[IRAN] Esfahan - Vank Cathedral

Vank Cathedral was established in 1606, dedicated to the Armenian deportees that were resettled by Shah Abbas I during the Ottoman War (1603 – 1618). The Armenian immigrants settled in Esfahan and started building churches and monasteries to continue their religious activities in their new home. Vank Cathedral was originally a small church called Amna Perkich, which means “All Healing”. It was later expanded under the supervision of Archbishop David before it was completed in 1664.





The statue of Archbishop Khachatour Kesaratsi, the founder of first printing house in Iran and Middle East Vank Cathedral (1636 AD).



Entrance to the Vank Cathedral.



A tile work plaque inscribed in Armenian can be seen at the entrance to the cathedral.



The cathedral has a courtyard which contains a large freestanding belfry towering over the graves of both Orthodox and Protestant Christians.





On a raised area to the left, a memorial has been set up in memory of the victims of the Ottoman massacre.



The exterior of Vank Cathedral.









The interior of the cathedral is covered with frescoes, gilded carvings and eye-catching tile works. The top section of the paintings depicts events from the life of Jesus while the bottom section depicts torture inflicted upon Armenian martrys by the Ottoman Empire.





There are information leaflets describing what the painting was about for easy reference.







On the northern wall, the painting of Judgement Day can be seen with heaven depicted above and hell below.





The central dome depicts Bible story of creation of the world and man’s expulsion from Eden.



Across the courtyard and facing the cathedral is a building which houses the Vank library and museum.



The library contains more than 700 manuscripts and many valuable resources for research in Armenian and medieval European languages and arts.



The museum houses unique collections of artifacts from the history of the cathedral and the Armenian community in Esfahan.



The most interesting artifact is strand of hair with writings on it, work of Vahram Hakopian (1974, Tehran). It was written with a diamond-tipped pen, 20 times thinner than the hair. Thickness of the hair is 0.1mm. It was a hair of an 18-20 years old lady.







We all took turn to look at the hair through a microscopic lens.





Looking through the microscope, you can see the Armenian writing on the hair. Truly amazing!



Showcase of Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman in 1915.



Mount Ararat painting.



A historic printing press and the first book printed in Iran.



Exquisite Bibles are also part of the museum’s collection.











I have visited Armenia before in 2014. It’s interesting to see the settlement of Armenian community in Iran and it’s a refreshing change from the usual mosque visit in Iran.