Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Church 10 — 11 cc․

Georgia / Javakhk / Akhalkalak / Alastan

Historical Introduction
10 — 11 yy․

The church of Alastan dates from the 10th to the 11th centuries.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 47.

1830 y․

Most probably, it used to belong to the Byzantine faith. Later, however, the Armenian Catholics who took up residence in the devastated site of this once Armenian-inhabited village in the 1830s repaired it and consecrated it according to the ritual of the Armenian Catholic Church. The sanctuary functioned for over a quarter of a century.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 47.

1856 y․

In 1856,18 when the foundations of a new, larger church were laid a little west of it, its wooden roofing was partly destroyed: “...the Armenian Catholics have demolished the church of Alastan and used its building material for the construction of their new church...”

«Օրացոյց եւ պատկեր տօնից», Թիֆլիս, 1916, էջ 81: Հայաստանի ազգային դիվան, (National Archives of Armenia), ֆ. 56, ց. 1, գ. 3436, թ. 8։ Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 47.

Architectural Description

Despite this, however, the church (exterior dimensions: 11.5 x 6.56 metres), which is built of finely-dressed stone, remains standing nowadays, and only its roof is in a state of decrepitude. Its walls are enriched with sculptures of equal-winged crosses typical of the early Middle Ages.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 47.

Inscription, Georgian Mesropian, Engraved, Commemoration

Two inscriptions carved in Georgian Mesropian characters—they are very difficult to read—are preserved on both sides of the window of the eastern facade:
ესე მე ნო|შელმან | დავდე | ქვაჲ Transl.: I, Noshel, placed this stone.

Brosset M., Mélanges asiatiques. t. II, 2e et 3e1, St. Pétersburg, 1854, p. 342։ Ростомов И., Ахалкалакский уезд в археологическом отношении.– Сборник Материалов для Описания Местностей и Племен Кавказа, вып. XXV, 1898, с. 31։ ცისკარიშვილი, ვ. նշվ. աշխ., p. 123: ბერძენიშვილი ნ., նշվ. աշխ., էջ 158: სილოგავა ვ., მრავალთავი, ვიი, p. 171: “ჯავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი”, p. 71: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 47. Note: According to N. Berdzenishvili, the inscription dates from a period anterior to the 13th century. V. Silogava traces it back to the 10th to 11th centuries.

Type Copied Lapidary Inscription
View `
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Graphical Drawing

Inscription, Georgian Mesropian, Engraved, Commemoration

The other inscription reads as follows:
ესე მე დ(ა)ჩ(ი)მ დ(ავ)ს(უ)ი | საოლისძემან. Transl.: I, Saul’s son Dachim, placed it.

Brosset M., Mélanges asiatiques. t. II, 2e et 3e1, St. Pétersburg, 1854, p. 343: Ростомов И., Ахалкалакский уезд в археологическом отношении.– Сборник Материалов для Описания Местностей и Племен Кавказа, вып. XXV, 1898, с. 31։ ცისკარიშვილი ვ., նշվ. աշխ., էջ 123։ ბერძენიშვილი ნ., նշվ. աշխ., էջ 158: სილოგავა ვ., მრავალთავი, ვიი, p. 171: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 48. Note: According to N. Berdzenishvili, the inscription was engraved during a period preceding the 13th century. V. Silogava traces it back to the 10th to 11th centuries.

Type Copied Lapidary Inscription
View `
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Graphical Drawing

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

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 Partial view
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․

The only entrance of the church opening from its southern facade.

Type Measurement
View `
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Sketch

Type Photo
View Detail
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Colour Negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․