Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church “Holy Mother of God” in Chisinau dates from 1803 and is an important landmark for the Armenian community.
About this building
After the Russian Empire annexed the region of Bessarabia in 1812, the Armenian archbishop of Moldavia, Grigor Zakarian (1809-1828) had to move to Chișinău and his authority was relegated only to archbishop of the Armenians of Bessarabia, although the Armenians on the other side of the Prut river decided to remain subordinated to him.
The church was built on the foundations of the "Domnească Church", an earlier Moldovan temple erected in 1645 and dedicated to Saint Nicholas. In the 19th century, Baron Oganes bought the land from the local authorities. By then Domnească Church was already in ruins due to the ravages of the Russo-Turkish war. Baron Oganes, who was of Armenian origin, founded a new church in memory of his parents in 1803.
Under Soviet rule, the church was used as a warehouse. The Armenian community became the owner of the church in 1992 and services started taking place again from 1993 onwards. Today it is an important symbol of the spirituality and identity of Armenians in Chisinau.
