Saint Hripsime Church

Saint Hripsime Church
An aerial view of the church, 2021
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
RiteArmenian
StatusActive
Location
LocationVagharshapat, Armavir Province, Armenia
Geographic coordinates40°10′01″N 44°18′35″E / 40.166992°N 44.309675°E / 40.166992; 44.309675
Architecture
TypeTetraconch[1]
StyleArmenian
FounderKomitas Aghtsetsi
Completedc. 618 (church)
1653 (portico)
1790 (bell tower)
Specifications
Length22.8 m (75 ft)[2][3]
Width17.7 m (58 ft)[2][3]
Dome height (inner)23 m (75 ft)[a]
Official name: Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots
TypeCultural
Criteria(ii) (iii)
Designated2000 (24th session)
Reference no.1011-004
RegionWestern Asia

Saint Hripsime Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Հռիփսիմե եկեղեցի, Surb Hṙip‘simē yekeghetsi)[b] is a seventh century Armenian Apostolic church in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in the country. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas to replace the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsime to whom the church is dedicated. The current 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. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other nearby churches, including Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's mother church, in 2000.

Background and foundation

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It is located on a small elevation on the eastern outskirts of the town of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), right next to the main road connecting it with capital Yerevan.[7][8][4] It was built outside the historic walls of ancient Vagharshapat.[9]

According to the traditional account found in Agathangelos, Hripsime, a Roman virgin, and her companions (including Gayane), fled to Armenia to avoid persecution by the Roman emperor Diocletian. In Armenia, Hripsime was tortured and killed by king Tiridates III after she refused his attempts to woo her. After Tiridates's conversion to Christianity in the early fourth century (dated 301 or 314 AD), the king and Gregory the Illuminator built a martyrium at the location of her martyrdom as an act of remorse.[10] It is, thus, one of the earliest Christian martyriums.[7] It is believed to have been half buried underground, with an aboveground canopy structure.[9]

Excavations inside the church during restoration works in 1958–59 unearthed black tuff fragments of an ornamented cornice under the supporting columns. They were immediately identified as having belonged to a pre-Christian Hellenistic structure, perhaps a temple, and quite similar in style to the cornice of the Garni Temple.[11][12][8] It led scholars to believe that a pagan temple may have once stood at the site or nearby.[c] Additionally, the original steps leading down to the underground crypt, located in front of the altar, were discovered.[11][14][d]

The original martyrium was destroyed by Sasanian king Shapur II and his Armenian Zoroastrian ally Meruzhan Artsruni c. 363,[15] along with Etchmiadzin Cathedral and other Christian sites.[16] Catholicos Sahak (Isaac) built a (new) chapel-martyrium in 395, which later historian Sebeos described as "too low and dark".[17][16][18] Archaeological excavations in 1976–78, led by Raffi Torosyan and Babken Arakelyan,[19] uncovered the foundations of a small single-nave (basilica) church building around 10 m (33 ft) east of the current church, which is likely the remains of the late fourth century structure.[20][e] Notably, Christian-style burials were also unearthed, which both scholars and the Armenian Church identified as Hripsime and her companions.[19][21][24][f]

Seventh century historian Sebeos recounts that Catholicos Komitas (r. 615–628) demolished the small martyrium and constructed the present church in the 28th year of the reign of Sassanian king Khosrow II (r. 590–628), which has been calculated as the year 618.[16][17] This dating has been widely accepted.[1][9][18][26][27][g] Two inscriptions record his role in its construction.[30] Some scholars believe Komitas, also a hymnographer, may have been the architect of the church.[31][32][33][34][h]

Inscriptions

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One of the two inscriptions of Catholicos Komitas, on the western façade,[28] photographed by Garegin Hovsepian (1913).[36][37]

