Vank Cathedral

Ask any Isfahani, they have heard the name of Vanak Cathedral. Isfahan Vank Cathedral is located in the Armenian neighborhood of Isfahan, namely Jolfa neighborhood. The different architecture, long history and unique paintings of Isfahan Cathedral have separated this historical building from all churches in Iran. This historical building also remains from the era of Shah Abbas Safavid. The Armenian immigrants started to build Vank Cathedral in 1655 AD. The Vank Cathedral was built with an area of ​​8731 square meters and became the community center of the Armenian immigrants.
Isfahan Cathedral was included in the list of national monuments of Iran on 15 January 1310. Isfahan Cathedral includes the main Cathedral, museum, belfry, monastery, library, clock tower, bishop's residence room, meeting halls and historic printing house. Two entrances have been designed for the Isfahan Cathedral. The main door, which faces the outer pond and is made of wood, is a place for Armenians, visitors, and tourists..Above the main door there is an inscription made of azure and gray tiles and there is the Armenian sentence "Deir Naji Hamgan, a place for monks" along with the interior view of the deir

Isfahan Vank Church is the largest and one of the most beautiful churches in Iran, and it is also the Armenian Cathedral of Isfahan.
The exterior of Isfahan's Vank Church is covered with bricks, while stone was used in the architecture of most churches. But in Vank Church of Isfahan, brick has given its place to stone. Among the brick texture of the walls, tiles with the image of winged angels can be seen. The entrance street of Isfahan Vank Church and its interior area are decorated with cobblestones and provide a special beauty to the exterior of the church.
There is a bell tower at the entrance of Isfahan Vank Church. The bell tower of Vank Church in Isfahan has three floors, and the second floor has a big clock that weighs 300 kg. Under the clock tower of Vank Church in Isfahan, there are two graves, one of which belongs to an Armenian soldier and the other one to an Armenian leader.

On the roof of Vank Church in Isfahan, right above the entrance door and between the western wall and the edge of the small dome of the church, there is a square-like place where a small bell tower has been built as the second bell tower of the church.
Isfahan Vank Church has a small and a large dome. The big dome of Isfahan's Vank Church is built over the altar in the style of mosque architecture.
This beautiful dome is made of brick, and the inside of the dome of Vank Church in Isfahan is painted with azure color. There are 8 windows all around this dome, and between each of these windows there are paintings that tell the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, as well as the death of To become Abel. Vank Church, like all other churches, in addition to promoting visiting and worshiping, has had the task of transmitting Armenian culture to the next generations.
Therefore, there is a museum in this church, which is the location of precious objects and history. Vank Church Museum was built by Thaddeus Hunanian in the northern part of the church. Inside the Vank Church Museum of Isfahan, valuable objects such as outstanding historical paintings, exquisite manuscripts and other valuable old works are kept, which can be attractive and spectacular for tourists and travelers of the luxurious Chaharbagh Hotel in Isfahan.
One of the most visited and famous objects in Vank Church Museum of Isfahan is a strand of girl's hair on which the sentence "To know wisdom and justice and to understand the words of wisdom" is written. The creator of this special work is the Armenian artist Vahram Hakopian, who created such a wonderful work with a diamond pen in 1974 and donated it to the Isfahan Church Museum the following year.The writing of the hair can be seen with a microscope placed in the museum.

There is a library on the north side of Isfahan Vank Church. Isfahan Vank Church Library was built in 1884 by the then Caliph Hohannes Sornian with the aim of preserving Armenian manuscripts and books. More than 30,000 copies of books in Armenian, Farsi, English, etc. are located in the Vank Church library. Access to books is only for Armenians and other people can use this library by writing a letter and with official permission.

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