Sourb Astvatzatzin Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sourb Astvatzatzin Church

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Shamkhor / Bada

Historical Introduction
1870 y․

In the late 1870s, the Armenians of Bada “...invited a Greek master to erect a fine stone church in their village. However, taking advantage of the local people’s ignorance, the latter bungled the job mercilessly (he had been paid 8,000 rubles for it), the building collapsing in several years’ time.”

“Ardzagank,” 1888, No. 7, p. 87.
The earliest record, mentioning this church by the name of Sourb Astvatzatzin, dates from 1882 (National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3874, pp. 129-130).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

Description
1890 y․

In 1890 S. Kamalian wrote the following about this church, “The newly-built church, that lies on the verge of the gorge in a state of utter dilapidation, seems to be cursing the sly Greek master’s greediness and Legharak inhabitants’ recklessness. It is already seven years since its roof collapsed, fortunately, without causing any injury to the local residents.”

Yeghishe Charents Art and Literature Museum. Sargis Kamalian Fund, copy-book No. 1, VI-11, p. 4. In 1888 divine service was still held in the church that had been reduced to a semi-ruined state (“Ardzagank,” 1888, No. 7, p. 87).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

Repairs
1890 y․

Some time later, presumably, in the late 1890s, “...the Armenians of Bada were obliged to reconstruct the old church of the village for divine service to be held there.”

Kajberuny. The Destruction of Bada Village. In: “Ararat,” 1910, p. 230.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

Historical Introduction
1905 y․

In the days of the November massacres of 1905, “The Tartar gangs broke the cross-carrier of the church, destroying its altar and font in search of the treasure allegedly buried there. They also robbed it of its curtain, bells, doors, windows, large fans, censers, various vessels and even the manuscripts kept there.”

Kajberuny. The Destruction of Bada Village. In: “Ararat,” 1910, p. 230.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

1711 y․

The loot of the bandits also included a manuscript created in 1711 by Priest Hovhannes.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

1906 y․

In 1906 Priest Mesrop Ter-Stepanossiants obtained some church utensils through donations made in Baku. They comprised “a gonfalon (donated by Hakob Mangasarian); a thurible (Piradiants); a gilded silver chalice (Ludwig Sargissian); a large icon of the Holy Virgin (Mrs. Mayilian); another large icon of St. Gregory the Enlightener (Mkrtich Kalantarian and his brother) as well as three stoles and the same number of chasubles gifted by the Armenian church of Baku...”

Kajberuny. The Destruction of Bada Village. In: “Ararat,” 1910, p. 230.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 455.

Repairs
1911 y․

Despite all the aforementioned, however, Sourb Astvatzatzin still remained in emergency condition. It was only in September 1911 that “...we, the Armenians of Bada, decided to carry out major overhaul in the church... taking into account the fact that it can no longer serve the local community safely. It being absolutely impossible to close the church altogether and leave its flock without spiritual comfort, we are now busy conveying the necessary building material. We have also entered into agreement with some masters who have already embarked upon preliminary work. Accordingly, they are to erect new walls of sixty cubic sazhens, a sazhen costing 18 rubles. Besides, they are to repair the pillars of the church together with the vaults of the bema and vestries. Its wooden roof is to be tiled, all the expenses coming up to an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 rubles...” In order to realize the aforementioned, the Armenians of Bada applied to the spiritual powers for permission to start fund-raising.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3446; fund 35, list 1, file 705, p. 62; National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3446.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 455-456.

1912 y․

Their petition remaining unanswered, in June 1912 they turned to Catholicos of All Armenians Gevorg V (1911 to 1930): “...At present our community is making strenuous efforts to start the renovation of our church. It is, however, beyond our means to erect the magnificent edifice of the future church, for we are in a grave financial predicament. We are planning to procure the necessary building material, but we still need an estimated three thousand rubles to complete the work. In order to somehow get that money, we have to apply to different benefactors, but there are no influential people in our midst who could find them and achieve the desirable result. After a long consultation, our community decided to apply to Your Holiness’ paternal support, humbly asking You to order a charity society or the Relief Committee to allocate some of the funds earmarked for the poor to us to bring the reconstruction of Bada’s church to an end.” This petition sharing the fate of the previous one, on 26 August 1913, local parish priests Mesrop and Grigor were again obliged to apply to Gandzak’s spiritual authorities with the following warning, “...Bada’s Sourb Astvatzatzin Church, originally built of wood, is now in a state of dilapidation: the wood rotting away due to its old age, it has become extremely dangerous to hold divine service there. Consequently, we are humbly asking You to either take some measures to prevent its final collapse or close it altogether.” Unfortunately, however, the spiritual powers did not take any drastic steps to save the church so that soon the desperate inhabitants of Bada showed a tendency to repudiate the Armenian Apostolic Church. Even in the face of such grave danger, the church authorities did not change their indifferent attitude to the fate of the monument and refused to close it: “Even taking into consideration the emergency condition of the sanctuary, the spiritual powers find it hardly expedient to follow these priests’ advice and close it, given the facts that this summer the local inhabitants displayed some striving to renounce their forefathers’ faith, and there is no other Armenian church in the neighbourhood.”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3446.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 456.

1914 y․

It was only in 1914 that Bishop Yeprem, the leader of the dioceses of Georgia and Imeret, granted permission for fund-raising through the support of vicar of Gandzak Levon the Archimandrite.

“Mshak,” 1914, No. 159, p. 3.
Also see “Ararat,” 1912, p. 395.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 456.

The available sources do not provide any further information regarding the reconstruction of Sourb Astvatzatzin Church.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 456.

Historical Introduction
1928 y․

The church finally closed in 1928.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 2658, p. 12.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 456.

Inscription, Armenian, Engraved, Construction 1883 y․

It used to have a 7-line construction inscription, which we found on one of the walls of the newly-built school of the village in 1985.
This church of Sourb Astvatzatzin was built in the year 1883 by the inhabitants of Bada Village. Written by Sexton Vardan Ter-Abrahamiants.
The Armenian original published in: Karapetian, S. The Historical Monuments of Northern Artsakh. In: “Lragir,” 25 March 1995, p. 6.