The church contains two engraved inscriptions in the erkat‘agir uncial script[38] recording the role of Catholicos Komitas in the construction of the church.[39][i] The inscriptions contain no dates. The first has been conventionally dated to 618.[36][28][41] Aleksandr Manucharyan suggested, based on its content, that the second was inscribed after the death of Komitas in 628.[31] Greenwood proposed a dating between 616/617 and 628 for both.[42] They are thus the second earliest extant Armenian inscriptions, behind the late fifth century inscription of the now-destroyed Tekor Church (dated c. 478–490).[j]

The first inscription, four lines long, is located in the central part of the exterior surface of the western wall,[46][42] and measures 202 cm × 60 cm (80 in × 24 in).[28][47] The porch and the bell tower, added on its western side in the 17th and 18th centuries, effectively conceal it.[48] Though previously photographed,[k] it is not easily visible, and a researcher noted as recently as 2018, that its exact location is not known.[48] It records Komitas's personal responsibility for the construction.[30] It reads:[36][28][42]

ԵՍ ԿՈՄԻՏԱՍ ԵԿԵՂԵՑԱՊԱՆ ՍՐ
ԲՈՅ ՀՌԻ{Ւ}ՓՍԻՄԷԻ ԿՈՉԵՑԱՅ ՅԱ
ԹՈՌ ՍՐԲՈՅՆ ԳՐԷԳՈՐԻ ՇԻՆԵՑԻ
ԶՏԱՃԱՐ ՍՐԲՈՑ ՎԿԱՅԻՑՍ Ք[ՐԻՍՏՈՍ]Ի 		"I Komitas sacristan of saint Hṙi{w}p‘simē was summoned to the throne of saint Grēgor. I built the temple of these holy martyrs of Christ"[42]
⠀

The second inscription, in three lines and measuring 150 cm × 35 cm (59 in × 14 in),[47][49] is on the interior surface of the eastern apse,[50][30] behind the altar.[47][49] It was revealed under plaster during restoration works in 1898, when it was lightly damaged.[31][47] It was likely originally placed on the northern apse and transferred to the eastern ape, an unusual location, when the former was dilapidated.[31] It implores Christ to recognize Komitas's labors.[30] It reads:[47][50][42]

Ք[ՐԻՍՏՈ]Ս Ա[ՍՏՈՒԱ]Ծ ՅԻՇԵԱ ԶԿՈՄԻՏԱՍ
ՀԱՅՈՑ ԿԱԹՈՂԻԿՍ ՇԻՆ
ԱՒՂ ՍՐԲՈՅ ՀՌԻՓՍԻՄԵԻ 		"Christ God, remember Komitas kat‘ołikos of Armenia, the builder of saint Hṙip‘simē"
⠀

17th and 18th centuries

[edit]

Not much in known about the church's history in the medieval period, but inscriptions indicate that it was intermittently active.[51] An inscription from 1296 records that the release of the monastery from tithe and other taxes on cotton by local rulers.[52] Another inscription, from 1302, on the lintel of the western entrance records the donation of 1,000 silver coins.[53]

The church on Jean Chardin's 1686 engraving of Etchmiadzin.[54][l]

Arakel of Tabriz, a contemporary, recounted the state of the church in the early 17th century and provided details of its restoration (along with St. Gayane) by Catholicos Pilipos (r. 1633–1655).[57][38] Following the deportation of Armenians to Iran by Shah Abbas in 1604–05, it was "without inhabitants and fences".[58] Abandoned and defenseless, the church was also heavily dilapidated by that time.[9][26][59] During periods of neglect, neatly cut facing stones were quarried from the church.[60] Arakel recounts that it had no doors, no altar, the roof and walls had crumbled, and the foundations were shaken and dug up, while the interior was full of manure as livestock were driven into the church.[58] The restoration of Hripsime under Catholicos Pilipos "took three years, from start to finish, for the work began in the [Armenian] year 1100 (1651) and was finished in the year 1102 (1653) with great expenditures and tremendous labor."[61][18][m] This restoration encompassed the pediments, the roof of the dome, and saw the construction of a porch/portico or an open narthex (gavit) in front of the western entrance (upon which a bell tower was added in 1790).[50][63][9][n]

