Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Church 6 c․

NKR / Aghjabedi / Tazakyand

Historical Introduction
1969 y․

An early medieval church was discovered in 1969 quite accidentally during the agricultural works near the hill Chataltapa, at a distance of 3 km of the village Tazakand (14 km northwest of the administrative centre Aghjabedi).

Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 217.

Architectural Description

The temple represented a three-nave basilica (external dimensions 16,5x9,25) with an interesting peculiarity - semi-circular external wall of the altar apse. It had two sacristies. The only entrance was open in the western facade. The church walls and pillars (maximum height preserved is 1.6 m) were built of coarse stone, processed stone and baked brick. The latter was also used for tiling the church floor. The altar apse was 45 cm higher than the floor mark of the hall.

Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 217.

Historical Introduction
6 c․

Dating of the church is greatly facilitated by the finds of ceramic material, abound in the site and serving the dating criterion for the church, conditionally by the VI cent. AD.

R. B. Geyushev, Christianity in the Caucasian Albania, Baku, 1984, p. 86-87.
Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 217.

The location and dating of the above-mentioned church topographically and chronologically coincides with the description of the only church in the district of Beghamej provided by the manuscripts. Particularly, Movses Kaghankatvatsi, reflecting the activity of Ghazar, catholicos of Albania, whose Holy See was situated in Chogh (before 551), witnessed: “He built (the town of) Ghazarapat in Beghamej, and its church of Panthaleovn, which had immense dimensions.”

Movses Kaghankatvatsi, History of Albania, Yerevan, 1983, p. 350.
Samvel Karapetian, Armenian Cultural Monuments in the Region of Karabakh, Yerevan, 2001, p. 217.