The cathedral is long and wide. Originally standing high, it was Ani's tallest structure. It is very large by the standards of Armenian architecture. Architecture historian Murad Hasratyan suggests that its relatively large size and rich ornaments symbolize the revived Armenian statehood under the Bagratids. Christina Maranci suggested what she describes as an "extremely tentative" hypothesis that the relatively large proportion of the cathedral may have been a "reflection of Trdat's memory of the vast continuous spaces" of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the dome of which he repaired. However, it is considered small if judged by a European standard, wrote H. F. B. Lynch and added, "it is nevertheless a stately building. It bears the imprint of that undefinable quality, beauty, and can scarcely fail to arouse a thrill of delight in the spectator." Luigi Villari wrote in his 1906 book on travels in the Caucasus: "From a distance it seems to be merely a plain rectangular structure with no architectural pretensions. But on closer inspection it proves to be a building of really great beauty and of the most perfect proportions."