A 1783 watercolor of the churches of Etchmiadzin by Mikhail Matveevich Ivanov.[65] Then recently fortified St. Hripsime is on the upper left.[66][o]

Since its restoration in 1653, the church has regularly had a congregation.[68][p] Subsequent Catholicoi, Eghiazar (r. 1681–1691) and Nahapet (r. 1691–1705), further contributed to its revitalization by adding buildings and sponsoring manuscript production.[70] Six inscriptions, from the 1720s, engraved on its walls record the donations of salt, oil, incense, rice, candles, wine.[71][q] In the 17th and 18th centuries, monks at St. Hripsime were provided bread and clothing from the monastery of Echmiadzin, but the monastery also possessed its own farmland and livestock.[74]

Catholicos Simeon I of Yerevan (r. 1763–1780) raised a new cross on its dome in 1765,[22] and fortified the monastery in 1776 with a cob perimeter wall with corner towers, along with an arched entrance built in stone from the northern side.[50][75] In 1790 Catholicos Ghukas Karnetsi (r. 1780–1799) added a rotunda-shaped bell tower on the porch/narthex built by Pilipos in 1653.[50][63][r]

19th century and beyond

[edit]
Photo by Ohannes Kurkdjian from the south-east c. 1878.[76][77] Shoghakat Church is on the far left at a distance.

In 1894–95, under Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian (r. 1893–1907), a two-story residence for the monks was built inside the monastery walls and the cob walls were replaced with that of stone in the eastern and southern sections.[50][78] The church itself underwent considerable renovation in 1898.[47][79][9]

In 1936, during the Soviet period, the church's foundations were reinforced and its roof, dome, the monastery walls and buildings were restored and the surrounding area underwent beautification.[50][1]

Extensive restoration works and archaeological excavations were carried out at the church in the first years of the reign of Catholicos Vazgen I (r. 1955–1994), concurrently with works on Etchmiadzin Cathedral.[80] The restoration works were overseen by Mikayel Mazmanyan, Varazdat Harutyunyan, Rafayel Israyelyan, Konstantine Hovhannisyan, Karo Ghafadaryan.[81] Initially, its surrounding was beautified; its immediate surrounding was paved with tuff blocks, the steps leading to that area were renovated, and a decorated drinking fountain designed by Israyelian was built in the yard.[50]

Restoration works then moved to the interior, where the removal of white plaster from its walls began in May 1958. Traces of limewater were removed through sandblasting.[50] The interior returned it to its original appearance of dark grey-brown tuff color.[50] Damaged stones were replaced. A new altarpiece and chandelier was designed by Rafayel Israyelian, with the former containing a painting of the Virgin Mary by Hovhannes Minasyan.[14] The restoration, started in 1955,[82] was officially completed by 1962.[83] The removal of the plasterwork furthermore revealed a system of 8 large and 16 small squinches under the circular drum.[1]

The church underwent additional restoration in 1985, which was funded by Mari Hyusisian-Mndigian.[84] The bell tower was restored in 1986–87 by Artsrun Galikyan and Avetik Teknetchyan.[84] Galikyan also designed new wooden doors for the church.[84]

Excavations in 1959 revealed the original floor around 40 cm (16 in) beneath the contemporary flooring surface,[11][21][s] and, consequently, the floor was lowered.[1]

Crypt and other burials

[edit]
The tomb of St. Hripsime

The tomb of St. Hripsime is located in an underground vaulted chamber under the eastern apse.[85] It is accessed through the chamber on the northeastern corner.[86] The current gravestone, dating to 1986, depicts her holding a cross.[86] Scholars like Yeremian and Mnatsakanian have dated the crypt to the early fifth century.[87] Mathews suggested that it "appears integral to the seventh century church".[60] Maranci suggested links to the relations to building practice in Constantinople and particularly Palestine.[85]

Catholicos Komitas was presumably buried inside the church. A stone slab before the altar may be his tombstone.[88] Catholicos Pilipos, who restored the church in 1653, was buried in the northern apse inside the church after refusal by the Iranian ruler of Erivan to permit his burial at Etchmiadzin.[89] His marble tombstone was erected by Catholicos Yeprem I in the early 1800s.[88]

