Vagharshapat - Gheos Worldguide

Vagharshapat (Echmiadzin, Վաղարշապատ)

Vagharshapat is commonly known as Echmiadzin (Էջմիածին, also spelled as Etchmiadzin, Ecmiadzin, or Ejmiatsin), which was the city's name from 1945 to 1995. It was founded by King Vagarshak (117-140) on the location of the ancient settlement of Vardkesavan. Nowadays, it is one of Armenia's largest cities. It used to be the region's capital between 184 and 340 AD.

It is the place where King Tiridates III ordered to stone a Christian virgin to death in 300 AD. After that he presumably went mad, but a Christian prisoner called Gregory saved him and was subsequently promoted to the title of Gregory the Illuminator. The king converted to Christianity and most of the country did so as well.

Vagharshapat is a holy place for Armenians and well-known for its Echmiadzin Cathedral Compound, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Church.

Points of interest

The Alex and Marie Manoogian Treasury Museum opened in 1982.
The Bookstore.
The Chancellery is also known as the Divanatoon.
The Clock Tower.
Echmiadzin Memorial
Echmiadzin University
The Gate of King Trdat.
The Khrimian Museum.
The old and new Pontifical Residences.
The old Seminary building.
The Yeremian Monastic cells.

Religious buildings

Armenia's most important Orthodox cathedral is the Echmiadzin Cathedral (Էջմիածնի մայր տաճար). The cathedral is said to have been founded by Gregory in 303 AD. It is the seat of the Supreme Catholicos, the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church.
Another interesting church in Vagharshapat is the Saint Hripsimé Church, which was built in 618 on the site of an earlier chapel that marked the place where Saint Hripsimé died and that contained the remains of Saint Hripsimé. The church was renovated in the 1650s.
Saint Gayane Church was built in 630 and it is not far from the Cathedral of Echmiadzin. Its dome and ceilings were renovated in 1652.
Saint Shoghakat Church was built in 1694 near the Hripsimé Church, on top of a ruined 6th-century basilica. Its name means 'drop of light'. The remains of a small 4th-century chapel can be seen at its southwestern end.
The ruins of the Church of Saint Gregory (Tserkov Sv Grigoria) can also be seen in Vagharshapat. Originally the church was built between 641 and 661. It is said it was one of the most beautiful buildings in its time, but an earthquake destroyed it completely in the 10th century and all that remains nowadays is rubble. A model of what the church looked like in all its glory can be seen at the Armenian History Museum in Yerevan.
There are countless other churches in the city.

The Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, the Churches of Saint Hripsimé, Saint Gayane and Saint Shoghakat, as well as the archaeological site of Zvartnots are listed among the UNESCO world heritage sites.

There are numerous hotels and restaurants in Vagharshapat. The city is 20 km (12 mi) west of Yerevan.

Images

Vagharshapat ©Georgi Danielyan
Vagharshapat ©Georgi Danielyan

Saint Gayane Church ©Robert Levonyan
Saint Gayane Church ©Robert Levonyan

Vagharshapat ©Dmitry Karyshev
Vagharshapat ©Dmitry Karyshev