Iran to add the Armenian Vank Cathedral to UNESCO Heritage List

After having three churches registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Iran is trying to add one more Armenian cathedral – Isfahan’s the Vank – to the list, Iran Front Page reports.

The Holy Savior Cathedral is located in the New Julfa district of Isfahan and is commonly referred to as the Vank.

Deputy Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organisation (ICHTO), Mohammad Hossein Talebian, said that there is a list of Armenian churches, three of which have already been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran —the St. Thaddeus Monastery, the Saint Stepanos Monastery, and the Chapel of Dzordzor— were inscribed as cultural heritages in the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2008 under the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the joint exhibition of Iran and Armenia held at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, Talebian noted that Iran is doing its best to add other important Armenian churches, such as the Vank in Isfahan, to the list.

Built in 1606, the cathedral was dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Armenian deportees who were resettled by Shah Abbas I during the Ottoman War of 1603-1618.