Holy Mother of God Katoghike Church — Attraction in Yerevan

According to the scripts carved on one of the walls of Katoghike Church, the surviving structure dates back to 1264. After the 1679 Yerevan earthquake, a large basilica named after the Holy Mother of God was built between 1693 and 1695, in the ancient Shahar district of Yerevan, occupying the western edge of the Katoghike Church. The new church was built of typical Armenian tuff stones and did not have dome. It belonged to the three-nave basilica type of the Armenian church architecture. The church With its prayer hall measuring 14.0 x 19.3 meters, and an outside perimeter of 16.4 x 28.4 meters, was considered one of the most capacious churches of old Yerevan. The church had entrances on the southern and western sides.[2] In 1936, the basilica of the Holy Mother of God was demolished under the Soviet rule to make way for residential buildings and a linguistic institute at the Sayat-Nova Avenue. During the demolition, the 13th-century church of Katoghike was discovered encased within the structure of the large basilica. After protests from archaeologists, the church was preserved. Many old khachkars (cross-stones) were found in the walls of the demolished church dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries. However, the demolished basilica itself had been built on the foundations of an old church known as the Holy Mother of God. The hypothesis that this old church had existed was completely confirmed during the demolition of the Katoghike Church, when the southern and northern walls to which the two vestries were annexed were opened. The oldest inscriptions found on these walls date back to 1264. There are inscriptions engraved on the western façade dating back to the years 1284, 1229 and to the sixteenth century, whereas on the northern walls the inscriptions refer to the year 1609. Consequently, a chapel has probably been built early in the 17th century at the western side of the Holy Mother of God Church at whose site the building of the Katoghike Church was erected toward the end of the same century. This finding was significant in that it confirms the conclusion that the St. Holy Mother of God Church was the only one of the churches of Yerevan that survived and stood firm after the earthquake. The current Holy Mother of God Church, which continues to bear the name of Katoghike, is relatively of small size (5.4 x 7.5 m). Due to the very limited space it can offer for the required church rituals, it serves only as a...

The quiet morning air hung over Yerevan as the first blush of dawn stretched across the horizon. The sky, a deep velvet blue just moments ago, began to soften, a delicate palette of pinks and lavenders. ​Then, the first brilliant rays of sunlight found their target, not on the city below, but on the snow-capped peak of Mount Ararat. The mountain, a silent giant, glowed with an ethereal orange light, a beacon of gold and fire against the fading night sky. ​As the sun climbed higher, its light cascaded down the mountain's slopes and spilled into the valley. The tuff buildings of the city awoke, their pink and apricot stones catching the morning light, transforming into a warm, radiant panorama. The city stirred, but for a moment, all was still, held in the breathtaking reverence of...

Real historical legacy of the Armenian nation

As for me this church is the most interesting place relating to the Armenian history and their respect for traditions and culture. The stones of the old chapel passed through many centuries and earthquakes and accumulated all the energy from trust and belief. You feel there very comfortable and patient touching the very history. A lot of people attending to its services and what's more amazing that many young and adolescent persons without any compulsion assist there. At weekends some pleasant performances of a local parish take place; with religious and folklore...