View of Khor Virap, an Armenian monastery and one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia located in the Ararat plain with the Mount Ararat in the background. Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is due to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator, religious leader who converted Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301, becoming the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, was initially imprisoned here for 14 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia. A chapel was initially built in 642 by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt and the current appearance dates from 1662.
This is the English translation of the Picture of the day description page from 19 September 2017.
View of Khor Virap, an Armenian monastery and one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia located in the Ararat plain with the Mount Ararat in the background. Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is due to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator, religious leader who converted Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301, becoming the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, was initially imprisoned here for 14 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia. A chapel was initially built in 642 by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt and the current appearance dates from 1662.
