Echmiadzin houses the mother cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to the scholars it was the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and is considered the oldest cathedral in the world. The original church was built in the early 4th c. by Armenia’s patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III. Along with several important early medieval churches (Hripsime, Gayane) located nearby, the cathedral was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. Zvartnots is a 7th-century centrally planned aisled tetraconch type Armenian cathedral built from 643-652. Now in ruins, it is located in the place, where a meeting between King Trdat III and Gregory the Illuminator was supposed to have taken place. Zvartnots remained standing until the end of the 10th century, but the historical sources are silent to the cause of its collapse.

حجز أولاين