Saint Gayane Church

Saint Gayane Church is a 7th-century Armenian church located in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia’s religious center. It is only a short walk away from the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.

The church was built in 630 by Catholicos Ezra’s order. It was built in that location because there was a chapel, where Saint Gayane was martyred at the hands of Armenian King Trdat. Saint Gayane’s relics are now buried  in the southern part of the church.

The church is a three-nave domed basilica with an octagonal drum supported by four internal pillars that divide the church’s interior into three naves.