The Zvartnots Cathedral is considered one of the masterpieces of Armenian early medieval art and architecture. Located 3 km south of the city of Etchmiadzin, the cathedral is believed to be constructed between 643 and 652 AD during the reign of Catholicos Nerses III Tayetsi. According to Agatangeghos, a pagan temple dedicated to the god Tir once stood in the territory of Zvartnots. Being the initiator and builder of the Zvartnots Cathedral, Catholicos Nerses III Tayetsi was given the honorary title “The Builder”.
Etymology of the Name
Historian Sebeos provides insight into the name “Zvartnots.” According to him, the great king Trdat III welcomed St. Gregory the Illuminator, who emerged from Khor Virap in 301 AD, at the location where the Zvartnots Cathedral would later be built. Christ, accompanied by the heavenly army, appeared to Gregory the Illuminator here and instructed him on the location of Echmiadzin construction. The cathedral’s name, “Zvartnots,” means “celestial angels” (or “hosts of angels”) and refers to the heavenly vision of angels that appeared to St. Gregory.
Structure of the Cathedral
Archaeological excavations at Zvartnots uncovered the temple, the Catholicos palace to its southwest (including baths and cells), various artifacts, graves, and church ruins. Not far from the palace, a stone-built grape press was discovered.
Famous Armenian architect Toros Toramanyan participated in the excavations of the monument. He studied and measured the ruins and developed a reconstruction plan for the once magnificent temple. The Zvartnots Cathedral is based on the architect’s versatile skills. The delicate and beautiful sculptures testify to his artistic taste.
According to the architect, Zvartnots was a three-story, centrally-domed building with a circular design. It had five entrances and 32 bas-reliefs, 9 of which have been preserved up to date. One bears the inscription “Johan,” likely the name of the temple’s architect.
The cathedral’s diameter was 35 meters, with a height exceeding 35 meters. The walls were built with black, gray, and reddish stones arranged in a mixed layout. At equal distances from the center stood four large polygonal columns, each connected to a half-column that formed part of a wall or altar. According to Toramanian the temple’s layout was based on an equilateral cross, with the dome covering the central part and arches covering the external prayer area.
One of the temple’s fascinating elements is its sundial, unlike any other known sundial. Usually sundials are semicircular, but the Zvartnots sundial is circular and has a special message: “Pray to God at all times.”
St. Gregory Church in Gagkashen
The studies carried out by the architect Toramanian and the description of the Zvartnots temple based on them raised doubts about the tower. The point was that Toramanyan was describing a temple building that was unlike any other Armenian church. However, around the same time, architect Nikolai Marr was conducting excavations hundreds of kilometers away from Zvartnots, in historical Ani. During the excavations he discovered a statue of Gagik I Bagratuni holding a miniature of a church resembling Zvartnots.
Zvartnots Depicted in Sainte-Chapelle
With an amazing leap in time and culture, the image of Zvartnots appears in Europe. One of the bas-reliefs of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris features a depiction of Zvartnots Temple in Noah’s Ark.
Destruction of Zvartnots
Historical records provide no details about the destruction of the temple. However, research suggests it was likely destroyed by an earthquake. Although there are signs that before the earthquake, the barbarians demolished the stones of the lower parts of the walls of the temple, removed many of the stairs and cut off the faces of the human figures carved around it. These actions may have contributed to the structure’s collapse during the quake.
