St. Hripsime Church, Echmiadzin
Encyclopedia
Saint Hripsimé Church is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas atop the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in the year 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsimé to whom the church was dedicated. The structure was completed in the year 618 AD. It is known for its fine Armenian architecture of the classical period, which has influenced many other Armenian churches since. This church together with other nearby sites is a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

, and is located in the present day city of Vagharshapat, (Etchmiadzin), Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 in the Armavir Province.

History

Saint Hripsimé Church sits on the remains of a pagan structure and also the site where the aforementioned saint was martyred during the time of the conversion of Armenia to Christianity in the year 301 AD. The fifth century Armenian historian Agathangelos
Agathangelos
Agathangelos , appropriately so named, was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us...

 wrote that the young and beautiful Hripsimé who at the time was a Christian nun in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, was to be forcefully married to the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

. She and the abbess Gayané among other nuns fled the tyrant emperor and left to Armenia. The pagan Armenian King Trdat received a letter from Diocletian in which he described her beauty. Trdat discovered where the nuns were hiding, and fell in love with Hripsimé and later Gayané. After her refusal of his advances, Hripsimé was tortured and martyred at the location of this church, while Gayané was tortured and martyred at a separate location where the church in her name was later built in the year 630. The remaining group of thirty-eight unnamed nuns were martyred at the location of Shoghakat
Shoghakat
The Church of Shoghakat was erected in 1694 by Prince Aghamal Sorotetsi during the time of Catholicos Nahabed I in the present day city of Vagharshapat , in the Armavir Province of Armenia...

. During the time that Hripsimé was being tortured, Gayané told her to "be of good cheer, and stand firm" in her faith. King Trdat was to be later converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the kingdom.

In the early 4th century, Saint Gregory the Illuminator saw a vision in which Christ descended from the heavens, and struck the ground with a golden hammer to level it. In its place he saw the site where Hripsimé was martyred, with a red base symbolizing blood below "columns of clouds, capitals of fire, and on top, a cross of light." In the vision, Christ tells him to erect a memorial to Hripsme in the given place. Saint Gregory was designated to set out the foundations at the location where Hripsimé had been martyred.

Architecture

Two inscriptions, one on the western façade and one on the east apse date the church and mention Catholicos Komitas' name. As mentioned earlier, the church was built upon the 4th century Mausoleum of Saint Hripsimé, depicted in a relief upon the south face of the 7th century Odzun Stele.

The Church of Saint Hripsimé has a square tetraconch
Tetraconch
A tetraconch, from the Greek for "four shells", is a building, usually a church or other religious building, with four apses, one in each direction, usually of equal size. The basic ground plan of the building is therefore a Greek cross...

 highly complex central plan rather than the typically seen rectangular plan. The structure has withstood numerous earthquakes due to many aspects that give it strength and stability. In the walls niches were used to increase the building's resistance to collapse. The dome supports are equidistant and are able to hold a balanced share of the weight, leaving the squinches less liable to crack or break during an earthquake. Twelve ribs reinforce the dome, enabling it to be constructed of a lighter and thinner material.

It has undergone several changes since it was first built. According to the 17th century Armenian historian Arakel of Tabriz
Arakel of Tabriz
Arakel Davrizhetsi or Arakel of Tabriz - Առաքել Դավրիժեցի was a 17th century Armenian historian, born in Tabriz, in the province of Atrpatakan of imperial Iran. In 1636 he was the custodian of the Hovhannavank Monastery, which he left to go to Echmiadzin...

, the church was renovated between the years 1651-1653 by Catholicos Philippos. Repairs were made on the roof, top of the dome, the walls and bases. A cross was placed on top of the roof, and a small portico was added to the church's west side. The western and southern entrance gates to the church precincts were closed, and the two side windows of the altar apse have been walled up. The eastern apse originally had only one window, and later two supplementary windows were added due to Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian describes churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon of how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus Christ...

 tendencies among church leaders. In the interior, the Bema, the floor, the four apses were repaired, and the walls were covered in plaster. In 1790 a two-tier bell tower with an eight-column belfry was added. Later in 1936, the foundations were strengthened. In 1959-1962 renovations were done on the outside courtyard and steps and on the interior. The floor was lowered and 17th century plasterwork was removed to reveal a system of eight large and sixteen small squinches under the circular drum.

In the interior of the church, of particular interest is the inlaid mother-of-pearl altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

 of 1741, which demonstrates the high level of Armenian applied art of the 18th century. The composition of the ornament made up of framed interwoven branches with stylized leaves and various fruit and blooms, is arranged around an encircled Greek cross and is most original.

The graves of two 18th century Armenian Catholicoi are located in the church's courtyard, those of Asdvadzadur and Garabed II.

Burials

  • St. Hripsimé
    Rhipsime
    Rhipsime, sometimes called Hripsime , Ripsime, Ripsima or Arsema was an Armenian virgin and martyr of Roman origin. She and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as the first Christian martyrs of Armenia....

  • Asdvadzadur of Armenia
    Asdvadzadur of Armenia
    Catholicos Asdvadzadur was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1715 and 1725.As Catholicos, he secured an alliance with Christian Peter the Great of Russia for aid against the expansionist Muslim powers of the Ottoman Empire and Persia prior to the Russo-Persian War.He is buried...

     - Catholicos
    Catholicos
    Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...

     of the Armenian Apostolic Church
    Armenian Apostolic Church
    The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, 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 301 AD, in establishing this church...

     (1715–1725)
  • Garabed II of Armenia
    Garabed II of Armenia
    Catholicos Garabed II Oolnetzi was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1725 and 1729.He was elected Catholicos in Constantinople by the community and Patriarch there. He was seen by the Ottoman leaders as a trusted bridge to establish favorable relations with the new Ottoman...

     - Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church (1726–1729)
  • Abraham III of Armenia
    Abraham III of Armenia
    Catholicos Abraham III was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1734 and 1737. Born in Heraklion, Crete, to a Greek mother, he was bishop of Rodosto, Thrace and then Armenian prelate of Thrace from 1708-1734...

     - Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church (1734–1737)

See also

  • Etchmiadzin, Armenia
    Ejmiatsin, Armenia
    Vagharshapat , commonly known as Ejmiatsin in Eastern Armenian and Echmiadzin in Western Armenian , is the fourth-largest city in Armenia and the spiritual centre of the Armenians, as it is the seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church...

  • Etchmiadzin Cathedral
  • Saint Gayane Church
  • Church of Shoghakat
    Shoghakat
    The Church of Shoghakat was erected in 1694 by Prince Aghamal Sorotetsi during the time of Catholicos Nahabed I in the present day city of Vagharshapat , in the Armavir Province of Armenia...

  • Zvartnots Cathedral
    Zvartnots Cathedral
    Zvartnots Cathedral are the ruins of a seventh century centrally-planned aisled tetraconch type Armenian cathedral built by order of the Catholicos Nerses the Builder from 641-653...


External links

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