The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral ( hy, Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ մայր եկեղեցի, ''Surb Grigor Lusavorich mayr yekeghetsi''), also known as the Yerevan Cathedral is the largest

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 denominations ...

of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. It is located in the

Kentron District Kentron ( hy, Կենտրոն վարչական շրջան, translit=Kentron varčakan šrĵan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It comprises the downtown, the commercial centre of the city. As of the 2011 census, th ...

(''Central District'') of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the capital of

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 ''O ...

, and is one of the largest religious buildings in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

along with the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi (known as the ''Sameba Cathedral''). Adjacent to the General Andranik metro station, it is visible from many areas of Yerevan.

History

The cathedral was constructed by the initiative of

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

Vazgen I Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 3 ...

. Its construction started on April 7, 1997 with a ground blessing service conducted by Catholicos

Karekin I Karekin I (Armenian: ) (August 27, 1932 – June 29, 1999) served as the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1994 and 1999. Previously, he served as the Catholicos of Cilicia from 1983 to 1994 as Karekin II (Armenian: ). Be ...

.http://asbarez.com/42657/louise-simone-and-richard-manougian-donate-2-million-to-yerevan-cathedral-project/ Louise Simone and Richard Manougian Donate $2 Million to Yerevan Cathedral Project The church complex was designed by the architect Stepan Kurkchyan and the construction was completed in 2001. The consecration of the cathedral took place on September 23, 2001, on occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

of Armenia. The cathedral houses the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator (Classical Armenian orthography, Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, Armenian orthography reform, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios P ...

and the Holy Remains of St. Gregory that were brought from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Shortly after the consecration of the cathedral,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

paid a visit to the cathedral.

Architecture

The huge cathedral is a complex consisting of three churches: the Cathedral (Main Church) with 1700 seats and the Chapels of Saint Tiridates the King and of Saint

Ashkhen Ashkhen ( hy, Աշխէն, flourished second half of the 3rd century & first half of the 4th century) was the Queen of Armenia and a member of the Arsacid dynasty by marriage to King Tiridates III of Armenia.Dodgeon, ''The Roman Eastern Frontier a ...

the Queen (both with 150 seats). These two royal figures were the crucial helpers of St. Gregory in converting Armenia to Christianity. The belfry tower (which consists of more than 30 arches) and the court are located at the entrance of the Cathedral. Halls for receptions and church-related activities are provided on the lower floor of the Main Church. The total area of the complex is around 3,822 square meters, while the height of the cathedral from the ground to the top of the cross is 54 meters. The Main Church of the complex was built by the donation of Richard Alexander Manoogian and Louise Manoogian Simone, in the memory of their deceased father, philanthropist, entrepreneur and former

AGBU The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ� ...

President

Alex Manoogian Alexander Manoogian ( hy, Ալեք Մանուկեան; June 28, 1901 – July 10, 1996) was an Armenian-American industrial engineer, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who spent most of his career in Detroit, Michigan. He was the foun ...

and his wife Marie Manoogian. On the other hand, the construction of the two chapels of the complex was completed by the donation of Nazar and Artemis Nazarian and Kevork and Linda Kevorkian, while the belfry was erected by the donation of Eduardo Eurnekian.

Gallery

File:Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral from air, April 2019.jpg, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral from air File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (03).jpg, File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (09).jpg, The cathedral is built from orange-coloured tufa stones from Ani File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (10).jpg, File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (12).jpg, File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela (17).jpg, File:Iglesia de San Grigor Lusavorich, Ereván, Armenia, 2016-10-03, DD 05.jpg, File:2014 Erywań, Katedra św. Grzegorza Oświeciciela, w środku (01).jpg, The stone slab with an inscription in Armenian language File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church3.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church4.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Altar File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church6.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral File:Iglesia de San Grigor Lusavorich, Ereván, Armenia, 2016-10-03, DD 06.jpg, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church10.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, stained-glass window File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church11.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, stained-glass window File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church8.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, stained-glass window File:Yerevan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church9.JPG, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, stained-glass window

References

External links

About Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral

{{Yerevan landmarks Armenian Apostolic church buildings in Yerevan Churches completed in 2001 Tourist attractions in Yerevan Armenian Apostolic cathedrals in Armenia