点评:Our first stop this morning is Echmiadzin town, the religious center for all Armenians around the world. The name of the town was something else, but the church became so popular that the town name was changed to Echmiadzin since that is what everyone called it. The church was founded by Gregory the Illuminator with the original building completed in 303 AD. The current church dates from 483 and 1868. It is considered to by the first cathedral and may be the oldest cathedral in the world. There are two characters on the wall just inside the arched entry. God is on one side and Gregory on the other. There is a seminary and the residence of the head of the church on the grounds as well as a new church where most services are held and a statue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Genocide massacre, built in 1965, a newer round church called the Archangel Church and an outdoor prayer area by the entry gate. I got one picture inside the church. Not supposed to take any. It was really beautiful and there was a “Last Supper” painting. They did not have post cards available.
翻译:今天上午我们的第一站是埃奇米阿津镇,它是全世界亚美尼亚人的宗教中心。这座小镇原本叫别的名字,但由于当地的教堂声名远扬,人们都习惯称其为埃奇米阿津,于是镇名也随之更改。该教堂由“启蒙者格列高利”所创建,最初的建筑于公元303年完工。如今的教堂则分别建于483年和1868年。它被誉为第一座大教堂,或许也是世界上最古老的大教堂。在拱形入口内侧的墙上有两个人物形象:一边是上帝,另一边是格雷戈里。院落里还有一所神学院、教会首领的住所,以及一座大多数宗教仪式都在那里举行的崭新教堂;此外还有一座建于1965年、为纪念大屠杀50周年而建的纪念碑,一座较新的圆形教堂——天使长教堂,以及入口处的一个户外祈祷区。我在教堂里拍了一张照片,其实是不允许拍照的。那里真的很美,还有一幅《最后的晚餐》画作。不过他们没有明信片出售。