Katoghike Church
The Church of the Holy Mother of God Katoghike ( Armenian Կաթողիկե Սուրբ Աստվածածին եկեղեցի Katoghike Surb Astwazazin jekeghezi ) is a small medieval church in the Armenian capital of Yerevan , dating from 1264. It belongs to the Diocese of Ararat of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is located in the Yerevan district of Mitte (Kentron).
history
According to an inscription on one of the walls of the Katoghike Church, the building that has been preserved dates from 1264.
After the great earthquake of 1679, in the old town (Shahar) of Yerevan on the western side of the Katoghike Church, a large domeless three-aisled basilica of the Holy Mother of God was built from Armenian tufa stone , the prayer hall of which had an inner surface of 14.0 meters 19.3 meters and an outer circumference of 16.4 meters by 28.4 meters, making it one of the largest churches in ancient Yerevan. The church had entrances on the southern and western sides.
In 1936, the Basilica of the Holy Mother of God was demolished on the instructions of the Soviet authorities to make way for residential buildings and a linguistic institute on Sajat-Nova-Allee. During the demolition, the old Katoghike Church from the 13th century came to light. Protests by archaeologists prevented the demolition work from continuing, so that at least the small medieval church was preserved. Many old chatschkars ( cross stones ) from the 15th to 17th centuries were found in the torn down walls of the destroyed basilica.
As the demolition showed, the destroyed basilica had stood on the foundations of an old Church of Our Lady. When the southern and northern walls were demolished, inscriptions from 1264 were found. On the west facade there are inscriptions from 1284, 1229 and from the sixteenth century, on the north wall, however, from 1609. It became apparent at the beginning of the 17th century on the western side built a chapel near the Church of Our Lady, where the Katoghike Church was built at the end of the same century. From this it could be concluded that the Church of Our Lady was the only church in Yerevan to survive the earthquake.
The part of the Church of the Holy Mother of God still preserved today, which is still called Katoghike Church, is quite small at 5.4 meters by 7.5 meters. Due to its limited space, it only serves as a prayer house.
Saint Anne Church
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In the years from 2009 to 2015, a new church complex was built on the north side of the Katoghike Church, the main church of which, Saint Anna, is much larger than Katoghike. In addition, the complex also comprises the Yerevan residence of the Catholicos of Echmiadzin . On July 4, 2009, the Catholicos Karekin II blessed the building site with a service at which the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan , the Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglarian and other dignitaries, including the financier Hirair Hovnanian with his wife, were also present. The architect of the new Church of Saint Anne, which was consecrated on April 30, 2015 by Catholicos Karekin II, is Vahagn Movsisyan.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Katoghike church at yerevan.am
- ^ The residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians will be constructed within 2 years . PanArmenian News. Retrieved July 4, 2009.