Church > St. Astvatsatsin Church of Karintak

St. Astvatsatsin Church of Karintak

Location

The church is located in Karin Tak village in the upper district of the Artsakh Republic's Shushi region. The church is currently occupied by Azerbaijan as a result of the 44-day war in Artsakh.

Historical overview

According to the inscription engraved on the right side of the central window of the south façade, the church was built in 1841. (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 The general view of the church from the south-west, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

The inscription is made up of three uppercase letters and can be read as "T, M, Gh, (which refers to 1841 year)".

The inscription about the 1903 renovation is installed on the stone of the same window's arch: "The church was covered with plaster. The church's interior and windows were also repaired in memory of Danielantsi's brother, Ekory. The year was 1903, 8/8 "(Fig. 2).

On August 8, 1903, the church's roof was tiled, the structure was tin-plastered from the inside, and the windows were repaired, according to the inscription. In the year 2000, the church was renovated once again. The old tin roof, in particular, was replaced.

Fig. 2 The inscription on the restoration of the church's central window on the south façade, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

Architectural-compositional examination

The church is a single-nave basilica hall with a slender vault, a narrow tabernacle, a high bema, and two side sacristies. The only entry is from the southern side. Two large windows on the south façade and one window on each of the three west façades provide lighting (Fig. 3-5).

Fig. 3 The general view of the church from the south, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

Fig. 4 The general view of the church from the west, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

Fig. 5 The general view of the church from the east, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

The church is built of rough stone. The window frames and the corners of the walls are crafted from polished stone. It is plastered on the inside and has a tin gabled roof (Figs. 6, 7).

Fig. 6 The interior of the church, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

Fig. 7 The interior of the church, photo by L. Hovhannisyan.

The condition before, during, and after the war

Before the war, the church was fully steadfast. On February 7, 2022, the website monumentwatch.org reported that the Azerbaijani military had vandalized the St. Astvatsatsin Church. According to a video posted on YouTube by a user named Karabakh Honor in March 2021, the Holy Altar of the church tabernacle was broken and divided, the inside of the church was turned upside down, and Azeri soldiers went in and out of the church and climbed the tabernacle. They also broke into sacristies and turned them upside down as well.

Furthermore, they were clearly violating the Christian structure's ritual function by performing Muslim prayers in the church.

(Քարինտակի սբ. Աստվածածին եկեղեցին ենթարկվում է վանդալիզմի - Monument Watch)։

Bibliographic examination

There is little information about the church in the bibliography. In his work "Artsakh," Makar Barkhutaryants simply mentions the church's existence without going into detail (Barkhutaryants 1895, 133-134). Our data is based on the information contained in the monument certificate issued by the Artsakh Republic's Ministry of Education and Science.

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutareants, 1895-Barkhutareants M., Artsakh, Baku, Aror.
St. Astvatsatsin Church of Karintak
St. Astvatsatsin Church of Karintak
St. Astvatsatsin Church of Karintak
Artsakh