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Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin (also spelled Echmiadzin or Etchmiadzin, Էջմիածին, ), which was its official name between 1945 and 1995. It is still commonly used colloquially and in official bureaucracy, a case of dual naming.
The city is best known as the location of Etchmiadzin Cathedral and Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is thus unofficially known in Western sources as a "holy city" and in Armenia as the country's "spiritual capital". It was one of the major cities and a capital of the ancient Kingdom of Greater Armenia.James R. Russell. Zoroastrianism in Armenia. — Harvard University Press, 1987. — P. 118. Reduced to a small town by the early 20th century, it experienced large expansion during the Soviet period becoming, effectively, a suburb of Yerevan. Its population stands just over 37,000 based on 2016 estimates.
Ejmiatsin ( Etchmiadzin, Ēĵmiacin) literally means "the descent of the Only-Begotten" or "the Only-Begotten descended" (from “the descent” and “the Only-Begotten”), referring to how St. Gregory had a vision of Jesus (the Only-Begotten Son of God) descending to the place and marking it as where Gregory should erect churches.
According to 5th-century writer Movses Khorenatsi, the oldest name of Vagharshapat was Artimed (Արտիմէդ), derived from the Greek mythology deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi (Աւան Վարդգէսի, "Town of Vardges") or Vardgesavan (Վարդգէսաւան) after being rebuilt by prince Vardges Manouk near the shores of Kasagh River, during the reign of king Orontes I Sakavakyats of Armenia (570–560 BC).
In the first half of the 2nd century AD, under the reign of the Armenian Arsacid king Vagharsh I of Armenia (117–144), the old town of Vardgesavan was renovated and renamed Vagharshapat (Վաղարշապատ). In his first book Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius has cited to the city as Valashabad (Balashabad), named after king Valash (Balash) of Armenia. The name evolved into its later form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh, which is common in the Armenian language. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the Town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by king Vagharsh I to become known as Norakaghak (Նորաքաղաք, "New City") and later Vagharshapat. Vagharshapat has served as the capital of the Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia between 120 AD and 330 AD. After embracing Christianity as a state religion in Armenia in 301, Vagharshapat was gradually called Ejmiatsin (), after the name of the Mother Cathedral; the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate, which is considered one of the oldest religious organizations in the world. As a spiritual centre of the entire Armenian nation, Vagharshapat has grown up rapidly and developed as an important centre of education and culture. The city was home to one of the oldest educational institutions in Armenia founded by Mesrop Mashtots.
The political capital of the Armenian kingdom was transferred to the city of Dvin in 336.
The Armenian Church rejected the Council of Chalcedon (451) because they believed the Chalcedonian christology was too similar to Nestorianism; however, some Armenian bishops who were present in the territories of Roman Armenia signed the Council's documents and also accepted Pope Leo I's 458 encyclical mandating adherence to the Chalcedonian Definition. In Persarmenia, the Persian Nestorian Church supported the spread of Nestorianism, which the Armenian Church had previously declared heretical and saw as a threat to the independence of their Church. Peter the Iberian, a Georgian people prince, also strongly opposed the Chalcedonian Creed. Thus, in 491, Catholicos Babken I of Armenia, along with the Albanian and Iberian bishops met in Vagharshapat and issued a condemnation of the Chalcedonian Definition. Zvartnots and the Origins of Christian Architecture in Armenia, W. Eugene Kleinbauer, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 54, No. 3 (September 1972): 261.
In 587 during the reign of emperor Maurice, Vagharshapat (then called Valarshapat) and much of Armenia came under Roman administration after the Romans defeated the Sassanid Empire at the battle of the Blarathon.
In 658 AD, Vagharshapat, along with the rest of the Armenian highland, was conquered by the Arabs. The city was briefly revived between the 9th and 11th centuries under the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, before being overrun by the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and later by the Seljuk Empire in 1064.
In the middle of the 13th century, Vagharshapat became part of the Ilkhanate of the Mongol Empire. During the last quarter of the 14th century the Aq Qoyunlu Sunni Oghuz Turks tribe took over Armenia, including Vagharshapat.
The influence of Vagharshapat waned between 1045 and 1441, when the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate was transferred from the city of Sis back to Etchmiadzin.
In 1828, after the Russo-Persian War, Vagharshapat —as a part of the Erivan Khanate— was handed over to the Russian Empire as a result of the Treaty of Turkmenchay signed on 21 February 1828.
In their 1833 book Eli Smith and H. G. O. Dwight described Vagharshapat, then a village, as follows: "It presents nothing but a crowded collection of mud cabins, perhaps 500 in number."
With the establishment of the Erivan Governorate in 1850, Vagharshapat became the centre of the newly formed Echmiadzinsky Uyezd.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the town has witnessed a massive wave of construction, including residential buildings and industrial plants. By the end of the 1960s, the historical monuments of the town; including the religious complex of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Saint Hripsime Church, Saint Gayane Church and the surrounding area of Zvartnots Cathedral, were entirely rehabilitated. Historical review
After the independence of Armenia, the town was officially renamed Vagharshapat in 1995. However, the town is still popularly known as Ejmiatsin.
In October 2018, Diana Gasparyan, who was nominated by the Civil Contract Party, was elected mayor of the city and the country's first ever female mayor. Armenia elects first female mayor
According to Moses of Chorene's History of Armenia and as a result of several archaeological researches conducted in the area, the most probable location of the ancient city of Vagharshapat is the area of Shresh Hill near Kasagh River. Ejmiatsin: History
Shresh Hill or the Kond of Ghugo, as it was called by the local population, is only away to the northeast of modern-day Vagharshapat, on the way to Oshakan. It is an artificial hill and has a diameter of long. It was first excavated in 1870. In 1913 and 1928, the area was excavated by archaeologist Yervand Lalayan. Large-scale excavations were conducted around the hill and the nearby sites of Metsamor and Mokhrablur between 1945 and 1950.
