Saint Sarkis Church

Surb Sarkis Church or Saint Sarkis Church is located in the center of Yerevan, surrounded by residential neighborhoods and at the same time next to the picturesque Hrazdan Gorge, from where there is a magnificent view on the city!
On the left, in the distance, you can see the old districts of Yerevan and the Hakhtanak Bridge – Victory Bridge, under the bridge is the Hrazdan Gorge smothered in the greenery of the trees and the Hrazdan river. Armenia is not rich in water resources, and the small Hrazdan river is the only river flowing in the city. Right in front of you is the building of the famous Ararat cognac factory. Here you can visit a museum and take part in tasting the real Armenian cognac. To the right a new residential complex can be seen and beyond it is Armenia’s largest stadium – the Hrazdan.
At this place, from the early Christian times, there was a cloister monastery. The large monastery complex was made up of St. Sarkis Church, St. Gevork Church and St. Hakop Church, vicariate and church school buildings, a garden and other facilities. St. Sarkis Church was a vicarial church while the monastery served as the patriarch’s residences. St. Sarkis Church, just like the entire monastery complex, was destroyed during the 1679 earthquake and rebuilt anew at the same place during the reign of Catholicos Nahapet Edesatsi (1691-1705).
In 1972 Surb Sarkis Church was fully renovated. The old building was clad in orange tufa stone. On the west side, a gallery was built to house the choir and a bell chamber. What remains of the old church is only part of the arch which you can see if you enter the small prayer room on the right and look up – the old brick work is clearly different from the new one.