YEREVAN, December 21. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Central Bank said today it has put into circulation a silver commemorative coin “Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin”.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is the spiritual center of Armenians all over the world and the residence of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
It is the first Christian cathedral in the world, which was built in 301-303 at the initiative and with the assistance of the Armenian king Trdat III the Great and the first patriarch Gregory the Illuminator.
The legend says that Gregory the Illuminator had a vision that the Son of God Jesus Christ descended from heaven to the Ararat Valley, to the capital of Great Armenia Vagharshapat, and indicated the place where the temple of God should be erected.
The Cathedral was built on a cruciform foundation and has a central dome, making it the first cross-domed temple in the world church architecture.
In the 17th century, a three-tiered bell tower was added to the western entrance of the Cathedral, as well as small bell towers on the northern, eastern and southern apses. In 1869, three rooms were built along the entire eastern wall of the cathedral as a depository-museum. In the XVII-XVIII centuries the interior of the cathedral was painted with frescoes by the Hovnatanyan artists.
Over the centuries, the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin was reconstructed at the expense of Armenian princes, patrons of art (Al. Mantashyan, Gulbekian Foundation, Louise Manoogian Simone and the Manoogian family), with charitable donations from Armenians from all over the world and with the assistance of the Armenian state.
At the initiative of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, work began in 2012 on the complete reconstruction of the Cathedral, which is planned to be completed in 2021. Since 2000, the Cathedral has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The face value of the coin is 30,100 drams, it is made from metal / standard – silver 9990, the weight is 1000.0 g, diameter – 100.0 mm, quantity – 301 pieces, year of issue – 2020.
The author of the project is CIT Coin Invest AG, Liechtenstein. The coins were coined at the Mayer mint in Germany.
The obverse depicts the Cathedral of Saint Etchmiadzin, the reverse – the Altar of the Cathedral of Saint Etchmiadzin against the background of the inner part of the dome ($1 – 521.66 drams). -0-
