Visit to Echmiadzin

• Price for 2-4 pax: by Mercedes VITO (5 seats) = AMD equivalent to USD 160 (including guide service)
• Price for 5-12 pax: by Mercedes Sprinter (17 seats) = AMD equivalent to USD 190 (including guide service)
• Price for 12 pax and more: By buses (25 seats and more) = AMD equivalent to USD 250 (including guide service)

ECHMIADZIN / HRIPSIME CHURCH / ZVARTNOTS TEMPLE

Tour description: Tour to Echmiadzin – the holy seat of the Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of all Armenians. The Cathedral was built in 303 on the site of a pagan temple after the adoption of Christianity as a state religion in 301. The word “Echmiadzin” means “the coming of the only-begotten”, and the cathedral was built on the very spot Grigor Lusavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator) dreamt Jesus Himself descended on from heaven to show him where He wanted the church to be built. Visit St. Hripsime Church (7th century). The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas atop the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsimé to whom the church was dedicated. The structure was completed in 618 AD. It is known for its fine Armenian-style architecture of the classical period, which has influenced many other Armenian churches since. This church together with other nearby sites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is located in the present day city of Vagharshapat, (Echmiadzin). A few kilometres from Echmiadzin there are the ruins of the 7th century AD Temple of Zvartnots. Zvartnots was built at a time when much of Armenia was under Byzantine control or influence and during the early invasions of Armenia by the Muslim Arabs. Construction of the cathedral began in 642 under the guidance of Catholicos Nerses III (nicknamed Shinogh or the Builder). Dedicated to St Gregory, it was located on the place where the meeting between king Trdat III and Gregory the Illuminator was supposed to have taken place. According to the medieval Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi, the cathedral was consecrated in 653.