Early Christian monuments in Armenia

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the worldwide Armenian Church.

The oldest written information about Etchmiadzin dates back to 685-645 BC.

Some traditions point to the location of the cathedral, noting that it was built as a place of pagan worship.

Many scholars contend Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in Armenia, and it is widely believed that it is thus the oldest Christian cathedral in the world. The cathedral was designated as a part of a UNESCO World Heritage zone in 2000.

The Holy Etchmiadzin is the earliest example of a four-altar, four-pillar, domed, and cruciform church in Christian architecture.  

In the 9th century, its structure and design were spread throughout Europe through the Byzantine Empire. 

This period was marked by Armenia adopting a new, yet not very popular religion, Christianity.

For many cultural-political reasons and a desire to carve out a new Armenian identity, the country of Armenia rushed into adopting this religion as official earlier than Rome.

According to the legend Hripsime, a beautiful young nun has to flee Rome to secure herself from emperor Diocletian, whom she was forcibly married into. Abess Gayane helps her to escape. 

The place where they were all tortured and martyred was marked by the creation of these churches.

While the Gayane and Hripsime churches were named after the exact historical personas, the Shoghakat church is dedicated to the other 38 nuns remaining nameless.

Different types of central-domed churches developed in the Early Middle Ages and became widespread in Armenia during the 7th century.

This church is the perfect example of a four-apse church with intermediate niches and corner rooms. 
Its form greatly impacted the later development of the design of Armenian churches. 

In the 1970s, archaeological excavations were conducted in the adjacent areas of the church, discovering pre-Christian and early-Christian burials and a one-nave church. 

St Shoghakat Church was built later in 1694 in the place of the 4th-century chapel where the “ray of light was dropped” upon Christian Hripsime’s martyrs.