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Echmiadzin| Ancient town and former capital of Armenia, 15 km/9 mi west of the present capital Yerevan; population (2001 est) 46,200. As the centre of the Armenian Church, it is the most important religious site in the country. |
| Echmiadzin was founded in the first half of the second century AD, and became its capital. From the beginning of the 4th century – when a cathedral and monastery were built – until the 12th century it was the seat of the Armenian Patriarch, or ‘Catholicos’. The present see was established here in 1441. The monastery site contains a number of historic buildings: the main cathedral founded in 303 by St Gregory the Illuminator, rebuilt between the 5th and the 7th centuries; and other churches dating from the 7th century. The monastery's renowned manuscript collection was transferred during the Soviet period to Yerevan. Echmiadzin was granted town status in 1924. |
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