Armenia, Echmiadzin Cathedral (00:05:57)

Etchmiadzin Cathedral is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city of Vagharshapat, Armenia. According to most scholars it was the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and is often considered the oldest cathedral in the world. According to Armenian church tradition, the cathedral was built between 301 and 303, near the royal palace in what was then the Armenian royal capital of Vagharshapat, on the location of a pagan temple. In the early fourth century the Kingdom of Armenia, under Tiridates III, had become the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Agathangelos narrates in his History of the Armenians the legend of the foundation of the cathedral. Armenia’s patron saint Gregory the Illuminator had a vision of Jesus Christ descending from heaven and striking the earth with a golden hammer to show where the cathedral should be built.