The Canon օf Saint Shoghakat, that is, of Holy Etchmiadzin

The Vision of the Foundation of the Mother Cathedral of Etchmiadzin in the Engravings of the First Etchmiadzin Printing House

Abstract

The article is devoted to the vision of the foundation of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin and its artistic and literary interpretations, with particular emphasis on the symbolic and iconographic content of the Feast of Shoghakat. It explores how the vision of St. Gregory the Illuminator, as described in Agathangelos’ History of the Armenians-centered on the descent of divine light and the Only-Begotten Son-became a source of inspiration for medieval Armenian art and literature. The study demonstrates that the images and descriptions of Holy Etchmiadzin formed a unique symbolic system in which the cathedral is interpreted as a sign of the union between heaven and earth, serving as the spiritual and national center of the Armenian people.