St. Shoghakat church is a late object of Etchmiadzin architectural complex. It was erected from brown tuff. Shoghakat is a domed single-nave basilica with a semi-circular eastern apse flanked on either side by narrow chapels. The interior of the church is decorated with the modest architectural elements and ornaments which are similar to the decorations of St. Hripsime church and Etchmiadzin Cathedral. The church is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The well-established transport infrastructure of Armenia allows to get to St. Shoghakat church by a private car or with the help of various travel companies which offer regular excursions and tours to different sights of the country. Due to the geographical location of St. Shoghakat church the trip will not seem long.
The high season in Armenia lasts for a long time due to the pleasant climate conditions. Warm days in Armenia start in March and last until late autumn; winter is usually snowless and not long. The high precipitation season is variable. The tourist season for St. Shoghakat church depends on the weather conditions.
The medieval church Shoghakat is located in Vagharshapat. The place where the church was built, according to the legend, was occupied by a winepress. A nuns’ shelter, who escaped from Rome, was found here. The church was built in 1694.
According to the Armenian Apostolic Church, Gayane was the abbess of the monastery, which was located in the highlands of ancient Rome. The emperor Diocletian wanted to marry one of the nuns of the monastery, but all of them, refused to abandon their believes and staying faithful to their religion, decided to run to Armenia and settled near the capital Vagharshapat. The Armenian king Tiridates III, fascinated by the beauty of the same nun Hripsime, also wished to marry her. However, receiving the same answer, the king ordered to kill all the nuns. This time the nuns could not manage to escape: one by one virgins were killed. Three chapels were built in memory of these tragic events: on the grave of St. Hripsime, on the grave of St. Gayane, and the third one at the place where nuns lived and one of the them was killed.
As it was mentioned above the third church was built at the place where nuns lived and one of the nuns was killed. However, Agatangeghos, the historian who left us this legend of the Roman nuns, did not mention the name of the nun who died in the shelter. According to later manuscripts it was revealed that her name was Mariane. There is another version of the legend, according to which St. Shoghakat church was built in the place where "a ray of light had fallen" on the dead nuns (literally from Armenian "շող"(Shogh) - "ray" and "կաթել" (kat) - "drip"). So it was believed that not only Mariane, but also other nuns were killed here.
ST. HRIPSIME CHURCH
1 km
ETCHMIADZIN MOTHER CATHEDRAL
1,5 km
ST. GAYANE CHURCH
2 km
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