The world’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ is being constructed in Armenia.
The aluminium figure is 33 metres tall, representing one year for every year of Jesus’ life. It will eventually be erected on the summit of Mount Hatis, making it visible to much of the Armenian capital, Yerevan. The statue will sit on top of a 44 metre pedestal, making it just over 100 metres high – taller than Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer (38 metres) and New York’s Statue of Liberty (93 metres).
Work on the statue began four years ago and is being constructed in stages at a workshop outside Yerevan. It's understood to be 90% complete and it's hoped it will be entirely finished in 2027.
The businessman behind the project, Gagik Tsarukyan told The Guardian that the statue would reflect Armenia's status as “the oldest Christian nation in the world. It only makes sense we should have the biggest Jesus statue in the world.”
However, the Armenian Apostolic Church is opposed to the monument because three-dimensional statues of Jesus violate its ancient theological and artistic traditions.
Armenia was the first sovereign state to adopt Christianity as its official state religion in 301 AD.
A tourism complex with a museum inside the statue's pedestal and a dedicated cable car are also set to open next year.