The Saint Gayane Church (; pronounced ''Surb Gayane yekeghetsi'') is a 7th-century

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 around the ...

church in

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Armenia, 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border ...

(Etchmiadzin), the religious center of

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 located within walking distance from the

Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the Mother church#Church as a building, mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city Dual naming, dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) and Vagharshapat, Armenia. It is #Oldest cathedral, usuall ...

of 301. St. Gayane was built by Catholicos Ezra I in the year 630. Its design has remained unchanged despite partial renovations of the dome and some ceilings in 1652. Gayane was the name of an

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

who was martyred with other nuns by

Tiridates III of Armenia Tiridates III ( – ), also known as Tiridates the Great or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from to . In the early 4th century (the traditional date is 301), Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, maki ...

in the year 301, and subsequently made a saint 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 ...

. In 2000, Saint Gayane Church was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with historical churches of Vagharshapat.UNESCO, Saint gayane
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History

Saint Gayane Church sits on the site where the aforementioned saint was martyred during the time of the conversion of Armenia to Christianity in the year 301 AD. The fifth century Armenian historian

Agathangelos Agathangelos (in , in Greek "bearer of good news", 5th century AD) is the pseudonym of the author of a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. The history attributed to Agathangelos is the main sou ...

wrote that the young and beautiful

Hripsime Hripsime (, died c. 290), also called Rhipsime, Ripsime, Ripsima, Ripsimia, Ripsimus, Arbsima or Arsema (), was a martyr of Roman origin; she and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as some of the first Christian martyrs of Armenia. Biogra ...

, who at the time was a Christian nun in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, was to be forcefully married to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. She and the abbess Gayane among other nuns fled the tyrant emperor and left to Armenia. The pagan Armenian King Trdat received a letter from Diocletian in which he described her beauty. Trdat discovered where the nuns were hiding, and fell in love with Hripsime and later Gayane. After her refusal of his advances, Hripsime was tortured and martyred at the location of Saint Hripsimé Church, while Gayane was tortured and martyred at this site where the church was later built. The remaining group of thirty-eight unnamed nuns were martyred at the location of

Shoghakat Church The Church of Shoghakat (; meaning "drop of light" because of the ray of light that came down from heaven upon Hripsime's martyrs) was erected in 1694 by Prince Aghamal Sorotetsi during the reign of Catholicos Nahabed I in the city of Vagharshapa ...

. During the time that Hripsime was being tortured, Gayane told her to "be of good cheer, and stand firm" in her faith. King Trdat was to be later converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the kingdom.

Architecture

Saint Gayane Church is a three-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

domed

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 ...

with an octagonal

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

resting on four internal pillars that divide the interior of the church into three naves. The middle sections of the side naves are elevated slightly over the corner ones and roofed with vaults across the building, forming a transversal nave. At the eastern wall of the church's interior is a semicircular

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

with a rectangular chamber at either side. Three portals lead into the interior of the building. The main portal enters through the arched portico, while two side entries are located at the north and south walls. Gayane Tympanum Fresco

The exterior of Saint Gayane differs from the interior in that it 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

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof with the drum and dome placed central to the main structure. An airy, triple-arched

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

was added to the western façade of the church in 1683 as the burial place for prominent Armenian clergymen. The gallery is made up of five distinct yet continuous

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, each being open and linked to the one adjacent. Its three central bays have vaulted ceilings and large arched openings that lead to the exterior courtyard. The two side bays are slightly lower in height and are vaulted as well. Each is surrounded by walls at three sides with small

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

windows placed on the exterior walls. Frescos of clergymen adorn niches along the interior walls of the portico while saints are depicted on the fresco of the tympanum above the main door. Six-columned

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 ...

s sit on the roof above the two end bays and may be seen from the exterior.

Burials

* Arakel Davrizhetsi * Lusine Zakaryan *

Daniel Bek-Pirumian Daniel-Bek Abisoghomi Pirumyan (; 22 November 1861 – 1922) was an Armenians, Armenian military commander who served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and in the army of the First Republic of Armenia. He was one of the commanders ...

Gallery

File:Ejmiatsin with Gayane church 2023 aerial.jpg, An aerial view of St. Gayane (lower right) and

File:Ejmiatsin aerial 2023-3.jpg, Another aerial view Church Gayane 51.JPG Building near Gayane 05.JPG Building near Gayane 03.JPG Building near Gayane 04.JPG 4.2.16 St. Gayane Church.jpg Image:Saint Gayane Church-front.JPG, Saint Gayane Church Church Gayane 16.JPG Gayane 2015 jun pic 12.JPG Church Gayane 32.JPG Gayane 2015 jun pic 09.JPG Church Gayane 27.JPG Church Gayane 19.JPG Image:Gayane Frescoes 2.JPG, Frescos of clergymen under the portico at the front of the church. Church Gayane 41.JPG Image:Gayane2.jpg, Main hall interior. Image:St Gayane 4.jpg, The apse at the eastern end of S. Gayane. Image:St Gayane 2.jpg, The interior of the drum and dome. Image:Saint Gayane Church-fragment of the building.JPG, S. Gayane fragment of the building Image:Saint Gayane Church-outdoors.JPG, S. Gayane outdoors Image:Saint Gayane Church-roof.JPG, Roof Image:Saint Gayane Church-inside.JPG, Saint Gayane Church inside Image:Saint Gayane Church-window inside.JPG, Image:Saint Gayane Church-inside 2.JPG, Image:Saint Gayane Church-inside 3.JPG, Church St. Gayane 2023.05 3.jpg, Building near church Church St. Gayane 2023.05 4.jpg

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Saint Gayane Church

Armenica.org: Church of S. Gayane

About Saint Gayane Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gayane Church 7th-century churches in Armenia Armenian Apostolic churches in Vagharshapat Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 7th century World Heritage Sites in Armenia Tourist attractions in Armavir Province 630 establishments Churches completed in the 630s