Armenia23 Echmiadzin cathedral2

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2504029-armenia23/

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church. It is part of Oriental Orthodoxy and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in the early fourth century (traditionally in 301) in establishing this church.The church claims to have originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century and is an early center of Christianity

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

The latest renovation of the cathedral began in 2012

The main three-tier belfry at the entrance of the cathedral was erected between 1654 and 1658

The front entrance

The front entrance

Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin  is the

administrative headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic

Church and the Pontifical Residence of the Supreme

Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin was built by Saint Gregory the Illuminator in 301–303

The Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the oldest church built by a state in the world

The early frescoes inside the cathedral were restored in the 18th century. Stepanos Lehatsi illustrated the belfry in 1664. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Armenian painters created frescoes of scenes from the old testament and Armenian saints

Naghash Hovnatan painted parts of the interior between 1712 and 1721. His paintings on the dome and the painting of the Mother of God under the altar have survived to this day

Interior from Dome

The interior decoration of the Cathedral finished in the 18th century is impressive with Byzantine luxury and various floral ornaments of orange-red and blue-lilac shades.

Main Altar

Besides the ornaments and other decorations the artist painted various scenes based on the Holy Scriptures, more than 120 portraits with the images of saints and apostles

Painting by Grigory Gagarin, 1847

In 2001 when Armenia celebrated the 1700 th anniversary of adoption of Christianity, Pope John Paul II brought the relics of the first Armenian Catholicos there

For five hundred years the relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator had been kept in Naples, and now are in a cathedral of Echmiadzin

 The old frescoes inside the temple were renovated and new ones added

Sound: Lusine Zakarian - Bats Mes Ter (Open to us, Lord, the doors of Your mercy); Our es Mayr Im (Mother, where are you)

Text: Internet

Pictures: Internet

Sanda Foişoreanu

Copyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu

www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Lusine Zakaryan (1937–1991), was an Armenian soprano. She was a soloist with the symphony orchestra of Armenian TV and Radio. She also sang in the choir of the Armenian Apostolic Church's Holy See at the Echmiadzin Cathedral, and it is for her magnificent rendition of centuries-old Armenian spiritual hymns that she is now most remembered.