The Cathedral of Ani (Armenian: Անիի մայր տաճար, Anii mayr tačar; Turkish: Ani Katedrali) is the largest standing building in Ani, the capital city of medieval Bagratid Armenia, located in present-day eastern Turkey, on the border with modern Armenia. Its construction was completed in the early 11th century by the architect Trdat and it was the seat of the Catholicos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, for nearly half a century.
In 1064, following the Seljuk conquest of Ani, the cathedral was converted into a mosque. It later returned to being used as an Armenian church. It eventually suffered damage in a 1319 earthquake when its conical dome collapsed. Subsequently, Ani was gradually abandoned and the church fell into disrepair. The north-western corner of the church was heavily damaged by a 1988 earthquake.
The cathedral is considered the largest and most impressive structure in Ani. It is a domed basilica with a rectangular plan, though the dome and most of its supporting drum are now missing. Its use of pointed arches and cluster piers has been widely cited by scholars to have possibly influenced, or at least preceded, Gothic architecture. The cathedral, along with the entire site of Ani, was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2016.
Names
In modern Armenian, the cathedral is usually referred to as Անիի մայր տաճար, Anii mayr tačar and in Turkish as Ani Katedrali, both meaning "cathedral of Ani". Historically, however, it was known in Armenian as Անիի Կաթողիկե, Anii Kat'oghike. The cathedral is also known as Holy Mother of God Church of Ani (Armenian: Անիի Սուրբ Աստվածածնի եկեղեցի, Anii Surb Astvatsatsni yekeghetsi; Turkish: Meryem Ana Katedral) and the Great/Grand Cathedral of Ani (Մեծ Կաթողիկե, Mets Kat'oghike; Büyük Katedral).
History
Foundation and early history
Following more than two centuries of Arab rule, Armenia gained independence under the Bagratid (Bagratuni) dynasty around 885. King Ashot III made Ani capital in 961, after which the city emerged as a prosperous urban center with 100,000 residents at its height. The construction of the cathedral began in 989. The architect Trdat was commissioned by Bagratid King Smbat II to build a cathedral in the new capital of the Armenian kingdom. The construction was halted when Smbat died in 989, according to an inscription on the south wall. Meanwhile, Trdat was hired to direct the repairs of the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, which had collapsed in an earthquake. Trdat returned from Constantinople in 993. The construction was continued and completed by Queen Katranide (Katramide), the wife of King Gagik I, Smbat's brother and successor. It was completed either in 1001 or 1010. According to Christina Maranci the generally accepted date of completion is 1001, but it may have extended until 1010. The contradiction is based on the reading of the inscription of the cathedral's northern wall. The cathedral served as the seat of the catholicos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church from its foundation in 1001 until the mid-11th century (1046 or 1051). Thus, for around half a century Ani was both the religious and secular (political) center of Armenia.
A silver cross originally stood on its conical dome and a crystal chandelier, bought by King Smbat II from India, hang in the cathedral. In the 1010s, during the reign of Catholicos Sarkis I, a mausoleum dedicated to the Hripsimean virgins was erected next to the cathedral. The mausoleum was built on some of the remnants of the virgins brought from Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin). In the 1040s–1050s inscriptions were left on the cathedral's eastern and western walls about urban projects, such as restoration of defensive walls, installation of water pipes and easing of the tax burden on the residents of Ani.
Later history
Ani surrendered to the Byzantine Empire in 1045, who held it until 1064, when the city was captured by the Seljuks, led by Sultan Alp Arslan. According to Turkish sources, Alp Arslan and his soldiers performed their first prayer in Ani at the cathedral. Consequently, the cathedral was converted into a mosque, known as Fethiye Mosque (Turkish: Fethiye Camii). Official Turkish sources often refer to it by that name. According to Matthew of Edessa, its silver cross was removed by the Seljuks and transferred to a mosque in Nakhchivan, where it was placed under the threshold, destined to be trodden upon. A crescent was placed on its dome according to Vardan Areveltsi.
In 1124 a crescent was placed on the cathedral's dome by the Shaddadid amir of Ani. In response, Ani's Armenians appealed to King David IV of Georgia to capture Ani, after which the cathedral returned to Christian usage. Vardan Areveltsi celebrated the brief reversal. Only two years later, in 1126, Ani came under the control of the Shaddadids. During the 12th century historians Mkhitar Anetsi, Samuel Anetsi and philosopher Hovhannes Sarkavag served at the cathedral in various capacities. Mkhitar was an elder priest at the cathedral in the second half of the century. In 1198 Ani was conquered by the Armenian Zakarids princes, under whose control the cathedral prospered. In 1213 the wealthy merchant Tigran Honents restored the cathedral's steps.
Decay
Ani's long-term decline began in 1239 when Mongols sacked the city and massacred its population. In 1319 a devastating earthquake struck Ani. It resulted in the collapse of the cathedral's conical roof. Ani was completely deserted by the 18th century. The drum reportedly collapsed during an 1832 or 1840 earthquake. Varazdat Harutyunyan insists that the entire dome had collapsed in 1319.
The north-western corner of the cathedral was heavily damaged by a 1988 earthquake with its epicenter in modern Armenia's north. It resulted in a large gaping hole. According to VirtualAni it also caused "a serious rent in the south-west corner; by 1998 parts of the roof here had started to fall." Lavrenti Barseghian wrote in 2003 that the damage from the earthquake was so great that the entire building would collapse unless strengthened and restored.
