Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran

Introduction about Tehran Saint Sarkis Cathedral

In this article, we intend to introduce you to the Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran.

This article is one of the articles on the Hoteloneclick site that helps tourists get to know Tehran tourist attractions better.

Why is the Saint Sarkis Cathedral a tourist attraction in Tehran?

Today we want to take to the streets of the capital and reach the Holy Church of Sarkis in Tehran, a religious place with a special mood and impressive decorations known as the largest church in Tehran.

We will take you inside this church and provide you with information such as the hours of visiting Saint Sarkis Cathedral.

Be with Hoteloneclick and stroll into the most beautiful church of Tehran to immerse yourself in peace and spirituality.

The main reasons for choosing the Saint Sarkis Cathedral as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tehran can be as follows:

• It is one of the most beautiful churches in the capital.
• It has the title of the largest church in Tehran.
• It displays a combination of modern and medieval architecture of Armenia.

Meet Saint Sarkis Cathedral: Symbol of Christianity of Tehran

Saint Sarkis Cathedral is an Armenian church located in the heart of Tehran since 1970.

The church was built by an Armenian benefactor, Markar Sarkisian, designed by the engineer Eugene Aftandilian.

The white facade of this building is very relaxing and its upright stature gives your eyes a splendid glow.

Before this church was built, the Armenian Caliphate was located in the Holy Mary Church but was moved to the site after the completion of the construction of the Holy Sarkis Church.

The Caliphate of the Armenians of Tehran is a religious authority and organization responsible for administering the affairs of the Armenians in Tehran and the northern part of the country.

This church is responsible for managing the affairs of churches, schools, cemeteries, and overseeing the cultural and social life of the Armenians in Tehran.

 After the relocation of this religious authority building to Saint Sarkis, it is referred to as a symbol of Tehran's Christianity.

The architecture of the saint Sarkis Church

Saint Sarkis Cathedral is 36.5 meters’ length and 17.8 meters’ width and is referred to as the largest church in Tehran.

Engineer Aftandlian was inspired by medieval and modern Armenian architecture to build the saint Sarkis Cathedral but has also made significant changes to these two styles of architecture.

The church was built on the basilica plan. The basilica is divided into large, cross-shaped churches.

In the church of St. Sarkis the trustee houses of the two sides of the altar are on the east side of the building and the main entrance corridor is located on the west.

How these elements are put together makes the church have a cruciform plan from the inside.

The building owes its white facade to the white marble that is used on its exterior wall.

The interior walls and ceiling are also covered with plaster, and therefore the interior is in good harmony with the exterior.

Here are some sections of this church:

3. Church entrance

The entrances of the Church of St. Sarkis are located on the west wall.

A larger main entrance is in the middle and two smaller entrances are found on both the north and south sides.

These two small entrances are behind the main entrance and under the bell towers.

Unlike other parts of the church, the wall had a large cross-shaped glass facade that was changed after the demolition during the imposed war.

Because the church is built on a relatively short platform, the designer has built stairs in the west that are opposite the entrance to the church.

To enter the church, we pass through the main entrance and its tall porch, built in the style of Armenian 4th and 5th century churches.

We then walk down the corridor with the width of the church altar and see a balcony that is used to perform choir songs.

4. Nave space

The height of the roof of the church is influenced by the Church of St. Mary.

The church was built in 988 AD by the Smbat II of Armenia and is situated in today's Turkish-Armenian border and within Turkish territory.

The roof of St. Sarkis Church is very high and the absence of a pillar beneath the dome has created a large space in the church nave.

There are three parts for the church nave: the east, the west, and the middle.

The middle part is wider than the eastern and western parts and is 75 cm wider on each side.

The polygonal dome is seen here and is positioned on a quadrilateral part.

The Chahartaq also leans to the girder and there are many skylights in the dome of the church.

Above the outer walls of the middle part of the courtyard, there is a corbie gable, which, because of its alignment with the walls of the eastern and western courtyards, has a wide angle and, a low height. Each of the walls of the middle nave has three narrow skylights that extend from the top to the bottom of the wall.

However, only two lights are used on the walls of the eastern and western nave.

The glass windows are decorated with paintings of Armenian national and religious themes and have a very beautiful appearance.

Rememberance of the Armenian Genocide

On the outside of the church, there is a white marble structure of 3.5 meters high and is based on the same stone.

May 1973 was the 58th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which was unveiled.

At the base of this structure, there is an inscription with a width of 77 cm and the height of 66 cm on which is written in Nastaʿlīq Persian language as well as in Armenian: "Armenian Martyrs' Memorial" and below that is the date "April 24, 1915" in the Armenian language.

