Vank Cathedral, Armenian Apostolic cathedral in New Julfa, Iran.

Vank Cathedral, the Holy Savior Cathedral, is an Armenian Apostolic church in New Julfa, Isfahan. Its plain brick exterior, with pointed-arch windows and a six-pointed star, contrasts with an interior of painted plaster and tile: a blue-and-gold central dome with a star medallion, cherub heads with folded wings on the pendentives, and two bands of murals. The walls rise 11.75 m from the courtyard.

Armenians forcibly resettled by Abbas the Great in 1606 began the church, named after the Surb Amenaprkich Vank of Jugha in Nakhchivan. Archbishop David supervised major alterations between 1655 and 1664, when the present building was finished under Shah Abbas II. A lapis lazuli tile inscription with gold lettering above the west entrance records those dates.

The name Vank means "monastery" in Armenian, carried over from the Surb Amenaprkich Vank the settlers had left behind in Jugha, Nakhchivan. The cathedral's library holds over 700 handwritten books, and the museum keeps the 1606 edict of Abbas the Great that established New Julfa, plus the first book printed in Iran.

The cathedral stands on Jolfa Street in New Julfa, across the courtyard from the library and museum building, where over 700 handwritten books are kept. The museum holds the 1606 edict of Abbas the Great founding New Julfa and the first book printed in Iran. Look for the marble plaque to the right of the entrance recording the 1931 gift of the belfry and its 300-kilogram clock.

The two bands of murals are not the only painted surprise: the ceiling above the entrance carries floral motifs in the style of Persian miniatures, and the pendentives show cherub heads framed by folded wings, a motif typical of Armenian art. The central dome, painted in blue and gold, depicts the creation of the world and the expulsion from Eden.