Place · Cathedral
Etchmiadzin Cathedral
The mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world.
- Location
- Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia
- Building
- Cathedral (mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church)
- Tradition
- Armenian Apostolic
- Religious use
- In use as the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, at the seat of its Catholicos.
Map Building location: Apple Maps · Google Maps — the building, not a confirmed visitor entrance.
Overview
Since 1441 the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been the headquarters of the Armenian Church and the seat of its Catholicos.
History
Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.
- Tradition
Tradition holds that St Gregory the Illuminator built the first church between 301 and 303, after King Tiridates III adopted Christianity as the state religion, over a pagan temple.
- Documented
The core of the present building dates from 483/4, when Vahan Mamikonian rebuilt it after damage in a Persian invasion. It was restored as the seat of the Catholicos in 1441, and was plundered by Shah Abbas I in 1604.
Sources
Reference draft. The statements were checked against the general reference sources below, read in a build session (Wikipedia at a recorded revision, and Wikidata). They have not yet been checked against scholarly or primary sources.
Reference work · Read in a build session
Etchmiadzin Cathedral — Wikipedia (English)
Read on 28 Oct 2026 at revision 1380734555, fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/places/etchmiadzin-cathedral/wikipedia.txt). A general reference work, not a scholarly source; the statements here were checked against it.
Reference work · Read in a build session
Wikidata item Q1294648 (Etchmiadzin Cathedral) — Wikidata
Read on 28 Oct 2026: instance of, religion, diocese, coordinates and official website.