Sourb Harutiun (Holy Resurrection) Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sourb Harutiun (Holy Resurrection) Church 10 — 11 cc․

Georgia / Javakhk / Akhalkalak / Abul

Historical Introduction
15 — 17 cc․

Most probably, at first it functioned as a church of Byzantine faith. It remains obscure how long this continued, but the Armenian graveyard, extending around it and tracing back to the 15th to 17th centuries, shows that from at least this period onwards, it functioned as an Armenian Apostolic church, and was naturally consecrated correspondingly.

«Արձագանք», 1885, N 3, էջ 43: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 32.

19 c․

The newly-arrived inhabitants of Abul who could not afford to build a church found it expedient to bless the older one, which was preserved standing, on permission granted by the spiritual authorities. In the ‘30s of the 19th century, when the sanctuary bore the name of Sourb Harutiun, a font was added to its northern wall. As for burials, they were performed in the medieval cemetery lying around the church. This graveyard retains specimens of material culture constituting the heritage of the native inhabitants of Abul—quadrilateral steles, pedestals of khachkars and ram-shaped tombstones.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 32.

Architectural Description
10 — 11 cc․

Sourb Harutiun (Holy Resurrection) Church of Abul, dating from the 10th to 11th centuries, represents a uni-nave vaulted structure (exterior dimensions: 11.85 x 6.50 metres) entirely built of finely-dressed yellowish tufa.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 31.

Inscription, Georgian Mesropian, Engraved, Commemoration

The western facade of the church preserves a two-line brief inscription carved in Georgian Mesropian characters almost below the cornice:
ჯ(უარ)ი ქ(რი)ს(ტეს)ი. | ქ(რისტ)ე შ(ეიწყალ)ე გ(უ)ზ(ა)ნ გ(ალა)ტ(ო)ზ(ი). Transl.: Cross of Christ. Christ, may You have mercy upon the masons Goozan.

Published in: Brosset M., Mélanges Asiatiques, t. II, p. 344; კალისტრატ ე, საისტორიო მასალა ვ, “ივერია”, 1891, N 239: Ростомов И., Ахалкалакский уезд в археологическом отношении.– Сборник Материалов для Описания Местностей и Племен Кавказа, вып. XXV, 1898, էջ 29: ცისკარიშვილი ვ., նշվ. աշխ., էջ 108: ბერძენიშვილი ნ., նշվ. աշխ., էջ 108: სილოგავა ვ., მრავალთავი, ვიი, თბილისი, էջ 170: “ჯავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი”, თბილისი, 2000, էջ 48: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 32. Note: Kalistrate deciphers the letter combination გრტე as გურანტე (Gurante) or გურანდუხტ (Gurandukht). N. Berdzenishvili almost repeated the previous publishers of the inscription, tracing it back to the 11th to 12th centuries. V. Tsiskarishvili ignored its first publication by M. Brosset. V. Silogava attributed it to the 12th century, taking into account its stylistic peculiarities.

Type Copied Lapidary Inscription
View Exterior
Source Non-Specified

Type Photo
View Partial view
Direction From the south-west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․

Type Photo
View Interior
Direction From the east
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․

Type Measurement
View `
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Sketch