The Chapel of Pahaksar

The Chapel of Pahaksar

Location

The chapel is located 3 km north-west of Yeghegnut village of Nor Shahumyan (Karvatchar) region of the Artsakh Republic, and 0.7 km north-west of Tsmaka Anapat. It is marked on the Soviet military maps as Gharavul (in Russ.: караул – guard) and is located at the top of the mountain 2018 m above sea level (Karapetyan 2019, 250). Presently it is under the Azerbaijani occupation.

Historical overview

There is no historical information about the chapel, the only mention one can see, is preserved on the stone with a donative inscription inside the chapel (Fig. 1), where it is mentioned under the name of St. Gevorg (George). The inscription informs about the donation of some property to St. Gevorg Monastery or Church by Sas and Hasan at Tsovategh (literally, the site of a sea; among the toponyms of Artsakh the sea is used in the sense of lake, reservoir), Tsmakets desert (literally, of the forest) is mentioned, to whom gifts were also given, it is asked to remember Sas and his parents, Hasan, Khotsadegh. And those who will thwart these deals, let them deserve the curse of the 318 patriarchs and God (Karapetyan 2019, 251).

Fig. 1 The donative inscriptions preserved inside the chapel, photo by the Database of the Department of Preservation of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Artsakh Republic.

Architectural-compositional description

The chapel has a simple, rectangular plan (Fig. 2). It is built of raw stones, lime mortar (Figs. 3-6, Karapetyan 2019, 250-251). The chapel is half ruined, the lower rows of the building have been preserved.

The condition before and after the war

The chapel was not damaged during the Artsakh wars.

There is no information about the monument after Karvatchar region came under the control of Azerbaijan.

Fig. 2 The chapel plan, Karapetyan S․, Mravakank, Yerevan, 2019, page 250.

Figs. 3 The view of the chapel from outside and inside, photo by the Database of the Department of Preservation of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Artsakh Republic.

Figs. 5 The view of the chapel from outside and inside, photo by the Database of the Department of Preservation of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Artsakh Republic.

Figs. 4 The view of the chapel from outside and inside, photo by the Database of the Department of Preservation of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Artsakh Republic.

Figs. 6 The view of the chapel from outside and inside, photo by the Database of the Department of Preservation of Monuments of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Artsakh Republic.

Bibliography

  1. Karapetyan 2019 – Karapetyan S., Mravakank, Yerevan.
The Chapel of Pahaksar
The Chapel of Pahaksar
The Chapel of Pahaksar
Artsakh