Several historic churches and Christian monuments are in territory either captured or due to return to Azerbaijani control in a controversial new cease-fire agreement that ended the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Left Behind? Churches, Monasteries Due For Handover To Azerbaijan
- By Amos Chapple
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Dadivank, a monastery in the Shahumian region near Nagorno-Karabakh
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Details of a stone carving and Armenian script inside Dadivank. The monastery was completed in the 13th century.
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The Tsitsernavank monastery, on an isolated mountainside of Kashatagh Province
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The interior of Tsitsernavank, which is estimated to have been built in the 5th or 6th century.
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The Amaras monastery, a heavily fortified complex near Sos village in the Khojavend district
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A sarcophagus inside the Amaras monastery that is said to hold the remains of St. Grigoris, the grandson of the man who converted Armenia’s king to Christianity in A.D. 301. The Amaras monastery is believed to have been founded in the 4th century.
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Katarovank, a monastery on a mountaintop in the Hadrut region
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Visitors pray inside the Kataro monastery, which was completed in the 17th century.
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Kanach Zham, a church in Shushi/Susa, the strategically vital town recently captured by Azerbaijani forces.
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Light shines through a stained-glass window inside Kanach Zham. The church was built in 1818.
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Gtichavank, a monastery in the Hadrut region
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A detail of a carved stone cross (visible just right of center in the previous photo) near the entrance to Gtichavank. The monastery was completed in 1248.
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Ghazanchetsots, which is considered to be the cathedral of Shushi/Susa. The photo was taken in 2008 during a mass wedding ceremony.
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The interior of Ghazanchetsots after it was damaged by Azerbaijani artillery in October. The cathedral was completed in 1887.
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The Yeritsmankants monastery in the forested Martakert region
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Armenian script towers over the door at an entrance to the Yeritsmankants monastery. The partially ruined monastery was built in 1691.
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St. Hovhannes Church, in the Hadrut region
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A stone carving lies in the courtyard of St. Hovhannes. The church is believed to have been built in the 13th century.
