Church of the Holy Virgin in the Village Jraghatsner

Historical Overview

There is no historical information about the Church. Makar Barkhudariants, describing the village, mentions the newly built Church of the Holy Virgin in the village (Barkhudariants 1895, 95).

Architectural-Compositional Description

The Church of the Holy Virgin is located in the center of the village (fig. 1). It is a single-nave vaulted hall, the vault is slender and bi-centered in the section (fig. 2). The church has a high altar, an almost rectangular apse and two sacristies; the inner walls are plastered (fig. 3). The Church of the Holy Virgin is built of rough stones, only the cornerstones, the stones of the entrances and windows are polished. In terms of its architectural style, the church is close to the urban architecture of Shushi; the builders were probably from Shushi. The church has two entrances, one from the west and one from the south. There are three large windows on the south façade (fig. 4). The construction inscription is engraved on the western entrance door (In memory of this Church of the H[oly] Virgin, /which was built in the village of Jraghatsner in 1882/ at the expense of the whole society of believers (fig. 5).

 The State Before and After the War

During the Soviet years, the church was turned into a warehouse, and an annex was added on its western side. The church has been renovated. It was not destroyed after the 2020 war and the occupation of the village, but there is a video where the Azerbaijani militaries are saying a Muslim prayer right inside the church. For more details see

https://monumentwatch.org/hy/alerts/%d5%a1%d5%a4%d6%80%d5%a2%d5%a5%d5%bb%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5%ab- %d5%a6%d5%ab%d5%b6%d5%be%d5%b8%d6%80%d5%a1%d5%af%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5 %b6%d5%a5%d6%80%d5%a8- %d5%b4%d5%a1%d5%b0%d5%b4%d5%a5%d5%a4%d5%a1%d5%af%d5%a1%d5%b6/.