Church > St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor village

St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor village

Location

The church is located in Tzor village of Hadrut region of the Artsakh Republic (Mkrtchyan 1985, 132). The village is located at the southern foot of the historic Tzoraberd fortress (Barkhutaryants 1895, 43).

 

Historical overview

There is no historical data about the church. Its brief description is given by Makar Barkhudaryants: “…Amenaprkich Church, built on four pillars, marvelous and beautiful, its people-facing facade of the bema is delicately decorated, the length is 22 m, the width is 12 m 35 cm, externally on the front stone of the door: “In memory of the year of 400… a priest…” (Barkhutaryants 1895, 43).

Architectural-compositional description

St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor is located in the central part of the village (Fig. 1). The building is a three-nave basilica with four pillars, a semicircular high altar and adjacent vestries (Fig. 2). It is built of local rough stone, has small windows. The only entrance to the church is from the south (Fig. 3). One line of illegible inscription has been preserved on the lintel (cf. CAE 1982, 186). Based on the compositional, architectural solutions of the church, it dates back to the 18th-19th centuries (Mkrtchyan 1985, 132). Internally the church is vaulted (Fig. 4), its only decoration is the rich sculptured area under ​​the bema (Fig. 5), where the name Giriqor is read from top to bottom (CAE 1982, 187).

Fig. 3 The lintel of the church, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 4 The interior of the church, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 1 The general view of the church from the south, photo by S. Danielyan.

Fig. 2 The church plan, Мкртчян Ш., Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха, p. 108.

Fig. 5 The sculptured segment of the church bema, photo by S. Danielyan.

The condition before and after the war

During the Soviet years, the church area was used for economic purposes, some windows were widened (Fig. 6). In 2016-2020, the church was renovated by benefactors of Tsor origin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TeU08kxzFU, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmTojWJU9Ns).

The church was not damaged during the Artsakh wars, it is now located in the Hadrut region occupied by Azerbaijan and there is no information about its further destiny.

Fig. 6 The eastern facade of the church, photo by S. Danielyan.

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutaryants 1895 – Barkhutaryants M., Artsakh, Baku.
  2. CAE 1982 – Corpus of Armenian Epigraphy, issue 5, Artsakh, Yerevan.
  3. Mkrtchyan 1985 – Mkrtchyan Sh., Historical and architectural monuments of Nagorno Karabakh, Yerevan.
  4. Мкртчян Ш., Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха, Ереван, 1988.
St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor village
St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor village
St. Amenaprkich Church of Tzor village
Artsakh