The Vatican monument to Gregory the Illuminator is a magnificent marble sculpture 5.7 meters high and weighing more than 26 tons. The author of this sculpture is Armenian-French sculptor Khachik Gazanchyan.
The statue was opened and consecrated by Pope John Paul II on January 19, 2005. The Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni also participated in the opening ceremony of the statue of Gregory the Illuminator.
The establishment of the monument was dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia. The sculpture is located in one of the external niches of St. Peter’s Basilica in the northern courtyard of the Vatican.
What independent observers are documenting The most systematic data on the fate of Armenian monuments…
On September 12, 2026, a delegation of some 150 diplomats and representatives from 58 countries,…
On September 15, 1918, the oil city of Baku fell to a joint Ottoman-Azerbaijani force,…
A case study in the systematic destruction of Armenian heritage in Turkey and Azerbaijan The…
On September 11–12, 2026, around 150 diplomats from 58 countries accredited in Baku took part…
A name from the world's oldest archives Long before Urartu, long before "Armenia" appears in…