May 13 Armenia Zvartnots, Manuscripts

Tue May 13

Today's first site is  Zvartnots, a glorious cathedral church erected between 641 and 661, but ruined in the 10th century.

Next, the Church of Saint Hripsime.  She was very beautiful and caught the eye of Diocletian, but she would not marry a pagan.  She fled Rome for Armenia.  There the Armenian king wanted to marry her, but he was rejected for the same reason.  She was tortured and martyred.  In the early 4th Century, St. Gregory the Illuminator (of people, not manuscripts) had a vision of the place of her martyrdom and was told to erect a memorial at that place.  The current church was built in the 7th century.  The belfry tower was added later here and to several other Armenian churches.

Etchmiadzin is the location of the mother cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church.  It is sort of like a college campus (as it includes a seminary), with dorms, eating halls, guest quarters, libraries, and classrooms spread out over a large area.  One enters through a gate which includes an outdoor altar.  The altar allows very large services.

Pope John Paul II was there for the consecration in 2001.

Foundation myth:  St. Gregory the Illuminator had a vision indicating the site of the Cathedral, known as the Catholicate of All Armenians.    The treasury houses several of the most holy relics.  Pictured below is the spear that a Roman soldier used to prod Jesus during the crucifixion and a piece of Noah's ark. 

Remember that the ark landed on Mt Ararat which is sacred to the Armenians although it is now in Turkey.  Armenians claim to be descendants of Noah's son Japheth.

We do not have a picture of the right hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator, but can offer this:

 Heading back for lunch, we got caught in a traffic jam.  The French President was visiting and his motorcade stopped everything.  Lunch was terribly rushed.  Fish and huge potatoes.

Erebuni (from which Yerevan is derived) Fortress was founded in 782 BCE.  It was excavated by archaeologists in the 1950s. 

The is an on-site museum containing the artifacts of the dig:

The Manuscript Museum was next.  Armenians have a long and strong scribal heritage, including manuscript illumination.  Some 10,000 items have been assembled in an imposing structure overlooking Yerevan:

The statue in front is Mashtots, the designer of the alphabet.  The Museum includes manuscripts of ancient authors known only in Armenian translation.  This is not just a museum but a major conservation and teaching institution.

We enjoyed many splendid items:

The visit with our group was too short, so we returned Saturday and took three pictures before the guard stopped us.