Church > St. Hovhannes Church of Tumi village

St. Hovhannes Church of Tumi village

Location

The church is located in the center of the old district of Tumi village in Hadrut region of Artsakh.

Historical overview

Tumi is one of the ancient settlements of Artsakh. It used to be one of the centers of a principality in the southern regions of Artsakh. The rich historical monuments in the village and the surrounding areas are a vivid proof of the said. Karmir Khach (Red Cross) Church in a dilapidated condition, built in 1000, ruins of chapels and a medieval cemetery have been preserved in the village. St. Hovhannes Church (Fig. 1) was built in the 17th century, and underwent significant changes in the 19th century (raising the exterior walls and roofing, enriching the decoration of the portal, in connection with which a cross-ornamented slab was placed in the southern wall of the church and the year of 1868 was engraved), has been preserved. At the end of the 19th century the church functioned and had two priests.

Fig. 1 The general view of the church from the south, photo by S. Danielyan, 2020.

Architectural-compositional examination

It is a single-nave vaulted hall with a rectangular plan. It is built of local rough gray sandstone, quartz and lime mortar (Fig․ 2). The stones of the entrance facade, windows, pillars, arches and corners of the external walls are hewn. The roof is vaulted, the twin arches of the vaultt rest on pillars (Figs. 3, 4). The entrance is from the south. The illumination was done through small windows opening from the east, south and west. The altar has a semicircular composition. It has two vestries parallel to the altar from the east. Inside, the baptismal font is placed in the northern wall.

Fig. 3 The internal of the church from the west, photo by S. Danielyan, 2014.

Fig. 2 The church from the northeast, photo by S. Danielyan, 2018.

Fig. 4 The internal of the church from the east, photo by S. Danielyan, 2014.

The most luxuriously decorated part of St. Hovhannes Church is the southern facade, in particular the portal and the cross-engraved stones embedded into its right and left sides (Fig. 5). On the right carved stone there are a pair of cross reliefs and an inscription. During the Soviet years, the ornaments and the inscription were scratched, partly the inscription “1868… ՍՐ (SR) ․․․”, which is the date of the renovation of the church is visible (Fig. 6).

During the Soviet years, the church was used as a grain warehouse, new changes were made. The entrance from the south was closed, a new entrance was opened from the eastern facade – from the altar. A hole was opened in the northern wall to empty the grain, the western window was widened from the southern facade, a large window was opened to the right of the entrance.

Fig. 5 The southern facade of the church, photo by S. Danielyan, 2014.

Fig. 6 The inscribed stone embedded into the southern wall, photo by S. Danielyan, 2014.

The condition before, during and after the war

The church was not damaged during the years of the first Artsakh war. Renovation works of the church launched in 2019. In particular, the belfry-rotunda was restored (Fig. 7), the old entrance was opened. The church was not damaged during the 2020 hostilities. No information is known about the monument after the war.

Fig. 7 The Church during renovation, photo by S. Danielyan, 2020.

Bibliographic examination

Bibliographic references to the church are not known.

            Bibliography

  1. Makar Bishop Barkhutaryants, “Artsakh”, Baku,
  2. Мкртчян Ш. Историко-архитектурные памятники Нагорного Карабаха, Ереван, 1988․
St. Hovhannes Church of Tumi village
St. Hovhannes Church of Tumi village
St. Hovhannes Church of Tumi village
Artsakh