The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran located in northwestern Iran in Azerbaijan province has been registered in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as three Armenian Christian churches, including the St. Thaddeus Monastery, the Saint Stepanos Monastery, and the Chapel of Dzordzor.
This church is located 20 kilometers northeast of Chaldaran city, in a village of the same name. Saint Thaddeus is one of the apostles of Jesus Christ who came to the south of the Armenian plateau to preach Christianity. At that time the Parthians ruled in Iran and many people were Zoroastrians or believed in Mithraism. Upon the invitation of the apostles of Christ to this religion in Iran, 3,500 people accepted Christianity, including Sandruk or Sanaduk the Armenian King and his daughter. After a short while, the king turns away from Christianity and commands to kill all those who had turned in to this religion (even his daughter San dukht).
In 66 AD, Saint Thaddeus, along with San-Dokht, the daughter of the king and some other fellowships, who believed in Christianity, were arrested at the behest of the then Armenian king and killed after torture, and Saint Thaddeus was buried in the present location of the monastery. It has become one of the most important Armenian holy places.
St. Thaddeus Monastery is also called Ghare or Ghara Kelisa. The word “Ghara” is Turkish, meaning black. Because the eastern part of the church is made of black stone.
During various periods of history due to the many battles that took place in this area, the St. Thaddeus Monastery suffered extensive damages, most notably after the Mongol invasion of Genghis Khan in 1230 AD, which destroyed most parts of the church but later during the reign of Holaku Khan, the church was rebuilt by Khaja Nasiruddin Tusi. A devastating earthquake in the 14th century destroyed the church and the remaining building was restored by Bishop Zakaria and two of his brothers, Peter and Sarkis, over a period of 10 years. The last rebuilding of the church was during the time of Abbas Mirza, the Crown Prince of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. The rebuilding of this new church was inspired by the design of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.
According to some historians, the St. Thaddeus Monastery appears to be the first church built by the evangelists in the world, and Armenian Christians hold special ceremonies every year on the last week of July and the first week of August, which coincides with the martyrdom of St. Thaddeus.
St. Stepanos Monastery which was built in the ninth century AD is the second most important Armenian Church in Iran after the Ghara Kelisa. It is located in East Azarbaijan province, 17 kilometers west of the city of Jolfa, 3 kilometers south of the Aras River, in a place called Ghezel Vank (Red Monastery). Jolfa is a border town between Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, located in East Azerbaijan Province of Iran, and is famous for its historical churches and often inhabited by religious minorities.
Unfortunately, the church was seriously damaged due to a severe earthquake but was later restored during the Safavid era.
The St. Stepanos Monastery is located within a fortified fort, and the Armenians refer to the complex of buildings that they built inside such forts as “Vank”. This church is respected by not only the Christians but also all the religions, but it actually belongs to the Gregorian Christian community in Armenia (followers of Gregor the Enlightener). On a special day of the year Thousands of Armenians gather at this place to perform their special rituals.
Stephen St. Stepanos was one of the first Christian preachers and martyrs of the Christian religion. So there are many churches around the world with the same name. St .Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem in 36 AD, for allegedly speaking against the Jewish law.
Located in a beautiful atmosphere surrounded by tall trees, the church’s building is cylindrical and has a cone-shaped dome. All parts are built of stone and fence with seven guard towers and five cylindrical stones like strong fortifications of the Sassanid era. This building is a mixture of Urartu, Parthian and Roman architecture. The whole church is made of pink, red and white stones and its exterior walls are adorned with beautiful stones with impressive carvings.
The main building of St. Stepanus Church in Jolfa is composed of four sections:
The amazing relief of the apostles and saints and angels on the front side of the beautiful hexadecagon dome can be seen in the interior view of the church.
In 2005, the Cultural Heritage Organization experts discovered the remaining bones of the some of the apostles and saints of Christ during the restoration which was preserved in the church according to historical documents. The Archbishop of the Armenians of Tehran and northern Iran stated that the remains may have belonged to the body of John the Baptist but for now it is just a theory and more investigation is needed.
Maku city is located in northwestern Iran in West Azarbaijan province. Aside from Maku’s ancient civilization and many historical monuments, its natural beauty such as beautiful rivers, springs, caves, waterfalls along with good weather, makes this city tourism attraction of the northwest of the country.
St. Mary’s Church, also called the Chapel of Dzordzor, is one of the most spectacular monuments of Maku. The church’s name was originally Dzordzor, because it used to be under the supervision of the famous painter: Hovans Yerz who was known as Dzordzortzi.
The Chapel of Dzordzor was built by the Archbishop of St. Thaddeus, named Zechariah, and became one of the centers of religious, cultural and literary education. Thus, for many years, the Chapel of Dzordzor became a religious center and continued to operate until the early 17th century during the Iran-Ottoman wars but from then on it remained abandoned and obsolete.
The appearance of this church is very simple but very beautiful; its name is on the list of national monuments of Iran and has attracted worldwide attention because it is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
This church, which is cruciform, like other Armenian churches of that period, was built with carved stones of various sizes. The color of the church facade is light brown and the carved stones of the exterior of the Church of Dzordzor are beautifully polished and smooth. No mortar was used to attach these stones, and the creators of the building carved the stones in such a way that the two stones were fastened together. The roof of the church ends with hexadecane dome that shows the brilliant art of its architects.
The Chapel of Dzordzor is the only Iranian monument that is not in its original place and has been moved once.
In 1988, because of the Baroon Dam flooding, the Chapel of Dzordzor was in danger of being destroyed and drowned, and the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran and the Armenian experts, in a commendable work, moved such a beautiful building stone to stone and brick to brick, elsewhere. But not only was not damaged during the transfer, but its original appearance was completely preserved. After the church was moved, parts that had been damaged in the previous place were restored to preserve its shape.
