Saint Gayane Church

The Saint Gayane Church (pronounced Surb Gayane yekeghetsi) is a 7th-century Armenian church in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), the religious center of Armenia. It is located within walking distance from the Etchmiadzin Cathedral of 301. St. Gayane was built by Catholicos Ezra I in the year 630. The church was constructed on a site already associated with the memory of Saint Gayane, linking the 7th-century building to Armenia’s earlier Christian tradition. Its design has remained unchanged despite partial renovations of the dome and some ceilings in 1652. Because of this, the church is considered one of the better-preserved examples of early medieval Armenian church architecture Gayane was the name of an abbess who was martyred with other nuns by Tiridates III of Armenia in the year 301, and subsequently made a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 2000, Saint Gayane Church was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with historical churches of Vagharshapat.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).