The Surb Astvatsatsin Church of Yeghcahogh

Historical Overview

No definitive documentary evidence survives concerning the church's original construction. It is generally asserted that the Church of Surb Astvatsatsin in the village was erected in the 18th–19th centuries (Balayan 2020, 571). Although these lands were inhabited earlier, permanent settlement within the present village bounds only commenced in the early 20th century. The building's plan and external form correspond to rural 19th-century Armenian churches. In light of the settlement data for the modern village site, it is plausible that the existing structure was either erected at the beginning of the 20th century or rebuilt atop an earlier church, as local oral tradition attests (Balayan 2020, 569–570).

Architectural-compositional examination

The church is a single-nave, barrel-vaulted rectangular hall. Its walls are built of roughly hewn small and medium stones bonded with lime mortar. Only the cornerstones, the jambs of the windows and doorway, and the door lintel are hewn from smoothly dressed stone. The sole entrance is located on the south façade. Although the lintel bears no dedicatory inscription, it is simply adorned with a carved cross. The exterior displays no additional ornamentation, presenting a restrained and unadorned profile. Internally, the walls are finished with a smooth lime plaster (Fig. 2). To the right of the entrance, a large window admits daylight into the nave.