During restoration works in 1958–59, two graves were found in front of the western entrance, where, according to historical accounts, two Catholicoi were buried: Astvatsatur (r. 1715–1725) and Karapet II (r. 1726–1729). Their tombstones had disappeared in the early 1800s, and new marble ones were erected during the 1950s restoration.[88] To the east of the church, a cemetery survives with around 50 tombstones, including 30 with inscriptions, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The perimeter wall, built in the 1890s, divides it into two. One notable burial is vardapet Stepanos Lehatsi (d. 1689), a member of the Etchmiadzin brotherhood.[90]

Architecture

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Ground plan and cross section per Toros Toramanian[91]

St. Hripsime Church is a domed tetraconch enclosed in a rectangle, with two angular niches on the northern and southern side.[1][92] German art historian Wilhelm Lübke wrote that the church is built on "a most complicated variation of the cruciform ground-plan."[93]

Reception

Rouben Paul Adalian wrote that along with Saint Gayane Church, it stands as a "model of the austere beauty of early Armenian ecclesiastical architecture."[10] Harold Buxton suggested that it is the most "perfect specimen of the best age of Armenian architecture."[94] Frank Ching, Mark Jarzombek and Vikramaditya Prakash praised its "well-formed proportions and meticulous stonework".[95] Howard L. Parsons called it "robust and finely proportioned" and described its style as "post-Romanesque".[96] Its monumental exterior is "considered one of the great achievements of medieval Armenian architecture."[92]

Imitations

[edit]

The church is not the earliest example of this architectural form, however, the form is widely known in architectural history as the "Hripsime-type" since the church is the best-known example of the form.[9] It has also been variously named "Jvari-type" or "Jvari-Hripsime-type" for Jvari in Georgia.[97] Despite this, these words can be refuted by the fact that at the end of the 6th century an Armenian church was built in Avan with the same style as Jvari and St. Hripsime Church.

Notable churches with similar plans include the Surb Hovhannes (Saint John) Church of Avan (6th century),[98] Surb Gevorg (Saint George) Church of Garnahovit (6th century), Church of the Holy Cross at Soradir (6th century), Targmanchats monastery of Aygeshat (7th century),[9] Holy Cross Cathedral of Aghtamar (10th century),[9][99][100][101] and Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) Church at Varagavank (11th century).[102] The architectural form is also found in neighboring Georgia,[103] where examples include the Ateni Sioni Church (7th century), Jvari monastery (7th century), and Martvili Monastery (10th century).[9][98]

Modern

[edit]

Its architecture has been directly replicated or inspired several churches in the modern period, especially in the Armenian diaspora. Notable examples include:

