St. Gabriel Church :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

St. Gabriel Church

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Khanlar / Brajur

Architectural Description

St. Gabriel Church standing in the centre of the village represents a uni-nave vaulted building of undressed stone and mortar, with a four-pillar belfry above its eastern pediment.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 345.

Historical Introduction

The founder of the church, Babajan, was said “...to possess a large fortune so that Javad Khan, whose residence was in Gandzak then, always demanded that he should give him some money. One day the khan asked, ‘Babajan, why do I run out of money very often, while you never seem to be short of it?’ Babajan answered, ‘My dear khan, yours is what Babajan gave you, while mine is what God gave me.’ People have not forgotten his words which sound as a saying in our villages until now.”

“Nor-Dar,” 1890, No. 70, p. 3.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 346.

1928 y․

St. Gabriel Church closed on a Government order in 1928.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 2658, p. 12.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 346.

1989 y․

It was preserved standing until the deportation of the local Armenians in 1989.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 346.

Inscription, Armenian, Engraved, Commemoration

One of its facades is engraved with the following inscription:
St. Gabriel Church stands in memory of Babajan, who is the son of Father Akob.
Published in: “Nor-Dar,” 1890, No. 70, p. 3.
Note: Brajur inhabitant Badam Grigorian deciphers the inscription in the following way, “The church was built in 1700 by Hakob’s son Babajan in memory of his sons Hakobjan, Ohanjan as well as his grandchildren, great grandchildren and his daughter-in-law Varvara (Grigorian, B. Brajur. In: “Gardmank,” 1996, No. 1, p. 3, in Armenian).

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 345.

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