PLACES OF WORSHIP

The Holy Mother of God Church in Kanaker is one of the best-preserved examples of the three-nave basilica churches common in late medieval Armenia.

1695

State index: 1․12․5

The Holy Mother of God Church is located in the 3rd alley of Kanaker 6th street, not far from the Church of Saint Jacob. According to the inscription on the stone near the western entrance, it was built in 1695 with the funds of merchants, led by Khoja Aghajan. It has a three-nave basilica plan with internal dimensions of 12.8 x 21 meters, covered with a vault with two cross columns. On both sides of the semicircular altar are rectangular, vaulted vestries. The nave and arches are arrow-shaped. The facade of the stage is decorated with carved tiles.

The main entrance to the church is located in the center of the three arches of the western facade, and arched niches with carved khachkars are located at the edges. Walls were added to the western facade to create a three-arched open hall, but the construction remained unfinished. The western entrance has the same decoration as the St. Jacob Church: a rectangular opening, which is bordered by woven geometric patterns, with sculpted zones, the first of which is made of stone. The southern entrance also opens into an arched niche. Lighting is provided by windows on all facades. The altar window has a rich cross-shaped decoration. On the gable roof of the church, in the center of the prayer hall, rises a small rotunda of the bell tower. The outer facades are decorated with a skillful combination of black and red polished tuff. The walls are faced with stones from the surrounding cemetery, from the 10th-17th centuries. Cross-stones (1463, 1465, Miragi - 1504, Kirakos and Hantut - 1505, Hakob, Gokhar and Asatur - 17th century) and tombstones, some of which have inscriptions (the tombstone of Mkhitar of Tokhatsi, 1691, etc.). On the eastern facade, under the roof, is the cross-stone of Khoja Aghajan, the head of the church's construction (17th century).

Inside, the walls and cross-stones of the church are whitewashed. Traces of buildings and a fence remain nearby. In 1959-1963, the southern wall and roof of the church were renovated. In 1963, the roof was replaced.

Sarcophagi have been preserved in the cemetery near the Surb Astvatsatsin Church. According to locals, Kanakertsi Aghasin, the hero of Khachatur Abovyan's novel "Wounds of Armenia", is also buried in the cemetery. The cemetery also continued east of the church to Tsarav Aghbyur Street, where a small section divided by buildings has been preserved, containing cross-stones (15th-17th centuries) and tombstones (17th-19th centuries). Here, inside the chapel, stand 17th-century cross-stones, one of which is erected in memory of Satpasha and Bekisultan.