Armenia’s oldest church discovered in Artaxata – History

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest church in Armenia in the ancient city of Artaxata. This octagonal building with four extending bays forming a cruciform plan dates from the 4th century AD and is the oldest church excavated and recorded archaeologically in the country. It is also the only known octagonal church in Armenia, although its design is widely known throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

Typologically, this discovery corresponds to early Christian monumental architecture. In the cross-shaped extension, researchers found the remains of a wooden platform, radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century AD. The building is octagonal in shape, about 30 meters in diameter, and has a simple mortar floor and terracotta slabs. The discovery of marble suggests that it was richly decorated with this material imported from the Mediterranean.

Excavations revealed the massive support columns of the octagonal structure as well as the wooden platform of the bay. Additional remains were discovered during geophysical mapping of the site.

The city of Artaxata was built by King Artash-Artaxias I around 180 BC as the new capital of the Kingdom of Armenia. Even though Armenia became a vassal state of the Roman Empire and then Sasanian Persia, Artaxata remained the political and administrative center of the country until the 5th century AD.

Artasata also plays an important role in the history of Armenian Christianity. Gregory the Illuminator, revered as a saint and founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, was imprisoned by King Tiridates III in a deep pit in the monastery of Horverap, Artasata. Gregory was in the service of the king, but he was raised as a Christian, and when he refused to sacrifice to Anahit, the goddess of fertility, Tiridates arrested him and tortured him. Gregory languished in the pit for 13 or 15 years, and was not released until the king’s sister saw a vision. Tiridates subsequently converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the kingdom in 301 AD, making Armenia the first country to make Christianity the state religion.

This newly discovered church is just a few steps away from the Khor Virap monastery at the foot of Mount Ararat.