Surb Minas Church of Mariamadzor

Surb Minas Church of Mariamadzor

Location

The Hadrut region's Surb Minas Church is located in the southwest part of the village of Mariamadzor (Fig. 1).

Azerbaijan has occupied the village of Mariamadzor since October 2020.

Fig. 1 The church from the north-east, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

Historical overview         

The inscription on the entrance lintel of Surb Minas Church indicates that it was constructed in 1601 "the year of 1050". (CAE 5, 173). According to M. Barkhudaryan, the northern arch was inscribed with the church builder's memoirs: "I, hieromonk Azaria David Yerets, master of the constructed church." Another inscription on the opposite side of the same arch reads, "Cross of Baghdasar, raised for his wife..." (Barkhutareants 1895, 73).

The inscriptions mentioned above are no longer to be found.

Architectural-compositional examination

It is a single-nave hall with a rectangular architectural plan. On the eastern side, it concludes with a rectangular tabernacle (fig. 2). On the outside, the roof is vaulted and two-sloped. It is earthen. The church is made of unpolished stones and lime mortar. It measures 14.7 meters long, 7.9 meters wide, and 4.5 meters tall.

Fig. 2 The interior of the church, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

The only entry was from the west. Light was provided by two windows, one from the east and one from the west, both of which have since been demolished. Khachkars and fragments of them enchased into the church's walls have been preserved (fig. 3, 4, 5).

Fig. 3 One of the khachkars inside the church, 2019, photo. G. Budaghyan.

Fig. 5 The fragment of the khachkar inside the church, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

Fig. 4 The fragment of the khachkar inside the church, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

The condition before, during, and after the war

The church was blown up during the Soviet era, in the 1930s, as a result of the anti-religious struggle, and it remained half-destroyed after that (fig. 6, 7).

It was not damaged during the military operations in 2020. There is no information available regarding the post-war situation.

Fig. 6 The Church from the South, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

Fig. 7 The Church from the West, 2019, photo by G. Budaghyan.

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutariants, 1895-Barkhutariants M., Artsakh, Baku.
  2. CAE, 5-Corpus of Armenian Epigraphy, issue 5, Artsakh, made by S. Barkhudaryan, Yerevan, 1982.
  3. Mkrtchyan Sh., Historical and architectural monuments of Nagorno Karabakh, Yerevan, 1985.
Surb Minas Church of Mariamadzor
Surb Minas Church of Mariamadzor
Surb Minas Church of Mariamadzor
Artsakh