This is the Cathedral of the Holy Mother, in my old stomping grounds of Gyumri, Armenia. Everyone called it Yot Verk (Յոթ Վերք) when I lived there. It is located at one end of the huge main square that makes up the heart of the city. There were only a few large buildings left (at least when I was there), this cathedral being one of them.A friend of mine got married in it and when you leave the building you are not suppose to turn your back on the center hall so we are had to slowly shuffle out walking backwards, trying not to trip.
memories of my ghost sista 
Let people mess with religion and they come up with some questionable customs.
On my Way…
Yes, religion is a curious thing, Christianity doubly so. Armenian’s claim to fame is that they were the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion (301 AD, and you can find people who talk about it being “all downhill since 301”) so even though all the churches were closed (though not torn down) during Soviet times the architecture is amazing. I love old buildings for their own sake so there was a lot to see all over the country.