Sts. Poghos-Petros (Peter and Paul) Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sts. Poghos-Petros (Peter and Paul) Church 17 c․

NKR / Kashatagh / Shalva

Location
17 c․

The oldest residential quarters were the southern side of the village. Just here we found a single nave vaulted basilica resembling by composition and building technique numerous other churches, built in this province at the end of the 17th century. The only essential difference were the sacristies by both sides of the altar apse. The problem of illumination here was solved by means of 4 windows. Three of them were cut in the eastern wall, and one - in the western facade. The only entrance was open in the western facade. The church was built of coarse stone and mortar, plastered inside. The baptism niche was in its traditional place, in the northern wall (the font isn’t preserved). Walls were rather thick, the western one, for instance, was 139 cm wide. External dimensions of the church are: 13.50 x 8.45 m.

Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 159.

Description

The stone over the church tympanum, which could contain the building inscription, is presently missing.

Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 159.

A number of cross-stones (12th to 17th cc.) and tombstones (15th to 17th cc.) are preserved in the church walls and in the vicinity.

Kortoshian, Raffi. The Endangered Christian Armenian Heritage of Artsakh, Yerevan, 2022, p. 196.

Inscription, Armenian, Engraved, Commemoration 1611 y․

The inscription was situated right of the tympanum, on a finely processed arch, between numerous small crosses. It reads:
“FATHER POGH(0)S, MKHITAR, 1611.”

"Corpus", Issue 5, compiled by S. Barkhudarian, Yerevan, 1982, p. 195.
Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 159. We should note that the authors omitted the first proper name in the transliteration, the date was read as 1411, and the script was distorted.

Type Photo
Direction From the south-west
Author Samvel Karapetyan

Type Photo
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative

A window opening made in the tombstone and a fine khachkar fastened into the same

Type Photo
Direction From the east
Author Samvel Karapetyan

Type Photo
Author Samvel Karapetyan

Author Samvel Karapetyan
Date 17 c․

Author Samvel Karapetyan