PLACES OF WORSHIP

1695

State index: 1.12.5

The building is located on the 3rd lane of Kanaker 6th Street, not far from the functioning Sourb Hakob Church, within a fenced area. According to the stone inscription above the western entrance, it was constructed in 1695, funded by merchants and under the supervision of Khoja Aghajan. The church measures 12.8 x 21 meters internally and features an arcaded triple-nave basilica design with cross-shaped gables. There are arcaded rectangular sacristies on either side of the semicircular altar, and the arches and arcaded columns are arrow-shaped. The facade of the stage is adorned with decorative tiles.

The main entrance is situated in the central part of the triple wall columns on the western facade, with arcaded niches at the edges where sculpted khachkars are placed. Wall gables were intended to be added to the western facade to create a triple-columned open hall, but this construction was left unfinished. The design of the western entrance is similar to that of Sourb Hakob Church. The rectangular opening is framed with intricate geometric sculpture, including sculpted zones with a dropstone motif.

The southern entrance is also located in an arcaded wall niche. Natural light is provided through windows on all facades, with the altar window featuring an elaborate cross-shaped decoration.

On the gable-style roof of the church, a small rotunda of the belfry rises in the center of the prayer room. The external facades are crafted from a skillful combination of black and red smooth tuff. Khachkars and tombstones from the 10th to the 17th centuries, sourced from the surrounding cemetery, are integrated into both the inner and outer walls. Some of these inscriptions include a khachkar from 1463, 1465, Mirag’s from 1504, Kirakos’s and Khantut’s from 1505, Akob’s, Gohar’s, and Asatur’s, as well as a 17th-century tombstone of Tokhatetsi Mkhitar from 1691.

On the eastern facade, beneath the roof, is the khachkar of Khoja Aghajan (17th century), who supervised the church’s construction. The church’s interior walls and the installed khachkars are coated with lime wash. Remnants of old buildings and fences in the vicinity have been preserved. Between 1959 and 1963, the southern wall and the roof of the church were renovated, and in 1963, the roof’s covering stones were reset.

Kanaker’s Holy Mother of God Church is one of the well-preserved examples of a triple-nave basilica from the late medieval period. The cemetery adjacent to Surb Astvatsatsin Church contains various gravestones, including low and high rectangular and cradle-shaped types. Some of these tombstones are inscribed, displaced, turned, or buried. According to local accounts, Aghasi, a character from Khachatur Abovyan’s novel Wounds of Armenia, is buried in this cemetery.

The cemetery extended eastward beyond the church to Tsarav Aghbyur’s Street. Due to construction development, only a small, separated part remains, featuring khachkars from the 15th to 17th centuries and tombstones from the 17th to 19th centuries. Inside the chapel, there are two 17th-century khachkars, one of which is inscribed and dedicated to the memory of Satpashi and Bekisultan.

“Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality