ST. HRIPSIME CHURCH

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.

The monumental exterior of the church is "considered one of the great achievements of medieval Armenian architecture." It has been described as a "gem of Armenian architecture" and "one of the most complex compositions in Armenian architecture." The interior of Hripsime Church is laconic, modest and graceful. Archaeological excavations carried out on this territory have revealed ancient burials belonging to pre-Christian and early Christian periods.

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.