Cathedral of Mren | |
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Religion | |
Affiliation | Armenian Apostolic Church |
Location | |
Location | Digor District |
Geographic coordinates | 40°14′32″N 43°39′47″E / 40.242125°N 43.662953°E |
Architecture | |
Type | Three-nave basilica with dome |
Style | Armenian |
Groundbreaking | 631 |
Completed | 639 |
The Cathedral of Mren is a 7th-century Armenian church in an abandoned medieval town site called Mren. It is located in the Kars region of Turkey, near the border with Armenia, about 1.5 km west of the Akhurian River.
The church of Mren is a domed triple-nave basilica, believed, on the basis of an inscription on its west facade and on stylistic features, to have been built 631–639. It was built by David Saharuni, an Armenian ally of the emperor Heraclius, to celebrate the latter's entry into Jerusalem in 628.