Artistic and historic depictions

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Paintings
Historic images
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See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^ "inside height under the dome"[4]
  2. ^ Sometimes spelled Ripsime or Hripsimeh[5][6]
  3. ^ Alexander Sahinian, who oversaw the excavations after the initial find, suggested that a pagan temple must have stood on its location or nearby.[8][12] He suggested that the temple was devoted to Mihr-Apollo.[8] Babken Arakelyan proposed that the fragments came from an unknown building in Vagharshapat and were used in its foundations,[13] while Varazdat Harutyunyan agreed with Sahinian that the fragments likely came from a pagan temple.[14] Eremian opined that the fragments point to the existence of a pagan temple on its location.[9]
  4. ^ The excavated sections were covered with glass for public display.[11][14]
  5. ^ Additionally, sarcophagi, pieces of a four-sided stele, winepresses, wells, and water pipes were discovered.[21] The monastery wall, built in 1894 was built through the single-nave church, separating it into two parts.[22] In 1997 an open altar-line monument was erected next to the single-nave church.[23]
  6. ^ The Book of Letters contains a letter from 608 which mentions a priest named Samuel of St. Hripsime, which indicates that the maryrium/chapel was an active church.[25]
  7. ^ Some scholars have placed it circa 618, such as Stone and Kouymjian in 617,[28] and Maranci in 618/619.[29]
  8. ^ Adalian suggested that while that the name of the architect remains unknown, "it would not be speculation to say that the great churchmen of the era provided much input and the necessary leadership."[35]
  9. ^ There are two additional heavily damaged inscriptions on the western façade (with only individual letters legible), which Karo Ghafadaryan and Aleksandra Yeremian attributed to Catholicos Komitas.[40]
  10. ^ The inscriptions of Hripsime are explicitly called the second earliest Armenian inscription by Greenwood,[43] Michael E. Stone,[44] and Arsen Harutyunyan.[38] The Tekor inscription is now lost.[45]
  11. ^ by Garegin Hovsepian in 1913[36][37]
  12. ^ It was created by Guillaume-Joseph Grelot, according to a 2024 book by Asoghik Karapetian [Wikidata], director of the Etchmiadzin Museums. See still (4:55–5:01) from the book launch.[55] See also 1811 version (full engraving).[56]
  13. ^ Pilipos's 1653 restoration is recorded on an inscription on a khachkar embedded into the western façade.[62]
  14. ^ A 1653 dossal (embroidered altar curtain), now held at the History Museum of Armenia, was made in this period. It depicts St. Hripsime and her companions.[62][64]
  15. ^ Ivan Aivazovsky subsequently offered his version based on Ivanov's original.[67]
  16. ^ Somewhat in contradiction, Jean Chardin, who visited between 1664 and 1677, wrote that the churches of Hripsime and Gayane are both in a "halfruined state, and it is long since any service has been performed in either."[69]
  17. ^ There is also an encrypted epigraph from 1721/22, left by future Catholicos Hakob V of Shamakhi (r. 1759–1763), is located on the left niche of the eastern façade.[72] An undated inscription by Aleksandr vardapet, who is most likely the later Catholicos Aleksandr II (r. 1753–55), records the donation of fifty sheep as breeding stock.[73]
  18. ^ Some sources erroneously state that the bell tower was built in 1880.[9][26] An inscription by Catholicos Ghukas definitively dates it to 1790.[22]
  19. ^ Varazdat Harutyunyan wrote that it was known beforehand that the floor had been raised nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in), perhaps during the 1653 restoration of Catholicos Pilipos.[14]
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f Kouymjian, Dickran. "Saint Hrp'sime". Index of Armenian Art: Armenian Architecture. California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b Eremian 1974, p. 59.
  3. ^ a b c Strzygowski 1918, p. 92.
  4. ^ a b Nansen, Fridtjof (1928). Armenia and the Near East (PDF). London: George Allen & Unwin. pp. 213–216. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2024.
  5. ^ Dalton, Ormonde Maddock (1925). East Christian art: a survey of the monuments. Hacker Art Books. p. 33. ...in Armenia, such as the cathedral of Edgmiatsin, the church at Bagaran, and the Hripsimeh church at Vagharshapat...
