The Church of Saint Gregory, also called the Gagikashen, and founded by King Gagik, was erected in the years 1001–1005. Its sponsor was Gagik, the king of Armenia who reigned in the period from 989 to 1020, under whose rule Bagratid Armenia reached the peak of its development. This ruler intended the church to be a recreation of the famous Zvartnots Cathedral in Vagharshapat.

Zvartnots Cathedral is a medieval Armenian cathedral near Vagharshapat (commonly known as Ejmiatsin) in Armenia. Built in the 7th century and now lying in ruins, Zvartnots was noted for its circular external structure, unique in medieval Armenian architecture, and a set of internal piers that supported the multi-story structure topped with a dome.

King Gagik hired the renowned architect Trdat, who also designed Ani Cathedral, to design in his capital, Ani, a structure similar to Zvartnots Cathedral. The aim of this project was to celebrate the millennium of Christianity.

Trdat designed a church for King Gagik on a core plan in the shape of a four-leaf clover surrounded by a circular ambulatory. It closely followed the size and plan of the original, the Zvartnots Cathedral. Both the church of King Gagik in Ani and the church of Zvartnots resembled high, three-stepped rotundas, topped with a high dome supported on a drum.

Since the structure was not stable, it was soon strengthened with additional masonry elements, but these efforts were not very successful. Unfortunately, the church collapsed relatively soon after its construction and already in the 13th century, houses were built on its ruins, using part of the walls of the collapsed church.

Only at the beginning of the 20th century, specifically in 1905 and 1906, Nikolai Marr, a Georgian and Soviet archaeologist and linguist, unveiled the foundations of this extraordinary building. Previously, all that could be seen at the site was a huge earthen mound with walls sticking out of it. Nikolai Marr's excavations revealed the plan of the church and found many religious objects, including a chandelier and a bronze candlestick.

Perhaps the most important find was a 2.26-meter-high statue of King Gagik holding a model of his church. It was found in fragments and reconstructed using iron rods to hold them together. The statue depicted Gagik with a turban on his head and wearing a khalat (a loose, long-sleeved outer robe of silk or cotton common in Central and South Asia). This indicates that during his reign, Armenia maintained friendly relations and enjoyed cultural ties with the Abbasid Caliphate. The statue, held in the Menüçehr Mosque in Ani, disappeared under unclear circumstances at the end of World War I and currently only a few photographs show its appearance.

Since only the foundations of the church have survived, the exact appearance of the building is not certain. Although a statue of King Gagik holding a model of the church was found, only its lower part was reconstructed. However, because the upper portion of the model was missing, the exact appearance of the whole church is unknown.