Vagharshapat

Vagharshapat (Վաղարշապատ vɑʁɑɾʃɑˈpɑt) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin (also spelled Echmiadzin or Etchmiadzin, Էջմիածին, ɛt͡ʃhmjɑˈt͡sin), which was its official name between 1945 and 1995. It is still commonly used colloquially and in official bureaucracy (dual naming). The city is best known as the location of Etchmiadzin Cathedral and Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is thus unofficially known in Western sources as a "holy city" and in Armenia as the country's "spiritual capital". It was one of the major cities and a capital of the ancient Kingdom of Greater Armenia. Reduced to a small town by the early 20th century, it experienced large expansion during the Soviet period becoming, effectively, a suburb of Yerevan. Its population stands just over 37,000 based on 2016 estimates. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the area of Vagharshapat was known as Artimed (Արտիմէդ), derived from the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi (Աւան Վարդգէսի, "Town of Vardges") or Vardgesavan (Վարդգէսաւան) by Prince Vardges Manouk who rebuilt the settlement near the shores of Kasagh River, during the reign of King Orontes I Sakavakyats of Armenia (570–560 BC). However, in his first book, Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius refers to the city as Valashabad (Balashabad), named after king Vologases I of Armenia. The name evolved into its later form by the shift of the medial l into a gh, which is common in the Armenian language. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by King Vagharsh I to become known as Norakaghak (Նորաքաղաք, "New City") and later Vagharshapat. Ejmiatsin (Etchmiadzin, Ēĵmiacin) literally means "the descent of the Only-Begotten" or "the Only-Begotten descended" (from echichnel “the descent” and miatsin “the Only-Begotten”), referring to how St.

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Related concepts (9)

Church of the East

The Church of the East ( ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian Church, was an Eastern Christian church of the East Syriac Rite, based in Mesopotamia. It was one of three major branches of Eastern Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies of the 5th and 6th centuries, alongside the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Chalcedonian Church.

Armenian dram

The dram (դրամ; sign: ֏; abbreviation: դր.; ISO code: AMD) is the currency of Armenia, and is also used in the neighboring unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. It was historically subdivided into 100 luma (լումա). The Central Bank of Armenia is responsible for issuance and circulation of dram banknotes and coins, as well as implementing the monetary policy of Armenia. The word dram means "money" and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham, as well as the English weight unit dram.

Etchmiadzin Cathedral

Etchmiadzin Cathedral (Ēǰmiatsni mayr tačar) is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city dually known as Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) or Vagharshapat, Armenia. It is usually considered the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and often regarded the oldest cathedral in the world. The original church was built in the early fourth century—between 301 and 303 according to tradition—by Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III.