Saint Hripsime Church

Saint Hripsime Church
Saint Hripsime Church
	St. Hripsime in 2014
Religion
Affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
Rite	Armenian
Status	Active
Location
Location	85 Mesrop Mashtots Street, Vagharshapat, Armavir Province, Armenia
Geographic coordinates	40°10′01″N 44°18′34″E / 40.1670°N 44.3095°E
Architecture
Type	Domed tetraconch
Style	Armenian
Founder	Catholicos Komitas
Completed	c. 618 (church); 1653 (portico); 1790 (belfry)
Specifications
Length	22.8 m (75 ft)
Width	17.7 m (58 ft)
Dome height (inner)	23 m (75 ft)
	UNESCO World Heritage Site
	Official name: Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots
Type	Cultural
Criteria	(ii) (iii)
Designated	2000 (24th session)
Reference no.	1011-004
Region	Western Asia

Saint Hripsime Church^[b] is a seventh-century Armenian Apostolic church in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. It was built in 618 by Catholicos Komitas over the tomb of Hripsime, a Roman virgin murdered by Tiridates III and a key figure in the Christianization of Armenia.

Standing largely intact since its construction, the church has been widely admired for its architecture and proportions. Considered a masterpiece of classical Armenian architecture, it has influenced many other Armenian churches. It features innovations, namely trapezoidal niches and conical squinches, containing their first dated examples, and the only example in Armenia of turrets at the base of the drum serving as anchors and buttresses. The two inscriptions left by Komitas constitute the second-earliest extant Armenian-language inscriptions. The church was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other nearby churches, including Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's mother church, in 2000.

^ "Surb Hripsime Church (Ejmiatsin)". Spyur Directory. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b Eremian 1974, p. 59.
^ ^a ^b Strzygowski 1918, p. 92.
^ Cite error: The named reference Nansen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Vazgen62 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Eremian 1980.
^ Stepanian 1912.
^ Hasratyan 2002.
^ Harutyunyan 2018.
^ 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...
^ 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.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] "Surb Hripsime Church (Ejmiatsin)". Spyur Directory. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025.

[FOOTNOTEEremian197459-2] Eremian 1974, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTEStrzygowski191892-3] Strzygowski 1918, p. 92.

[Nansen-4] Cite error: The named reference Nansen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Vazgen62-6] Cite error: The named reference Vazgen62 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEEremian1980-7] Eremian 1980.

[FOOTNOTEStepanian1912-8] Stepanian 1912.

[FOOTNOTEHasratyan2002-9] Hasratyan 2002.

[FOOTNOTEHarutyunyan2018-10] Harutyunyan 2018.

[11] 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...

[12] 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.

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