Historically, Vagharshapat is at the heart of the Armenian Highland, in Aragatsotn canton (Armenian: Արագածոտն գաւառ Aragatsotn gavar, not to be confused with the current Aragatsotn Province) of Ayrarat province, within Armenia Major.
The city has an average elevation of above sea level. The climate is cold semi-arid (Köppen climate classification BSk).
The majority of the town's population are ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is the Diocese of Armavir based in the nearby town of Armavir. Between 1996 and 2014, the Holy Mother of God Church of Vagharshapat has served as the seat of the diocese. Opened in 1767 by Catholicos Simeon I, the church is located at the centre of Vagharshapat, north of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Here is a population timeline of Vagharshapat since 1830:
| 1830 | 2,175 | the fourth largest in the Armenian Oblast |
| 1831 | 100% Armenian | |
| 1873 | 2,787 | |
| c. 1891 | 3,000 | overwhelmingly populated by Armenians |
| 1897 | 5,267 | 94.8% Armenians |
| 1908 | 3,283 | Mostly Armenian |
| 1914 | 5,755 | |
| 1919 | 16,886 | |
| 1926 | 8,436 | 99.1% Armenians |
| 1931 | 8,349 | |
| 1959 | 19,560 | |
| 1968 | 27,100 | |
| 1976 | 42,000–44,040 | |
| 1990 | 60,000 | |
| 2001 | 51,280 | de facto population |
| 56,388 | de jure population | |
| 2004 | 56,400 | |
| 2011 | 46,540 | de facto population |
| 2022 | 44,837 |
Gevorgian Seminary is a theological college of the Armenian Apostolic Church founded by Catholicos Gevork IV in 1874 within the complex of the Mother See. Apart from the Mother Cathedral, Vagharshapat is home to many other important Armenian churches and cathedrals. The Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, the Churches of Saint Hripsimé, Saint Gayane and Saint Shoghakat, and the archaeological site of Zvartnots are listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The town is also home to a number of museums including the Vagharshapat Ethnographic Museum, Khoren Ter-Harutyunyan Museum and Gallery, Mher Abeghian Museum and Gallery, and Hovhannes Hovhannisyan House-museum. However, the most prominent museums of Vagharshapat are located within the Mother See complex, including:
The Mother See is also home to the Pontifical Bookstore operating since 1962, and the *Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Manuscript Depository opened in 2012.
The town celebrates the "Ejmiatsin Day" annually since 2008 in Vagharshapat on 8 October. According to the old Armenian tradition, Mesrop Mashtots brought the newly created Armenian alphabet to Vagharshapat on 8 October 405.
The Zvartnots International Airport of Yerevan is located only east of Vagharshapat.
Being located 20 km west of the capital Yerevan, Vagharshapat is connected with the capital city with public vans, locally known as marshrutka. These vehicles used to be mainly Russian-made GAZelle vans with 13 seats. However, they have changed since 2018. The Vagharshapat-Yerevan buses have regular trips every day from 7 am to 9 pm and cost 300 Armenian drams. N5 եւ N203 երթուղիների հակամարտությունը շարունակվում է. մեկը մյուսի պատճառով վնասներ է կրում The route starts from the station near Echmiadzin State College after Vardges Hamazaspyan and finishes at the end of Mashtots Avenue, near to Matenadaran. Except for the Vagharshapat-Yerevan buses, taxis designed specifically for Vagharshapat-Yerevan trips also operate. Taxis start the route from the center of Vagharshapat and finish at the station near to Blue Mosque. The current rate of the Vagharshapat-Yerevan taxis is 500 Armenian drams per person. Currently, there are 2 smart bus stops in the city.
Under the Soviet rule, the town was turned into an important industrial centre. It was home to 4 major industrial firms specialized in the production of military technology. However, the productivity of the plants declined after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Currently, the industry of the town is mainly based on food-processing. The largest industrial firms of the town are the Ejmiatsin Instrument Making Factory founded in 1966, the E.P.G. Ejmiatsin Cannery founded in 1969, the Ejmiatsin Kat dairy factory founded in 1997, the Sonimol plant for grains founded in 2001, the Ejmiatsin wine brandy and vodka factory founded in 2005, and the Ekologia V.K.H. biological waste destruction plant founded in 2009.
The Machanents Touristic Centre of Vagharshapat provides a unique facility for the visitors of the town. The complex houses a cultural centre with small theatre, pub and jazz club, traditional cuisine, and a boutique hotel. The Zvartnots hotel and casino complex is located at the eastern entrance of the town.
Karekin I Centre of Theology and Armenology is also functioning in the town since 2000.
, Vagharshapat is home to 14 public secondary schools, 8 kindergartens and 2 musical academies.
The new complex of Eurnekian School of the Mother See was opened in September 2017.
In October 2016, the Football Federation of Armenia has launched the construction of a football academy at the southern suburb of the town, on the Vagharshapat-Margara motorway. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 12 April 2017, was attended by President Serzh Sargsyan, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and FFA President Ruben Hayrapetyan. With an approximate cost of US$2 million, the complex will occupy an area of and is expected to be completed by October 2017. The project is being jointly financed by the FFA, UEFA and FIFA.
A new sport school is currently under construction in Vagharshapat since 2015, with a cost of more than US$1 million. The project is due to be completed in 2019.
The nearby village of Aknalich (10 km south of Vagharshapat) is famous for the Ara and Aytsemnik equestrian centre.
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