Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator

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View from the main west entrance of the cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator ( Armenian Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ մայր եկեղեցի Surb Grigor Lussavoritsch mair jekeghetsi ) is an Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in the Armenian capital Yerevan , which was completed in 2001. It is the world's largest church building of the Armenian Apostolic Church and, after the Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral, the second largest church in Transcaucasia . The cathedral is located at the General Andranik underground station in Yerevan's central district (Kentron) and can be seen from afar from many parts of the city.

history

The initiative for the construction of a large, representative cathedral in Yerevan went back to the Catholicos of Etschmiadzin , Wasgen I. The donors for the main church were the American siblings of Armenian descent Richard Alexander Manoogian and Louise Manoogian Simone , son and daughter of the one born in Smyrna Entrepreneur and chairman of the New York- based Armenian General Charitable Union (AGBU) Alex Manoogian and his wife Marie Manoogian. The chapels and bell tower were funded by Nazar and Artemis Nazarian, Kevork and Linda Kevorkian, and Eduardo Eurnekian .

Construction began on April 7, 1997, when Catholicos Vazken I had already died, so that on that day the Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian, who had been in office since 1995, performed the blessing service. The building was planned by the architect Stepan Kurkchyan and completed in 2001. The cathedral was consecrated on the occasion of the 1700th birthday of the Armenian Apostolic Church on September 23, 2001 by Karekin Sarkissian's successor, Catholicos Karekin II Nersissian . In the church are the relics of Saint Gregory the Illuminator from the Italian Naples been transferred (Napoli). Shortly after the consecration, the Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral.

architecture

The building complex of the cathedral combines the modern with traditional architectural elements, has a floor area of ​​3822 square meters and consists of three churches: the main church consecrated to Saint Gregory, 54 m high to the top of the cross with 1700 seats, the chapel of Saint Trdat of Armenia and the chapel of the Holy Ashkhen (wife of Trdat), each with 150 seats. According to tradition, these two saints, together with Saint Gregory, played a decisive role in the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity. The bell tower with its more than 30 arches and the courtyard are at the entrance to the cathedral. The reception hall and the rooms for community activities are located on the ground floor of the main church.

Picture gallery

Web links

Commons : Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Louise Simone and Richard Manougian Donate $ 2 Million to Yerevan Cathedral Project
  2. ^ Apostolic Voyage in Armenia, Ecumenical Celebration, Homily of John Paul II. Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator, Yerevan, September 26, 2001.
  3. Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ մայր եկեղեցի ( Memento from October 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 40 ° 10 ′ 19.4 ″  N , 44 ° 31 ′ 1.2 ″  E