Armenian Church Vienna

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St. Hripsime is a church in Vienna's 3rd district, Landstrasse, in the courtyard of Kolonitzgasse 11. The parish church of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria is also the seat of the diocese for Central Europe and Scandinavia , whose jurisdiction includes Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary as well as Scandinavia . The building was dedicated to the holy Hripsime (also Rhipsima).

Armenian Church of St. Hripsime in Vienna

history

Entrance portal of St. Hripsime

Armenians have lived in Vienna since the 17th century. They were members of the Armenian Catholic Church united with Rome . Believers of the Armenian Apostolic Church , which is one of the ancient oriental churches , were looked after by the Armenian community in Suceava in Bukovina within the Austrian Empire . At that time, the Armenians themselves did not consider a separate parish in Vienna to be necessary. Only when the parish in Suceava perished in the First World War, its rights were transferred to Vienna, where in 1912 a chapel of St. Salvator was set up in the attic of Dominican Bastion 10. From here not only the faithful of Austria, but also those of Germany since the Second World War, were looked after.

In 1952 the Armenian-Gregorian Church Building and Church Foundation Association was founded. In 1964 he acquired the house at Kolonitzgasse 11 with the adjoining property, on which the foundation stone for the new church was laid that same year with the help of the patron Rose Tricky, which was consecrated to the saint of the same name after the Armenian name of Rose Tricky Hripsime . The Armenian architect Eduard Sarabian from Yerevan made the plans for the church according to ancient Armenian forms, which were then implemented in Vienna by Walter Dürschmied. On April 21, 1968 the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Wasgen I , inaugurated the church.

The parish has been cared for since 1962 by Mesrob K. Krikorian , Archbishop since 1992, who carried out important research on the history of the Armenians in Austria. The Armenian community in Vienna consists of around 3000 believers. In 2011 Krikorian retired and was succeeded by Archarchimandrite Haigazoun Najarian , Patriarchal Delegate for Central Europe and Scandinavia.

Building description

Inscription on the house gate
Cross corner Kolonitzgasse / Obere Viaduktgasse
Liturgical vestments in a showcase on the church gallery

The church cannot be recognized as such from the street. Your entrance portal is in the courtyard of the house. Above the portal is a stone relief showing a cross carried by two angels. There is an Armenian inscription below the relief. Outside and inside, a stone frieze with fruit tendrils runs on the wall, based on the model of the Church of the Holy Cross of Aghtamar on Lake Van . Next to the portal is a small stone cross relief made of Edschmiazin and above it a mosaic picture of St. Hripsime. She wears the martyr's crown and a large cross, above her the dove of the Holy Spirit, at her feet King Trdat III.

In the courtyard of the house in front of the church there is a large memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide in 1915.

inner space

The rectangular hall with a retracted apse has a plinth made of red marble and a grid-shaped ceiling with red straps and ribbons. The gallery is above the entrance, in front of the apse is a trumpet dome . The images of the Virgin Mary on the main altar and the small altar come from the parish of Suceava, as well as the church service books, a chalice and two reliquary containers that the first priest in Vienna, Aristakes Fesslian, brought with him in 1912. Other objects from this period are displayed in showcases on the gallery. The glass windows on the gallery come from the old Lainz parish church. Marble plaques on the wall remind u. a. to Jeghische Utudjian, the prelate of the Vienna community (1928–1958).

Armenian Square

The crossing Kolonitzgasse / Obere Viaduktgasse in front of the church was named "Armenierplatz" in 2001. The reason for this was the visit of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II. Nersissian , to Vienna. In addition, there the sculpture was Faith (English for faith erected): A large stone cross (285 x 150 x 190 cm) of basalt and bronze the artist Mariam Hakobyan, the Armenians by the 1,700 years before that recalls the adoption of Christianity.

literature

Web links

Commons : Armenian Church Vienna  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New leadership for the Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria , erzdioezese-wien.at.

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 37.5 ″  N , 16 ° 23 ′ 22.1 ″  E