According to Armenian historian Karo Ghafadaryan , the church of Saint Peter and Paul was the oldest and biggest church in old Yerevan . It was not the only church in old Yerevan . In fact , when in 607 AD the newly elected Catholicos of Armenia Abraham I assembled a meeting at the city of Dvin , he invited clergymen from territories controlled by the Byzantine Empire as well as two priests from Yerevan . Therefore , this tells us that in old Yerevan there were at least two large churches . In the 17th century , French traveler Jean Chardin visited Yerevan . In his description about the city he mentioned that there were numerous churches in old Yerevan , but did not mention a church with the name of " Surp Poghos-Petros " . In 1679 , a calamitous earthquake leveled much of the city and destroyed many structures in the neighboring regions . Amongst the structures that lay in ruin was the church of Saint Peter and Paul . A portion of the eastern section of the church survived , and the rest was soon rebuilt from its ruins . The newly reconstructed church went by the same name as its predecessor
calamitous earthquake
1679 Armenia earthquake
Saint Paul and Peter Church, Yerevan