CHURCH RUINS DISCOVERED IN STEPANAKERT DISTRICT
Anahit Danielyan
7/
2009/07/29 | 16:35
Nagorno Karabakh
The staff of the NKR Department of Tourism had an unexpected gift for
the Diocese of the Armenian Church in Artsakh on the occasion of the
20th anniversary of the reestablishment of the church.
Two weeks ago, the staff discovered the remains of an Armenian Church
in the Krkzhan neighborhood of Stepanakert, the NKR capital. The
find was reported to "Hetq" today by Sergei Shahverdyan who runs
the department.
He states that based on source materials the remains belong to the
Holy Savior Church built in the 19th century. The department staff
also uncovered stone crosses dating back to the 13th century on
the site. This would imply that a church existed on the same site
centuries ago.
Mr. Shahverdyan confessed that even after the liberation of Krkzhan,
no one in Karabakh was aware of the church since the former Azeri
residents had converted it into a stable and destroyed it.
An examination of the site is now underway.