The monument of the Armenian genocide of St. Sarkis Church is specially designed and has many signs in it:

The composite design of the three pieces of stones symbolizes the Armenian religious belief that a nation went to slaughter to preserve it.

Stones with crosses or Khachkar symbolize the resurrection of Christ and symbolize martyrdom and uprising; just as Christ rose from the dead, the Armenian nation also tolerated slaughter, and dispersal to be reborn and inaugurated the independent state of Armenia in 1918 after it endured the domination of aliens for many centuries.

The rest of the monument's designs as a whole show the spirit of freedom, perseverance, adherence to religion, and belief in the triumph of truth.

The history of the Armenian Genocide

The Armenian genocide refers to the deliberate and pre-planned annihilation of the Armenian population living in Ottoman-controlled territories during World War I (1915 to 1917), which was perpetrated by the Ottoman men's government and the leaders of the Young Turks.

 It has been so bitter that it has been given other titles such as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian massacre and the Great Crime, and is remembered as one of the first genocides of the twentieth century.

The operation was carried out in the form of mass killings and forced exile that resulted in the death toll of between one to one and a half million.

In addition to the arrest and execution of Armenians, a large population of Armenian men, women, and children were also exiled from their homes and forced to march on distant deserts without any access to water or food.

During these forced deportations, there are also reports of rape and sexual harassment by the hostile forces.

The tomb of Bishop Ardak Manoukian

Next to the Armenian Genocide Memorial is the tomb of the late Bishop Ardak Manoukian, a former Armenian Caliph of Tehran.

He was born in Beirut on January 22, 1931, and passed away in Tehran on October 5, 1999.

He was the Archbishop of the Armenians of Tehran from 1961 to 1999 and taught Armenian language and literature at Tehran University.

Ardak Manoukian was recognized as the religious leader of the Armenians in Tehran in 1959 and during his serving the Holy Targmanchats Church, the Holy Sarkis church and the Saint Gregory Church in Tehran, and Saint Mesrop Church in Rasht were built.

His 34 book titles include religious, ethical, historical and research topics, some of which are: Armenian Church Feasts, Shadows, The Role water in religious ceremonies, Memories of a Stone, Culture and Religion and more.

The design of the church building was left to engineer Eugene Aftandilian, and after the death of Sarkisian, his children, Gurgen and Vasgen, funded the construction of the church and the caliphate buildings.

On April 3, 1964, the church started to be buit.

The ceremony was attended by Ardak Manoukian, the Bishop of the Armenians of Tehran, the clergy of the Armenian Church, and a large crowd of Armenians in Tehran.

Engineer Aftandilian presented a special plan for the church.

Six others were invited to continue the construction work to submit the construction plan and estimate the cost.

The imposing war caused damage to the church, and during the rocket fire near the church all the glass on the western wall collapsed. Restoration of this part of the church was done using marble and a wall with three small skylights was built there.

After a while, cracks in the roof were created and their condition deteriorated with the rain.

At this time, considerations were carried out and they found that the girders were not capable of withstanding the weight of the ceiling and dome.

As a result of this problem, a church named "Ruben Sarkisian" was commissioned for nineteen months in August 1981 (August 1981) to repair it.

He erected four columns to reinforce the girders beneath the quadrangle of the dome, and the church was reopened in March 1983.

In 2012, repairs were made inside and outside the church, during which the baptismal pool was rebuilt on the eastern corner of the north wall of the building.

Access roads

Address: Nejatollahi Ave., Karim Khan Zand Ave., Tehran

1. Personal Car Access

This church is in traffic restricted area and you should consider this when using a personal car to get there.

To use public transport, you can choose one of these ways:

 2. Buses

There are several lines that cross the Karim Khan Zand Street and you can reach the church at the nearest bus stop.

3. Subway

Get to the Ostad Nejatollahi Station and get to the church after a little walk.

4. Taxi

Use taxis that take you to Valiasr Square or Haft Tir Square and from there you can reach the church by taking another taxi.

Conclusions for Travel Guide at St. Sarkis Church in Tehran

Churches are among the most beautifully decorated places of worship that you will be immersed in joy when seeing them.

St. Sarkis Church is one of those that when you enter that you can get to know more or less about the culture of Christians in Iran and their architecture and art.

Have you ever visited the Holy Church of Sarkis? If so, write about your experience in the comments section and tell us a bit about it.

What other churches have you seen in Iran?

Also, if you have questions about Iranian churches, our counselors will answer you.

We look forward to your comments at the HotelOneClick.

Our references to prepare Saint Sarkis Cathedral Travel guide:

we have used many references to prepare this article. They are some of them in the following:

• Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Wikipedia
• The biggest church in the capital of Iran
• Introduction of Saint Sarkis Cathedral
• Reviews for Saint Sarkis Cathedral