Sourb Astvatzatzin Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sourb Astvatzatzin Church 17 — 18 cc․

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Shamkhor / Jagir

Historical Introduction
17 — 18 cc․

The stylistic and architectural peculiarities of the local church of Sourb Astvatzatzin rank it among the monuments of the period between the 17th and 18th centuries.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 496.

Repairs
19 c․

In the 19th century the sanctuary (by our second visit to it in 1985, its vault had totally collapsed) was reconstructed, its windows opening in the southern facade being widened.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 496.

Historical Introduction
1840 y․

1885 y․

The earliest archive documents bearing reference to the church, originally called St. Gevorg and then Sourb Astvatzatzin (from 1885 onwards).

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3835, pp. 148-149; file 3877, p. 29.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 496.

Architectural Description

The sanctuary (exterior dimensions: 21.5 x 11.6 metres) represents a basilica of a wooden roof, with a vaulted rectangular vestry on both sides of the apse. Each of the eastern and southern facades has three windows widening inside which provide the monument with illumination together with another opening in the western facade. The building, which has two entrances, southern and western, is built of undressed stone and mortar, its walls bearing about thirty finely-decorated cross-stones engraved with inscriptions.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 496.

Historical Introduction
1928 y․

The Soviet authorities closed Sourb Astvatzatzin Church in 1928.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 2658, p. 12.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 499.

Priests
1832 — 1861 yy․

Among the local priests, mention is made of Simon Ter-Yeghiazariants, who served Jagir between 1832 and 1861, also working as the spiritual shepherd of Garnaker Village.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 3833, pp. 134-135; file 3835, pp. 148-149.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 499.

1908 y․

In 1908 Hovhannes Ter-Yeghiazariants performed priestly duties for the local parish.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 817, p. 7.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 500.

Inscription, Armenian, Engraved, Commemoration 1655 y․

6 lines in the Armenian original carved on a finely-cut cornerstone lying in the north of the bema:
This holy altar is in memory of Priest Ghazar. May you pray for him at the divine service. In the year 1655.
The Armenian original published in: Karapetian, S. The Historical Monuments of Northern Artsakh. In: “Lragir,”1995, N 38, March 22, p. 6.
Note: This inscription attests to the existence of the church in 1655.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 499.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

An inscription (1655) found in the bema

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․