The Armenian Church of Iași () is an

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

church located at 22 Armeană Street in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. 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 ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

, 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 The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the '' Theotokos'' ("Mother ...

, 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 The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

. A second Armenian church, dedicated to

Saint Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

, burned in 1827. There is evidence that

Princes A prince is a Monarch, 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 ...

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 Nicholas Mavrocordatos (, ; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first Phanariot Hospodar of the Danubian Principalities, Prince of Moldavia, an ...

and

Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...

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 A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

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