Sourb Khach (Holy Cross) Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Sourb Khach (Holy Cross) Church 1830 y․

Georgia / Javakhk / Akhalkalak / Sulda

Historical Introduction
1830 y․

Sourb Khach (Holy Cross) Church of Sulda was built in the 1830s.

Հայաստանի ազգային դիվան (National Archives of Armenia), ֆ. 53, ց. 1, գ. 457, թ. 42-67: Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 461.

1853 y․

In 1853 it was reconstructed and again consecrated by the same name. During the work, the local residents used the finely-finished stones of an old destroyed building—probably, a caravanserai—located in the territory between Hokam and Kash: “...on 13 January 1853, six people unanimously attested that between the villages of Kash and Hokam was located a building whose finely-dressed stones were scattered here and there. Several of these stones were carried away to be used for the new church of Sulda... Then on 27 April of the same year, twelve people attested on oath that between the villages of Kash and Hokam was situated a structure ruined to such an extent that it was by no means possible to find out whether it had been a church [or not]. Due to its high antiquity, it had appeared in a state of utter neglect and decrepitude, with many of its stones fallen down. The people of Sulda wished to build a church, but they were in need of financial means since they lived in poverty. Consulting each other and getting Village Head Movsis Ghazariants’s permission, they went and arranged the scattered stones together.”

Հայաստանի ազգային դիվան (National Archives of Armenia), ֆ. 56, ց. 1, գ. 3352, թ. 4։ Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 461.

1853 y․

Even today the finely-finished large blocks of stone (they are bigger in size than the other stones of the monument) which were removed from the aforementioned ancient site in 1853, as attested by an archive document, can be clearly seen in the walls of the stone-built church of Sulda (it has a wooden roof).

«Արձագանք», 1885, N 3, էջ 41։ Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 461.

Description

As of 2006, Sourb Khach Chuch was in a bad state of disrepair and even in emergency condition. Its eastern wall bears a number of winged cross-stones with some traces of Georgian Mesropian inscriptions.

Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 461.

Inscription, Georgian, Engraved, Commemoration

წმიდაო გიორგი შეიწყალე ახალც[იხელი]. Transl.: May You, St. Gevorg (Giorgi), have mercy upon the inhabitant of Akhaltskha.

Published in: “ჯავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი”, გვ. 33. Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, p. 461. Note: “jავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი” traces the inscription back to the period between the 12th and 13th centuries.

Inscription, Georgian, Engraved, Commemoration

სახელითა ღვთისმშობლისაჲთა ჯუარი ესე აემართა. მე თევდორემ მოგახსენე შვილთა ჩემთა მიქელ... Transl.: This Cross was erected in the name of the [Holy] Virgin. I, Tevdoche, reminded you about my sons Michel...

Published in: “ჯავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი”, გვ. 33. Karapetian. Samvel, Javakhk, Yerevan, 2011, pp. 461-462. Note: “ჯავახეთი. ისტორიულ-ხუროთმოძღვრული გზამკვლევი” attributes the inscription to the time-span between the 12th and 13th centuries.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the north-west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Colour Negative
Date 1988 — 1989 yy․