Armenia
New article from my friend Lianna Armenian.
Armenia has a long and storied history of defending
#Christianity, being the first nation to adopt it as a state religion in 301 AD. Armenia is home to around 4,000 Churches.
The construction of unique domes on #Armenian Churches by Armenian architects is considered a symbol of divine perfection and has established the forms of Churches and their connections to other spaces.
The Austrian scholar Strzygowski claimed for the Armenians the role of "mother of all Christian architecture".
Dome of Saghmosavank in Armenia
Armenian architects developed both longitudinal Churches, featuring domes placed centrally, and central-plan Churches where the vertical axis of the dome aligns with the center of the entire composition.
Rather than following a strict chronological evolution, these various architectural types coexisted and influenced one another.
One of the ancient domes is in the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin: one of the oldest cathedrals in the world, located in Armenia.
Dome of Etchmiadzin in Armenia.
Later, Armenian architects created a new type of domed Church characterized by a domed hall. In the 4th and 5th centuries, Churches were predominantly longitudinal spaces covered by barrel vaults, with domes primarily utilized in smaller cruciform buildings.
From the 6th century onward, domed Churches and structures began to emerge in Armenian architecture. The 6th and 7th centuries are marked by the construction of significant domed buildings. While Armenians perfected many architectural elements, including the conical dome and distinctive rib-vaults typical of their Churches, they are particularly noted for accomplishing with stone what older civilizations had typically achieved with brick, whether baked or sun-dried. The Armenian style spread in different directions and influenced faraway countries.
Another of the Domes of Saghmosavank in Armenia.
