Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church, Caracas
The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church (), also called the Armenian Apostolic Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, is an Armenian Apostolic church in Caracas, Venezuela. It serves the city's Armenian community and is dedicated to Gregory the Illuminator, the late-third- and early-fourth-century saint who is regarded as the evangeliser of Armenia and is the country's patron.
History
The Venezuelan Armenian community took shape in the early 20th century, as families fled the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, typically by way of Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. The community today numbers about 4,000 people, around a thousand of them in Caracas.
The Caracas church was built to provide a religious centre for that community and was consecrated in 1987. On 14 July 2005 the National Assembly of Venezuela formally recognised the Armenian genocide.
Architecture
The building draws on traditional Armenian church architecture, adapted to its Caracas setting. A khachkar (Armenian cross-stone) stands nearby as a memorial to the Armenian presence in Venezuela.
Community and affiliations
The parish runs a Sunday school and a choir, and serves as the focus for a network of community groups—including women's, youth and dance organisations—based around the Armenian Caracas community. It is canonically dependent on the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of All Armenians.
Caracas is also home to a separate memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide, in the Chuao neighbourhood; construction began in 2001 and was completed in 2002.
See also
- Armenian Apostolic Church
- Armenian diaspora
- Christianity in Venezuela
- Gregory the Illuminator
- Armenian Genocide memorials