state or private visits to Armenia.


Cultural depictions

The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of Russian-administered Erivan (Yerevan), approved in 1843, featured the cathedral. The '' Etchmiadzin'' monthly, the official periodical of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin founded in 1944, features the cathedral on its cover page as the logo. The Soviet Union and Armenia issued postage stamps depicting the cathedral in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
and
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, respectively. The cathedral is depicted on the obverse side of the 50,000 dram banknote (2001) of Armenia. The cathedral has been depicted in painting by Grigory Gagarin ( 1847), Panos Terlemezian ( 1903), and in books by
John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...
( 1850), August von Haxthausen ( 1854), John Ussher ( 1865), and others. The floor mosaic, created by the 20th-century Israeli artist Hava Yofe, inside the Chapel of Saint Helena at Jerusalem's
Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...
depicts the cathedral along with other major Armenian sites. A
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
of the cathedral was erected on the headquarters of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America next to the St. Vartan Cathedral in New York and silver plate depicting the cathedral is displayed at the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
in New York. In the 1991 film '' Mayrig'', directed by French-Armenian director Henri Verneuil, footage of the cathedral is shown when Azad Zakarian, the main character and a son of Armenian genocide survivors, is being questioned about his faith in a Catholic school.


References

;Notes ;Citations


Bibliography


Academic articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Published books

;Specific * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;General * * * * * * * Reprint of the 1934 ed. published by the
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Subject bar, portal1=Architecture, portal2=Christianity, commons=yes, commons-search=Etchmiadzin Cathedral, s=yes, s-search=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Echmiadzin, voy=yes, voy-search=Echmiadzin Armenian Apostolic cathedrals in Armenia Tourist attractions in Armavir Province World Heritage Sites in Armenia Church buildings with domes 4th-century churches 5th-century churches 4th-century establishments in Armenia Armenian Apostolic churches in Vagharshapat Holy Lance Noah's Ark