Come for worship and prayer to one of the first temples in the whole Christian world - Echmiadzin. According to the legend, the foundation stone of this temple was laid in 301 by Gregory the illuminator (Grigor Lusavorich) - the first Catholicos of the Armenian Church.
The Echmiadzin Monastery (“The Descent of the Only Begotten,”) has sacred significance for the Christian faith: it is the central monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians from the beginning of the 4th century until the year 484 and again from 1441.
Located in the city of Vagharshapat of the Republic of Armenia this monastery is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. At the beginning of the 5th century, a church council was convened in Vagarshapat, which decided to create the Armenian alphabet and the translation of the Bible. The Echmiadzin Cathedral and theological educational institutions are located in the Echmiadzin Monastery Complex.
It’s not worth thinking about where to spend your holidays this year. The time has come to make a pilgrimage to Armenia, to finally set foot in a country that was the first in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion.
Gardman Tour, 13.05.2019