Explosions in a quarry on the Armenian side of the border, across the Akhurian River, reportedly caused some damage to the cathedral in the early 2000s. In mid-June 2001 an "ear-splitting explosion rocked the site just as a group of Armenian Americans had gathered to pray at the cathedral." Samvel Karapetyan, who witnessed the explosions on the Armenian side during his visit to Ani in July 2000, stated that the explosions continued until 2004/2005. However, Turkish accusations continued until 2008. Vercihan Ziflioğlu wrote for Hürriyet that it was only in 2009 that Armenia halted blasting activities, reportedly, after Turkey's complaint at the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
In the mid-2000s, Turkish guards had dug a large hole in their quest for treasure on the floor of the apse of the cathedral. Moreover, treasure hunters dug out the grave of what may have been that of Queen Katranide beside the west façade of the cathedral. It had been uncovered by French archaeologists in 2002–03. Additional gravestones with Armenian inscriptions nearby were upturned.
Preservation efforts
Ani has been listed on the World Monuments Watch by World Monuments Fund (WMF) since 1996. In May 2011 the WMF and the Turkish Ministry of Culture launched a conservation project focusing on the cathedral and the nearby Church of the Redeemer. The project is funded by the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation of the U.S. State Department. Before the project, a steel structure was installed around the cathedral, in order to prevent its cracked sandstone walls from collapsing. The WMF and its Turkish partner, Anadolu Kültür, said they will work on "stabilization and protection" of the cathedral. Turkey's Minister of Culture Ertuğrul Günay stated "We hope that giving new life to the remains of once-splendid buildings, such as the Ani Cathedral and church, will bring new economic opportunities to the region." Armenian officials responded with skepticism.
According to Gagik Gyurjyan, president of ICOMOS-Armenia, the Turkish Culture Ministry rejected the preliminary agreement between Anadolu Kültür and the Armenian side to engage Armenian experts in restoration works. Osman Kavala, president of Anadolu Kültür, stated that the lack of formal bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey may have prevented Armenian experts from being included in the project. Kavala stated in a 2011 interview that an estimated $1 million would be spent on the project, which was scheduled to start in 2012 and end in 4 years. Yavuz Özkaya, an architect who participated in the projects carried out in Ani, stated in March 2014 that studies on preservation and restoration of the cathedral were completed and they had begun to be implemented. These works included clearing the roofs, installing a temporary structure at the separation point between the western and southern walls, strengthening, proper completion of roof tiles and taking preventative measures.
The archaeological site of Ani was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 15, 2016. According to art historian Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh the addition "would secure significant benefits in protection, research expertise, and funding." In April 2018 Necmettin Alp, director of the Kars Museum, stated that restoration works on the cathedral would start later that month. In 2019 World Monuments Fund (WMF) and Anadolu Kültür began an "emergency temporary intervention" for the preservation of the cathedral. In 2021 WMF, with the support of the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH Foundation), began a second phase "focusing on the implementation of a long-term intervention plan for the restoration of the entire cathedral."
Speculation about mosque conversion
In June 2025, an Anadolu Agency report on the cathedral's restoration repeatedly referred to the structure as a "mosque," prompting several Armenian media outlets to report that the cathedral was being converted into a mosque. This led George Aslan, a DEM Party MP, to formally question Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Ersoy about these reports. CivilNet reported from Ani that there is "no indication" that it is being converted.
Architecture
Overview and dimensions
The cathedral is a domed, centrally-planned basilica. Varazdat Harutyunyan argues that in its plan and dimensions, it reproduces two 7th century domed basilicas—Cathedral of Mren and Saint Gayane Church. The dome was supported on pendentives and stood atop the "intersection of four barrel vaults elevated to a cruciform design and topped with gabled roofs." In the interior, "freestanding piers divide the space into three aisles, the nave of which terminates in an eastern apse flanked by two story side chapels." Sirarpie Der Nersessian noted that its interior is imposing "through the harmony of the proportions." She added, "The blind arcade with slender columns and ornate arches, the delicate interlaces carved around the door and windows add to the beauty of the exterior."
The cathedral is 34.3 m (113 ft) long and 21.9 m (72 ft) wide. Originally standing around 38 m (125 ft) high, it was Ani's tallest structure, and its conical dome dominated the city's skyline. It is very large by the standards of Armenian architecture. Murad Hasratyan argues that its large size and rich ornaments symbolize the revived Armenian statehood under the Bagratids. Christina Maranci suggested what she describes as an "extremely tentative" hypothesis that the relatively large proportion of the cathedral may have reflected architect Trdat's memory of the "vast continuous spaces" of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the dome of which he had repaired. Western visitors often found it small, with Karl Schnaase disparagingly describing it as "hardly the size of a village church". H. F. B. Lynch argued that it is small if judged by European standards, but is "nevertheless a stately building."
The cathedral is built, primarily, of yellow, but also black and red polished tuff. It has three entrances. The main one is on the western side. The entrances on the northern and southern sides, though secondary, are richly decorated. Its windows are narrow and long, with ornamented frames. Grigoris Balakian opined that its interior, built of large polished stones, "appears to be more impressive than the outside." Luigi Villari suggested that from a distance it appears as "a plain rectangular structure with no architectural pretensions", but a closer inspection reveals "a building of really great beauty and of the most perfect proportions."