St. Hovhannes-Mkrtich Church (Yukhari Aylis)

St. Hovhannes-Mkrtich Church was an Armenian Apostolic Church located in the lower district of Yukhari Aylis village of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.[1] It was located approximately 400-500m southwest of St. Shmavon Church of the same village.[1]

St. Hovhannes-Mkrtich Church
Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ եկեղեցի
Map
LocationYukhari Aylis
CountryAzerbaijan
DenominationArmenian Apostolic Church
Architecture
Demolished1997–2000

History

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The church was renovated in 1663, according to literary sources and an Armenian inscription on the base of the cupola of the church.[2] The church was in a partially ruined condition in the late Soviet period.[3]

Architectural characteristics

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It had a polygonal apse and two-storied vestries on either side, an eight-windowed dome rested atop four octagonal pillars.[1][2] There were Armenian inscriptions on the perimeter of the dome.[1][2] The frescoes on the church, added in 1686, were largely decayed.[1][2] Some 150 tombstones existed along the northern and eastern sides of the church, within the perimeter wall. Since the 1940s, the tombstones were gradually disturbed and broken.[1]

Destruction

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The church was still a standing monument in the 1980s, however it has been already destroyed by February 2000, according to the Caucasus Heritage Watch.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Ayvazyan, Argam. Nakhijevani ISSH haykakan hushardzannery. Hamahavak tsutsak. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1986, p. 28.
  2. ^ a b c d Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan. Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 20.
  3. ^ a b Khatchadourian, Lori; Smith, Adam T.; Ghulyan, Husik; Lindsay, Ian (2022). Silent Erasure: A Satellite Investigation of the Destruction of Armenian Heritage in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies. pp. 56–58. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2022.