Built between 1868 and 1887 , the cathedral was consecrated in 1888 . It was damaged during the March 1920 massacre of Armenians of the city by Azerbaijanis and experienced a decades-long decline , well into the Soviet period . During the Nagorno-Karabakh War Azerbaijan used the cathedral as an armory to store hundreds of missiles . It was restored in the aftermath of the war and reconsecrated in 1998 . A landmark of Shusha and Karabakh , it has become an icon for the Karabakh Armenian cause . Standing high , Ghazanchetsots is one of the largest Armenian churches in the world
March 1920 massacre of Armenians
Shusha massacre
Ghazanchetsots Cathedral