XVII? cc. AD - Goghtn Region, Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan)

"St. Hovhannes-M'krtich Church - General View" © 2000 Raffi Kojian, All Rights Reserved

Among the architectural monuments of Agulis and in its medieval art an important place occupies also this church. Presently it is in half-destroyed condition; part of the northern wall of the church, the only entry of that front, the northern large part of the cover are ruined. In the interior were destroyed the two- story sacristies, the stage of the senior vestry, different parts of the walls and pillars. In the surroundings of the church were completely ruined part of the constsructions, the rampart, the four-pillar vestibule joint from northern side, etc.

St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church was built in Aulis' Nerkin district, in a plain and high-fixed place at the bottom of bare mountain-slope on the right bank of the river, from where outlines the panorama of the whole Verin Agulis. This church, as mantions Z. Agulistsi was considered the main church of Nerkin district. M. Taghiadyan mentioned by a mistake that "Verin district's church is St. Hovanes, and Nerkin distsrict's church is Holy Virgin". This wrong information M. Taghiadyan most likely got because of the position of Mets Holy Virgin church, which is really situated quite down St. Hovanes- Mkrtich and was considered Agulis' former area Shahastan's bottom part's church. And the district, where St. Hovanes- Mkrtich is situated is called "Khdzaydzor, which is Nerkin district...".

St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church is built on east-west axiz, in the eastern side it has a senior vestry, two two-story sacristies and a large praying-hall. (graph 4). On the 4 thick and of eight-hedral cuts pillar- vaults of the latter is put the brick dome with 8 windows. As was mentioned above the only entry of the church is also ruined in present.

We can have an idea about the latter by Gh. Alishan's published German artist Kesdner's picture. According to which St. Hovanes' entry had a square opening without a vault. Above the entry, in the northern side of the construction's second layer was placed a brief inscribed stone of 1694. The church had a beautiful wooden door with Hakhum's memorial inscription "from many parts, small pieces of wood, from nacre and ivory, on which is written the year of 1682".

St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church (p. 38-42) was mostly built from half-trimmed and split graite, and the construction's eastern front's outside layer and the dome were realized with baked brick. The stylish brick-layer of eastern front has number of geographic ornaments. As the church, so its complex' constructions were inside the nigh rampart, which had gates from north and south. St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church has noteworthy peculiarities. This first of all concerns its senior vestry's formation, which has a five-hedral composition in the scheme. The northern and southern corner-parts of the vestry's eastern wall in inside sections are very light, only 35cm. The six bays of the vestry have 85cm wide openings and are deep. In northern and southern corner-parts, above the bays outline wide ornamented vaults, above which are placed decorations.

St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church is also interesting by its two- story sacristies, the first floors of wich are square in the scheme and have six deep and of square-openings bays. The second- floor sacristies of the church, which have served as vestries, in contrast to the first-floor sacristies, in eastern part have half-rounded compositions. In their walls each of the vestries has 7 high bays finishing with pointed crowns. They are lit by the quite wide and high (55x 90) widows in the eastern wall, from which directly 30-35cm above, for auxiliary lighting were opened rounded windows one in each. The second- floor vestries in western side have low-fixed (60cm) walls, the whole fronts are opened and are organically connected with the praying-hall. In the present construction of St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church are clearly noticable traces of several repairings, about 2 of which information has preserved in Z. Agulistsi's works. According to Agulistsi this church in 1612 repaired Agulisian celebrated spring- master Setyan Mahtesi Melkum.

He "in this year (1612) built Khdzadzora St. Hovanes church". Then, about the later repairing on the circle of the church-dome (from inside) still preserves the XVIIIc with black ink wiritten inscription aobut the church repairing in the second half of XVIIc. According to the certain information of the altter the church was repaired in 1663. In 1686 it was plastered, and its brick-dome was built in 1703. The information of these inscriptions are added and confirmed by Z. Agulistsi's true inscribed materials. According to which in 1663 "was started the costruction of Agulats Khdzaydzoru St. Hovanes church". THen in 1664 "In May 31 they started building Agulis' Nerkin district's St. Hovanes church. In July 5 they put the foundation, built by king's command, Mirza Ibrahim's word". Then in 1665 "November 5 was finished Agulis' Nerkin district's St. Hovanes called church... In 1685 may 20 they started plastering this church. THey plastered, ornamented nad in October 31 blessed wonderfully". With the XVIIc repairing of the church "was put rampart, were built cells, dining-romms, then was finished". Under the eastern front-wall of the church, by its width was built the church' dining-room, the cover of which equals the church' foundation layer. This dining-room is a construction of one-nave one-hall composition, from the top part of the vertical walls of which starts the vault. Presently from that construction are ruined a large part of the eastern wall, the sections of the entries, the central part of the cover. The entries of the dining-room had been placed in the eastern front. The windows too were in that front. The church from inside is around 3m high and is plastered, in the eastern wall it has 9 quite deep bays with square openings.

In the northern wall of St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church' dining-room, on east- west axis is joint the vaulted kitchen. Adjacent to the latter is the church' spring with 2, 90x 4m (sizes) and 1, 30m deep water-cistern and a vaulted composition.

Inside the St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church' ramparts, in front of its dining-room and in the nothern side of the church, in front of the vestibule used to be the grave-house of the church. The latter was destroyed during the 1663 repair of the church "came and destroyed the large cemetery; there was some remarkable person's body, they left it, then took the stones of lordless and unnoticable corpses, put some in the church-wall, some left in the church- yard. Then decided that from now on all the bodies should be taken to the plain place in the southern side in front of the church, and called the place Bek- Oghli. the first body of this Bek- Oghli was deacon Andranik's wife. This was in 1112 (1663).

The cemetery of St. Hovanes- Mkrtich church now is a garden. Several XVIII- XIXcc grave-stones of the cemetery are gathered in the corner of the garden.

[Source: Agulis -by Argam Aivazian, 1984, Hayastan Press, Yerevan]

"St. Hovhannes-M'krtich Church" © 2000 Raffi Kojian, All Rights Reserved

"Hovhannes-M'krtich Floorplan" © 2000 Raffi Kojian, All Rights Reserved