The Central Bank of Armenia has put the “Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin” silver collector coin into circulation.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is the spiritual center of all Armenians and the Holy See of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is the first official cathedral of the Christian world, which was built in 301-303, initiated by and through the efforts of St. Trdat III Great Armenian king and St. Gregory the Illuminator. The temple was built based on the vision of St. Gregory the Illuminator, according to which the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, descended to the Ararat Valley, the capital of Armenia Vagharshapat, and ordered that the temple of God – “the house of prayer and supplication of all believers, the seat of the priesthood” be right there.

The Mother Cathedral was originally built on a cruciform base with a central dome, making Holy Etchmiadzin the first cross-domed church in world ecclesiastical architecture. In the 17th century, a three-story bell tower was built to the western entrance of the Cathedral, with small bell towers added on the northern, eastern and southern apses. In 1869 three halls were built along the eastern wall of the Cathedral as a depository-museum. In 17-18th centuries, the interior of the Mother Cathedral was decorated with frescoes painted by the Hovnatanians, a famous family of painters.

Over the centuries, the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin has been renovated under the auspices of Armenian princes, national benefactors (Al. Mantashian, Gulbenkian Foundation, Louise Manoogian Simon and Manoogian family), benefiting generous donations of all Armenians, in cooperation with the Armenian state.

On the initiative of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, a comprehensive renovation of the Mother Cathedral began in 2012, which is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

In 2000 the Mother Cathedral was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.