PLACES OF WORSHIP
AVAN PARISH CHURCH - SAINT STEPHANOS
The church was built in the 19th century on the site of the former Saint Stepanos Church. 19th century
State index: 1.2.12
The
church was built in the 19th century, on the site of an old church, which,
according to the 1436 donation inscription on the pedestal of the monument
under the northern wall of the church, was called Saint Stepanos. The latter
was probably destroyed in the great earthquake of the Ararat Valley in 1679.
The church had an earthen roof, which was covered with tin in 1882.
It
is a three-aisled hall with two pairs of columns, a high platform, and a pair
of vaulted vestries. The floor is paved. The arched entrances are on the
southern and western sides. It is built of polished tuff and basalt. It is
fenced from the south and east. Under the southern wall are placed 16th-century
carved khachkars (Sarin, 16th century, Mahtes Gohar, 1598, Khanpar and Zakar,
1600). On the northern side, a khachkar made by the medieval stonemason
Melikset, 16th century, is erected.
In
1968, the area was improved.