  6. ^ Svajian, Stephen G. (1977). A Trip Through Historic Armenia. GreenHill Pub. p. 85. According to Lynch, the interior of the chapel has the features of St. Hripsimeh Church in Etchmiadzin.
  7. ^ a b Harutyunyan 2018, p. 18.
  8. ^ a b c d Sahinian, A. A. (1996). "Անտիկ դարաշրջանի քաղաքաշինություն և քաղաքացիական կառուցվածքներ [Ancient urban construction and civil structures]". Հայկական ճարտարապետության պատմություն, հ. 1 [History of Armenian Architecture. Vol. I] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences. p. 231. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Eremian, A. [in Armenian] (1980). "Հռիփսիմեի տաճար [Hripsime temple]". Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia Volume 6 (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing. pp. 596–597.
  10. ^ a b Adalian 2010, p. 298.
  11. ^ a b c d "Պաշտոնական հաղորդագրություն Ս. Էջմիածնի Մայր Տաճարի և Ս. Հռիփսիմեի տաճարի պեղումների մասին [Official notice on excavations at Etchmiadzin Cathedral and St. Hripsime Church]". Etchmiadzin. 16 (7): 20–21. 1959.
  12. ^ a b Sahinian, Alexander (24 October 1965). "Հեթանոսական տաճարի նորահայտ բեկորներ [Pieces of a newly-discovered pagan temple]" (PDF). Hayreniky dzayn (in Armenian) (13): 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2024.
  13. ^ Arakelian, B. N. (1960). "Հին Հայաստանի նյութական մշակույթի հիմնական գծերը [Basic features of Ancient Armenia's Material Culture]". Teghekagir Hasarakakan Gitutyunneri (in Armenian) (7–8). Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR: 84. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. ...որոնք վերցված են Վաղարշապատում եղած հեթանոսական ժամանակների ինչ որ շենքից և շրջված վիճակում դրվել են քրիստոնեական տաճարի հիմքերում:
  14. ^ a b c d e Harutyunyan 1984, p. 34.
  15. ^ Hewsen, Robert H. (2001). Armenia: A Historical Atlas. University of Chicago Press. pp. 71, 259. ISBN 0-226-33228-4.
  16. ^ a b c Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 18–19.
  17. ^ a b c Sebeos (1999). "37. Building of the church of Hṙip'simē". The Armenian History attributed to Sebeos. Translated by Robert W. Thomson. Liverpool University Press. p. 76-77. ISBN 0-85323-564-3.
  18. ^ a b c Harutyunyan 1984, p. 32.
  19. ^ a b "Հաղրոդագրություն [Communiqué]" (PDF). Etchmiadzin (in Armenian) (5): 4–6. 1979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2024.
  20. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 19–20, 31.
  21. ^ a b c Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 19–20.
  22. ^ a b c Harutyunyan 2018, p. 31.
  23. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 20–21.
  24. ^ Hacikyan, Agop Jack; Basmajian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan (2000). The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 121. ISBN 9780814328156. Recent excavations around the Church of St. Hripsimé, near Etchmiadzin in Armenia, have uncovered the remains of several tortured women who had been buried after the manner of the early Christians, and tools used in viticulture were unearthed on the same occasion. This would seem to support the story related by Agathangelos.
  25. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 25.
  26. ^ a b c Thierry & Donabédian 1989, pp. 518-519
  27. ^ Adalian 2010, pp. xxxiv, 97–98.
  28. ^ a b c d e Stone, Michael E.; Kouymjian, Dickran; Lehmann, Henning (2002). Album of Armenian Paleography. Aarhus University Press. p. 112. ISBN 87-7288-556-4.
  29. ^ Maranci, Christina (2018). The Art of Armenia: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0190269005.
  30. ^ a b c d Greenwood 2004, p. 39.
  31. ^ a b c d Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 26–27.
  32. ^ Yeremian, Aleksandra [in Armenian] (January 1967). "Հռիփսիմե" (PDF). Gitutyun Ev Tekhnika. 1 (41): 15–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2024.
  33. ^ Kazaryan, Armen; Mikayelyan, Lilit (2019). "Architectural Decorations of Armenian Churches of the 7th and the 10th-11th Centuries and Their Presumably Sasanian Sources". In Asutay-Effenberger, Neslihan; Daim, Falko (eds.). Sasanian Elements in Byzantine, Caucasian and Islamic Art and Culture (PDF). Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums. pp. 75–91. ISBN 978-3-88467-320-1.
  34. ^ Atayan, Robert (2013) [1959]. "Professional Armenian Vocal Music [A lecture delivered at the International Music Council of UNESCO (June 3-5, 1970), at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.]". The Armenian Neume System of Notation. Translated by Vrej Nersessian. Routledge. p. 234. The seventh century Komitas was also a great church dignitary: catholicos, as well as architect, poet and musician. He was the architect of the church of St Hrip'sime near Echmiadzin, one of the finest monuments of early Armenian classical architecture which he himself dates to the year 618 and which still stands today.
