St. George Church :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

St. George Church

Georgia / Kakhet / Telav / Telav

Location
18 c․

It is situated in the territory of the old fort in Dzvelgalavan Quarter, Telav City, Kakhet.

Samvel Karapetian, Kakhet Armenians, Yerevan, 2004, p. 78. The original in Armenian.

Historical Introduction
1923 y․

The sanctuary closed on 31 March 1923.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 409, list 1, file 3146, p. 7; ibid, fund 57, list 3, file 525, p. 16. The original in Armenian.

18 c․

The date of the foundation is vague, but it is known to have been built before Kakhet’s last king Georgi’s (1798-1800) reign. With that regard a record reads, “In Dzvelgalavan there are ramparts, within which an arched church stands, bearing the name of St. George. That sanctuary, built of stone and mortar, has a decree, granted by king Georgi, which asserts that it belongs to the Armenians.”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 2569, p. 8. The original in Armenian.

Architectural Description
18 c․

The church, a simple edifice, built of rough stone and mortar, represents a single-nave structure of a gable roof, with a columnar belfry on top of the western pediment. The arches, supported by three pairs of pylons, serve as buttresses for the vaulted roof. The three entrances of the building open in the western, southern and northern facades. The altar stone lies in the centre of the main semi-circular apse. The church has rectangular vestries and a trough-shaped christening basin, which was preserved in its traditional place, i.e. the northern wall, in 1988. The stairway, extending through the wall in the southwestern corner, leads to the gallery.

Samvel Karapetian, Kakhet Armenians, Yerevan, 2004, p. 78. The original in Armenian.

Repairs
1852 y․

The monument underwent repairs for many times, large-scale restoration being planned in 1852. With that regard a record states, “...as the architects and artisans allege, 1.500 roubles are necessary for the restoration of Dzvelgalavan’s church... .”

National Archives of Armenia, fund 56, list 1, file 2207, p. 6; ibid, file 3166, p. 4 The original in Armenian.

1896 y․

In 1896 the ruined ramparts in the north of the church were reconstructed.

National Archives of Armenia, fund 53, list 1, file 3385, p. 11. The original in Armenian.

1854 y․

1874 y․

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the north
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1992 yy․

Type Photo
View Interior
Direction From the west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1992 yy․

Type Photo
View Interior
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1992 yy․

Type Photo
View Partial view
Direction From the south-west
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1988 — 1992 yy․

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Dzvelgalavani