Armenian Church

Experience spirituality at its best at the 300-year-old Armenian Church. Devoted to Virgin Mary, Armenian Church is located on Armenian Street, Chennai. Even after being an ancient landmark in Chennai, the impressive architecture of the church is still well-maintained and intact. Moreover, the church stands as a commemorative monument to the once-thriving Armenian community of Chennai.

Inside the church, discover a chessboard floor design and the sophisticatedly crafted wooden altar. On the walls, there are religious paintings. Also, the church has a courtyard where around 350 tombstones are inscribed. Once done exploring this attraction, visit Armenian Street - an animated commercial street and a historical trading district of Chennai. Here you can shop for souvenirs, leather goods, spices, and more. Furthermore, two more churches are located at a mere distance of 3km from the Armenian Church.

History of Armenian Church

Armenian Church was built in the year 1712 and reconstructed in the year 1772. The initial church was constructed using timber. Till 2004 the church was taken care of by Michael Stephen post which Trevor Alexander took charge in 2010. The shrine is funded by the Armenian Apostolic Church and maintained by the Armenian Church Committee of Calcutta.

Armenia is the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion. Armenians are believed to have settled in Chennai in 1512 and the first Armenian journal Azdarar was published in 1747. With not many Armenians left in the city, the iconic structure has become more of a heritage site today.

Architecture of Armenian Church

This glorious shrine features Mother Mary taking Jesus to heaven. One-storey graceful complex has a chessboard floor design and religious paintings on the walls. Visitors would be awestruck seeing the bell tower called the Belfry which houses six bells in three rows. The bells weigh around 150 kg each.

Every bell ranges from a height of 21 to 26 inches and has its details inscribed on each of them. All the six bells are rung together every Sunday at 9.30 AM. Among the six bells, two were brought in 1754 and 1778, and the other two date back to 1837 and were given by Thomas Mears of London. The rest of the two bells were given by Eliazar Shawmier, an Armenian Merchant.

Another noteworthy feature of the church is that it accommodates around 350 graves of the Armenians. Haroutiun Shmavonian, the founder of the Armenian journal, Izadaar was also buried within the premises of the Church. The last burial was made in 1850.