  35. ^ Adalian 2010, pp. 97–98.
  36. ^ a b c d Hovsepian, Garegin (1913). Գրչութեան արուեստը հին հայոց մէջ: Քարտէզ հայ հնագրութեան [The Art of Writing Among the Armenians: A Map of Armenian Palaeography] (PDF) (in Armenian). Vagharshapat: Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. p. 6, plate 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2022.
  37. ^ a b Greenwood 2004, A.2.1.
  38. ^ a b c Harutyunyan 2018, p. 28.
  39. ^ Greenwood 2004, pp. 39–40.
  40. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 27–28.
  41. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 23–24.
  42. ^ a b c d e Greenwood 2004, p. 80.
  43. ^ Greenwood 2004, p. 79.
  44. ^ Stone, Michael E. (2006). "Armenian Inscriptions of the Fifth Century from Nazareth". Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Armenian Studies: Collected Papers. Volume II. Leuven: Peeters Publishers. p. 772. ISBN 9789042916449. The Armenian script, traditionally invented in 404 C.E. [...] The oldest dated Armenian inscription surviving is the Tekor inscription of the end of the fifth century. The next one is the dedication of S. Hripsime Church of 618 C.E.
  45. ^ Stone, Michael E. (Spring 2015). "The Rock Inscriptions and Graffiti Project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem" (PDF). Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies. 1 (1). University of Hamburg Asien-Afrika-Institut: 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2023. ...the oldest Armenian inscription [...] It was on a basilica in Tekor, now in the Kars province of Turkey. The inscription is lost, but photographs of it survive.
  46. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 23.
  47. ^ a b c d e f Hovsepian, Garegin (1898). "Կոմիտաս կաթուղիկոսի մի նոր արձանագրութիւն [A new inscription by Catholicos Komitas]". Ararat (in Armenian). 32 (10). Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: 441–442. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024.
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  54. ^ "The Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies – First Edition – London, 1686 – Engravings and a Map". Kedem Auction House. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. engraving archived
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  56. ^ "Ecs-miazin nommée communément les trois eglises". repository.library.brown.edu. Brown Digital Repository, Brown University Library. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023.
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  64. ^ "Altar curtain". historymuseum.am. History Museum of Armenia. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024.
  65. ^ Krylova, Margarita (2010). "Creative Discoveries of the Russian Artist-travelers". Tretyakov Gallery. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. ...big decorative watercolour pictures such as "View of Three Churches against the Backdrop of Mount Ararat in Armenia" (1783)... features the buildings of the Echmiadzin monastery in one of Armenia's oldest cities, Vagharshapat
  66. ^ "Иванов Михаил (1748-1823). Вид трёх церквей на фоне горы Арарат в Армении.1783" (in Russian). Tretyakov Gallery. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Слева, за крепостной стеной, – церковь Святой Рипсимэ
  67. ^ Mitrevski, George. "Aivazovsky, I. K. View of Echmiadzin in Armenia. 1783 - 1823". Auburn University. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023.
  68. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 43.
  69. ^ von Freygang, Frederika; von Freygang, Wilhelm [in German] (1823) [1817]. Letters from the Caucasus and Georgia. London: John Murray. p. 278.
  70. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, pp. 29–30.
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  74. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 37.
  75. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 30.
  76. ^ 1878–1880 according to exhibit sign at the History Museum of Armenia, Yerevan
  77. ^ "Армения по Мандельштаму. Фотографии Армении начала ХХ века". rosphoto.org (in Russian). State Russian Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSPHOTO. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022.
  78. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 31-32.
