Sourb Astvatzatzin (Holy Virgin) Church Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sourb Astvatzatzin (Holy Virgin) Church Church

Iran / Western Atrpatakan / Salmast / Ayan

Historical Introduction

Sourb Astvatzatzin (Holy Virgin) Church used to stand at the north-eastern extremity (N 38º13°44.91°°; E 044º42°03.08°) of Ayan. Its construction is traced back to 1781, one of the earliest records mentioning it dating from 1864.

Պալունի, Վիճակագրական տեղեկութիւն Սալմաստ գաւառի հայ ազգաբնակութեան [Palouny, “Statistical Data Regarding the Armenian Population in Salmast District”], «Նոր-Դար» [Nor-Dar], no. 216, 10 December 1896, p. 3. National Archives of Armenia, fund 429, list 1, file 100, p. 102. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

Priests

As the Armenians of Ayan were small in number, they did not always have their own spiritual shepherd. Their religious needs were met by the priests of Khosrova who visited the village from time to time.

Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 51. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

Description

In 1890 Sourb Astvatzatzin was mentioned as a chapel of a wooden roof, while in 1896 it was described as a church of unburnt brick dedicated to the Holy Virgin.

Գորոյեանց Ն., Պարսկաստանի հայերը [N. Goroyants, The Armenians of Persia] (Tehran, 1968), pp. 183-184. Պալունի, Վիճակագրական տեղեկութիւն Սալմաստ գաւառի հայ ազգաբնակութեան [Palouny, “Statistical Data Regarding the Armenian Population in Salmast District”], «Նոր-Դար» [Nor-Dar], no. 216, 10 December 1896, p. 3. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

It was also mentioned in 1905.

Materials for the History of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party, vol. 4 p. 267. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

Like almost all the other Christians of the district, the local inhabitants were banned to ring bells in their church. In some villages, a toller would beat a thin piece of board with a short stick every morning to wake up believers, but even this was forbidden in Ayan.

Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 51. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

In 2011 the church (outer dimensions: 15.90 x 9.50 metres) or, better to say, what survived of it—mainly some portions of its northern and southern walls laid with unburnt brick—served as a cattle-house.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 111.

Author Samvel Karapetyan
Date 2011 y․

Type Measurement
Author Ashot Hakobian
Source Sketch
Date 2011 y․

The plan of Sourb Astvatzatzin