St. Hakob (Jacob) Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

St. Hakob (Jacob) Church 17 c․

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Khanlar / Voskanapat

Historical Introduction

St. Hakob Church, standing on an elevation at the southern extremity of the village, represents a magnificent edifice, but the scholars describing it are not lavish with their words. Thus, S. Jalaliants confines himself to stating, “...it has a vaulted church.”

Jalaliants, S. A Travel to Great Armenia, part 1, Tpghis, 1842, p. 169.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 441.

Description

Kajikian writes, “...the church, erected more than two hundred years ago, is built of dressed stone and has a big, gable roof. It is bare of any inscriptions.”

Kajikian. Travelling Notes (a series of articles). In: “Ardzagank,” 1886, Nos. 20, 23, 24, p. 294.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 441.

According to M. Barkhutariants, “...St. Hakob Church is a superb monument resting on four pillars...”

Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, p. 273 (by “pillars,” the author means ‘pilasters’).
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 441.

Repairs
1847 y․

In 1847 “...there was a capital of a hundred rubles raised the previous year for the purpose of buying tiles. This year the community has again collected money for tiles and the repairs of the church in general.”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3814, pp. 101-102.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 441.

1916 y․

During the overhaul of 1916, “...the foundations of the southern, northern and eastern walls were renovated...” together with the tiled roof of the monument at the expense of 765 rubles. The wooden floor of the sanctuary is the handiwork of the Russians who used it as a barn during the Russo-Persian war of 1826 to 1828.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 56, list 6, file 1107, p. 2.
Kajikian. Travelling Notes (a series of articles). In: “Ardzagank,” 1886, Nos. 20, 23, 24, p. 294.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 442.

Historical Introduction
19 c․

The topographers of the 19th century keep silence about the construction inscriptions of the church walls. We suppose it had none, for its tympanum, i.e. the part where such inscriptions are generally carved, does not bear anything.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 442.

Architectural Description

St. Hakob represents a uni-nave vaulted basilica (exterior dimensions: 25.60 x 11.20 metres) typical of Artsakh’s architectural school, but at the same time, standing out of its other specimens. In all other structures of the same composition, the vault, lying below a gable roof, is supported by arches resting on one to three pairs of pilasters. In contrast to that, in this church the vault-bearing arches rest on four pairs of pilasters, thanks to which, the prayer hall is quite spacious. Like all the other monuments of the same period, the sanctuary has quite thick walls (135 centimetres), with the bay of the vault-bearing arches totalling 6.5 metres. Along the inner northern and southern walls extend the false arches. The font is in its traditional place, i.e. in the northern wall. The church is thoroughly built of undressed stone and mortar, with the exception of its cornerstones which are finely-finished. Its walls, particularly its western facade, bear about twenty khachkars dating from the 12th to 16th centuries.

Another similar monument having vault-bearing arches that rest on four pairs of pilasters is St. Stepanos Church of Khandzk in Askeran District of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, but it is smaller in dimensions. See our table of the plans of religious buildings in: Donabedian, Patrick, Mutafian, Claude. Artsakh: History of Karabakh. Paris, 1991, p. 152, in French. Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 442.

Historical Introduction
17 c․

The aforementioned peculiarities of the church and its comparison with other similar monuments of Gandzak Province trace it back to the second half of the 17th century.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 442.

1928 y․

St. Hakob Church closed in 1928.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 2658, p. 12.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 443.

Its walls have preserved the following inscriptions.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 443.

Inscription, Armenian, Engraved, Commemoration

Carved on a capital in the north of the font:
Grigor [and] I, Ovanes, brought this arch ... donated it in memory of my mother Urum (Hripsime).
The Armenian original published in: Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, p. 273.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 443.

Type Photo
Author Hovhannes Zakarian
Source Colour Negative

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

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

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

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

Type Photo
View Partial view
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Colour Negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

Type Measurement
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Sketch

Plan