Gayane was the name of an abbess who was martyred with other nuns by Tiridates III of Armenia in the year 301, and subsequently made a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The fifth century Armenian historian Agathangelos wrote that the young and beautiful Hripsime, who at the time was a Christian nun in Rome, was to be forcefully married to the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The main portal enters through the arched portico, while two side entries are located at the north and south walls.

The exterior of Saint Gayane differs from the interior in that it has a cruciform-plan gable roof with the drum and dome placed central to the main structure.

An airy, triple-arched portico was added to the western façade of the church in 1683 as the burial place for prominent Armenian clergymen.