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5-6 hours
Daily Tour
Armenian, English, Russian
This private Etchmiadzin, Sardarapat, St Gayane & St Hripsime tour from Yerevan takes you to Armenia’s most iconic sacred sites, including the UNESCO-listed Etchmiadzin Cathedral and two ancient basilicas. It lasts around 5-6 hours, and all the destinations are located in the Armavir region, in the southwest of Armenia.
1.The first stop is Saint Hripsime Church, built in the 7th century AD. It stands above the site where Saint Hripsime one of the 40 nuns who came to Armenia to spread Christianity was martyred.
2. Next, we visit the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the main cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It was built in 303 AD, and according to tradition, Gregory the Illuminator had a vision in which Jesus Christ descended from heaven with a golden hammer and pointed to the exact spot where the first Armenian Christian church should be built. The name Etchmiadzin comes from this vision “Etch miatsin” meaning “The Only-Begotten Descended.”
3. The next stop is Saint Gayane Church, which was built in the 7th century and later restored in the 17th century. Like Hripsime Church, it was built over the burial site of another one of the 40 nuns Saint Gayane.
4. Next stop is the Sardarapat Memorial Complex, dedicated to the Battle of Sardarapat, which took place between May 21 and 29, 1918, between Armenian forces and the Ottoman Turks. The victory at Sardarapat was a crucial turning point in Armenian history—it was truly a matter of life and death for the nation. Thanks to this victory, Armenia was able to declare its independence and form the First Republic on May 28, 1918.
Near the memorial is the Ethnographic Museum of Armenia, which presents both the material and spiritual culture of the Armenian people across various historical periods and regions.
5. And the last stop is Zvartnots, the site where Gregory the Illuminator and King Tiridates III are believed to have met. According to tradition, it was after this meeting that Gregory healed the king, leading to the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Armenia in the year 301—making Armenia the first country in the world to do so.
Zvartnots Cathedral was built in the 7th century, but unfortunately, it was destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th century. Today, we visit the ruins of what was once a massive and magnificent temple. The name Zvartnots translates to “the house of joyful angels.
Etchmiadzin Cathedral tour will fill your heart with the spirit of Armenia and leave you with memories to treasure forever.
All private tours can be changed upon request.
Your private driver and guide meet you at your hotel in Yerevan. Etchmiadzin is just 20 km from the capital - the spiritual heart of Armenia and seat of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
First stop at the Church of St. Hripsime - built in 618 AD on the site where the Christian martyr Hripsime was tortured and killed. Hripsime was one of a group of Christian women who fled Rome from the persecution of Emperor Diocletian and arrived in Armenia around 300 AD. The church is considered the most perfect example of the cross-cupola style in early Armenian architecture - notable for its refined simplicity and soaring proportions. The tomb of St. Hripsime is preserved in the sacristy. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
A short walk to St. Gayane Church - built in 630 AD over the tomb of Abbess Gayane, who led the group of Roman women to Armenia and was martyred alongside her companions. Smaller and quieter than St. Hripsime, St. Gayane is a deeply atmospheric place. The 17th-century murals above the western entrance depicting the birth of Christ are among the finest surviving examples of Armenian religious painting. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Visit the Mother Cathedral of Etchmiadzin - the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church and widely considered the world's oldest Christian cathedral, founded in 301-303 AD by Gregory the Illuminator immediately after Armenia adopted Christianity as the state religion. The name Etchmiadzin means the place where the Only Begotten descended - referring to Gregory's vision of Christ descending from heaven and striking the ground to show where the cathedral should be built. Visit the extraordinary Treasures of Etchmiadzin Museum housed in the Cathedral complex — home to the Spear of Longinus said to have pierced Christ at the crucifixion, fragments of Noah's Ark, and centuries of sacred Armenian ecclesiastical art.
Drive 5 km to the extraordinary ruins of Zvartnots - the Temple of Vigil Forces - a 7th-century circular rotunda built by Catholicos Nerses III between 641 and 661 AD. At the time of its construction it was one of the tallest buildings in the world. It stood until the 10th century when it was destroyed by earthquake, and its ruins were not excavated until the early 20th century. When Armenian architect Toros Toramanyan presented his reconstruction model, specialists refused to believe such a structure had been built in that era - until a bas-relief at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was discovered depicting Zvartnots with Noah's Ark, exactly matching his design. The panoramic views of Mount Ararat from the ruins are among the finest in Armenia. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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