  79. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 26, 38.
  80. ^ Harutyunyan 1984.
  81. ^ "Ս. Էջմիածնի Մայր Տաճարի, Ս. Հռիփսիմեի, Ս. Գայանեի, Ս. Շողակաթի տաճարների և նրանց շրջակա շենքերի վերանորոգումն ու բարեկարգումը". Etchmiadzin. 14 (6): 46–47. 1956. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024.
  82. ^ Harutyunyan 2018, p. 33.
  83. ^ "Ամենայն Հայոց Հայրապետի կոնդակը Սուրբ Հռիփսիմեի տաճարի վերանորոգման առթիվ". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 19 (4). 1962. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024.
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  94. ^ Buxton, Noel; Buxton, Rev. Harold (1914), Travel and Politics in Armenia, London: Macmillan, p. 35
  95. ^ Ching, Jarzombek & Prakash 2017, p. 308.
  96. ^ Parsons, Howard Lee (1987). "The Armenian Apostolic Church". Christianity Today in the USSR. New York: International Publishers. p. 47. ISBN 9780717806515.
  97. ^ Khrushkova, Liudmila G. (2015). "Notes on a new publication on the religious architecture of Caucasus in the 7th century". Antiquité Tardive. 23. Association pour l'Antiquité tardive: 413. doi:10.1484/J.AT.5.109392. ISSN 1250-7334. ..."type of Jvari", "type of Jvari-Ripsime", "type of Hripsime", etc.
  98. ^ a b Tompos, E. (1991). "Characteristic features of the early Byzantine and Caucasian Architecture". Periodica Polytechnica Architecture. 35 (3–4). Budapest University of Technology and Economics: 111. ...Cathedral named as Djwari, meaning [...] similar to those of the Georgian and Armenian ensembles (either Ateni or Awan, Etshmiadzin, Hripsime in Vagharshapat...
  99. ^ "Սուրբ Հռիփսիմե վանք". ejmiatsin.am (in Armenian). Municipality of Ejmiatsin. 2 March 2012.
  100. ^ Wharton, Alyson (2015). The Architects of Ottoman Constantinople: The Balyan Family and the History of Ottoman Architecture. I.B. Tauris. p. 62. ISBN 9781780768526. ...Cathedral of the Holy Cross (915–21) on Akhtamar in Lake Van, which follows the Surp Hripsime model...
  101. ^ Cheterian, Vicken (2015). Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide. Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780190263508.
  102. ^ Hasratyan, Murad (2002). "Վարագավանք [Varagavank]". Yerevan State University Institute for Armenian Studies (in Armenian). "Christian Armenia" Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. ...Վարագավանքի գլխ.՝ Ս. Աստվածածին եկեղեցին (XI դ.), որն ունի «հռիփսիմեատիպ» կառույցների հորինվածքը...
  103. ^ Hunt, Lucy-Anne (2008). "Eastern Christian Iconographic and Architectural Traditions: Oriental Orthodox". In Parry, Ken (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. John Wiley & Sons. p. 394. ...was influential in Armenia and early imitations of it are found in Georgia...
  104. ^ Barskaya, T. N. "Армянская церковь в Ялте". crimea.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. За основу архитекторами была взята церковь святой Рипсиме, находящаяся в Эчмиадзине (618 г.).
  105. ^ "Dome of Armenian Cathedral Is Regilded". The New York Times. 5 December 1993.
  106. ^ "Saint Sarkis Church and Community Center". aiany.org. American Institute of Architects New York. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. the Church of Saint Sarkis is constructed to the precise scale and proportions of the ancient Church of Saint Hripsime
  107. ^ "New St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Carrollton, Texas Memorializes 1,400-Year-Old Armenian Sanctuary – Asbarez.com". Asbarez. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Hotson and Terzyan began designing St. Sarkis with a brief that envisioned a new church building modeled on St. Hripsime
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  109. ^ Healey, Barth (15 October 1989). "Pastimes: Stamps". The New York Times. ...the 45-kopeck issue shows the church of St. Hripsime, an Armenian masterpiece built in 618...
  110. ^ "Stamps (2018): 1400th anniversary of the foundation of Saint Hripsime Cathedral". HayPost. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023.
  111. ^ "Banknotes out of Circulation - 200 dram". cba.am. Central Bank of Armenia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Saint Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin
  112. ^ captioned "Escarmouche de Persans et de Kurdes". Gagarin, Grigorij Grigorjevic (1847). Le Caucase pittoresque (in French). Paris. p. 18. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024.
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