Armenian businessman Gagik Tsarukyan has announced that installation works for the monumental statue of Jesus Christ on Mount Hatis, some 30 kilometers northeast of Yerevan, have begun and are expected to advance rapidly.
In a Facebook post, Tsarukyan wrote, “I want to share good news. Work to erect the statue of Jesus Christ has begun and will be in full swing soon. I am confident that this statue will open a new page for our country — one of new hopes and successes.”
The statue, planned to stand 33 meters tall, will crown the summit of Mount Hatis. The complex will include a café, exhibition hall, visitor facilities, restrooms, and a 1,300-meter cableway, with three platforms connected by stairs and ramps. The structure will be built of reinforced concrete with travertine cladding.
Tsarukyan said his family will fully fund the project, despite numerous offers of financial support from Armenians worldwide and citizens at home. “Although the idea of building the statue belongs to me and my family, the statue itself belongs to the entire Armenian nation, to Armenia’s true friends around the world, and to all Christians,” he emphasized.
To meet what he described as a “strong public desire to participate,” Tsarukyan announced mechanisms for symbolic contributions, such as planting a tree, placing a stone, carrying soil, or joining work at the site. “I will be at the site, working alongside the builders. Anyone wishing to take part may do the same,” he said.
The vision, he added, is to create a collective legacy: “Even a hundred years from now, our grandchildren will be able to say that their ancestors laid a stone in the building of this monument. It will be a source of pride for generations.”
Work at the site first began in 2022, when Tsarukyan purchased large tracts of land on Mount Hatis. The government initially gave preliminary approval for the project, despite the mountain’s 2008 designation as a geological monument, which requires surveys and seismic assessments for large-scale construction.
However, the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture ordered a halt to construction in July 2022, one day after it officially began in the presence of a government representative. Echoing concerns voiced by archaeologists, the ministry noted that Hatis is home to about two dozen ancient monuments legally protected by the state, including the ruins of a Bronze Age fortress discovered at the mountain’s summit by an Armenian-Italian archaeological expedition in 2019.
Tsarukyan said he has amended the project to address the ministry’s concerns and pledged to preserve the monuments, even refurbishing some of them.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the statue would serve as a boon for tourism.
The project has not been without controversy. Environmental concerns and questions of legality have arisen, and in November 2023, Armenia’s Prosecutor General petitioned the courts to confiscate millions in assets belonging to Tsarukyan, alleging they were acquired illegally.
Nevertheless, Tsarukyan — one of Armenia’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen, who also heads the Prosperous Armenia Party and owns the Multi Group Concern with more than forty companies including the Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory, Ararat Cement, Kotayk Brewery, Multi Grand Hotel, and Shangri La Casino — has pledged to continue. He describes the statue as a legacy project for Armenia and for Christians worldwide.
