Vagharshapat - Zvartnots

Palatine church from the time of Catholicos Nersès III (641-661). It is a large tetraconch structure surrounded by a ring-shaped ambulatory. Three of the large niches are opened up by arcades on columns, in an effort to expand the central space. Such schemes do not seem entirely typical, even though they are present in the Armenian area (Ichkan 8th c., Bana 10th c., Aní 11th c., Garni, Liakit), but rather derived from late Roman-Byzantine models (San Lorenzo in Milan 4th c., Athens 4th-5th c., Seleucia Pieria 5th-6th c., Bosra 6th c., Resefà 6th c., Perustiza 6th c.). The church is currently in ruins, and there are several reconstruction studies based on the architectural elements still in situ. Of particular interest are the sculptural decoration and the grand basalt capitals as well as, from a liturgical point of view, the presence of the oriental-type baptismal font and of the ambo.