PLACES OF WORSHIP

1706-1710

State index: 1.6.74

With sponsorship of Melik Aghamal, a wealthy man from Yerevan

It is located in the center of historical Kond district, at 9th Hovhannes Kozern Street. It was built in 1679 in the place of a church destroyed by a massive earthquake. It was ordered by the famous wealthy man Melik Aghamal, who was actively engaged in social-economic and political life of Yerevan at the end of the XVII century - at the beginning of the XVIII centuries. The construction initiatives of churches of St Paul and Peter (Poghos-Petros), Katoghike in the city center and, especially, St Hovhannes Mkrtich (John the Baptist) in Kond are also related with his family members.

The old building of the church was a spacious three-nave basilica construction (24.2 x 16.8 m) with pair of gables, arched rectangular sacristy on the both sides of semi-circular altar and without a dome. A small, pillared rotunda of belfry rose above the two-flanked roof.

In 1863, the area of the church was fenced, a gate was built 15 m away, which was a 5.7 m high arched structure resting on pair of props, with a cornice, a small fronton and a seraph sculpture.

In 1973, architect R. Israelyan elaborated the draft of the church reconstruction, which, unfortunately, was not implemented because of the death of the architect. The works were resumed in the 1980s, and the church was mostly rebuilt (architect: Baghdasar Arzumanyan, engineer-designer: Avetik Teknejian, builder: Mikayel Hovhannisyan). The construction works continued with some pauses until the 2010s.  A three-storey belfry was built adjunct to the western façade. The rotunda was removed, a dome was added, the area was improved, and the gate was also demolished in order to be rebuild later (it remains unrestored till now).

Among the elements of the decorative decoration of the church are the various sculptures of the façade stones of the entrances, the borders of the windows. The construction inscription is engraved on the upper part of the eastern façade, on four stones shaping a cross. There are multiple khachkars (cross-stones) on the façades, most of them are dedicated to the members of the Melik Aghamal’s family: to his father Melik Tsatur, brother Melik Aghavel, sister Khanum, son Melik Naz, daughters Satat, Khanbeku and others. On the southern façade of the church, under the cornice, there is a khachkar dedicated to the Catholicos Agheksandr I Jughayetsi (1706-1714), during whose tenure Kond’s St. John the Baptist Church was built.

The church is built by reddish smooth tuff, and stands on a low basalt base.

 “Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality