The large monastery complex of Etchmiadzin resembles a fairy-tale palace in its appearance and interior decoration. It appeared in 303 near the city of Armavir. At that time, this city was the prosperous capital of Armenia.

It is believed that this was the first Cathedral built in ancient Armenia. Besides, it is often called the oldest Cathedral in the world. It was built not on an empty place, but on the top of an even more ancient pagan temple, as a symbol of the inhabitants’ transition from paganism to Christianity.

Since Armenia was not a peaceful country, there were constant civil strife and feudal wars. It was the Christian churches that became the stronghold of faith, reliability, and peace. And gradually, it was spiritual mentors who gained more power and trust than kings and other rulers. All this led to the fact that not only poor people, who were tired of wars, and thinkers, who did not want to participate in conflicts, but also rich people, who wanted to save their families, went to monasteries.

Due to this fact, gradually Etchmiadzin turned from a small temple and a couple of houses into a small city. The Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, the Church of Saint Hripsime, the Church of Saint Gayane, the Church of Saint Shoghakat, the Seminary, and even its own printing house were built here.

And over time, the monastery became a real repository of jewelry, expensive gifts, products of the best masters of different times, which were brought here for preservation by the rich inhabitants of the country. It was also here that ancient manuscripts were collected and carefully preserved.

For many centuries, a real museum has been formed here! It is full of strange treasures and relics. For example, today Etchmiadzin has the largest collection of ancient manuscripts in the world.

During the Soviet Union, some of the exhibits from the Cathedral were moved to the museums of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. A separate institute was created for storing, cataloging, and studying manuscripts. But even though the collection of Etchmiadzin Cathedral has not become so rich, it still impresses with its scope and rare ancient exhibits.