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76-493: The monastery originally included a church , a bell tower at the northwest corner, and a small chapel near the southeast corner. The monastery is located on top of Boztepe hill , three kilometres southeast of Trabzon ( 40°59′39″N 39°44′39″E  /  40.9943°N 39.74418°E  / 40.9943; 39.74418 ). The site overlooks the Değirmendere Valley , the ancient river Pyxites , along which runs

152-451: A " Caucasian Albanian temple." The name Gandzasar , which means "treasure mountain" in Armenian , is believed to have originated from the tradition that the monastery was built on a hill containing ores of silver and other metals. The site was first mentioned in written records by the tenth century Catholicos Anania of Moks (r. 946-968), who listed Sargis, a monk from Gandzasar, among

228-460: A "jewel". The monastery consists of a narthex ( gavit ) and the main church, named for John the Baptist . The church's exterior dimensions are 12.3 by 17.75 metres (40.4 ft × 58.2 ft). The narthex or gavit , measured 11.8 by 13.25 metres (38.7 ft × 43.5 ft), is a square-plan hall with two columns near the eastern wall that support the roof. It is very similar to

304-469: A church along a pilgrimage route, often located at the tomb of a saints , or holding icons or relics to which miraculous properties are ascribed, the site of Marian apparitions , etc. During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church was a church, abbey, or cloister built on the private grounds of a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests. The architecture of evangelical places of worship

380-801: A church, usually Catholic , Anglican , Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox , housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from cathedra , or Bishop's Throne (In Latin : ecclesia cathedralis ). The term is sometimes (improperly) used to refer to any church of great size. A church with a cathedral function is not necessarily a large building. It might be as small as Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford , England, Porvoo Cathedral in Porvoo , Finland, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, United States , or Chur Cathedral in Switzerland. However, frequently,

456-624: A later date. By the 1950s, the main church was roofless and most of the bell-tower had been destroyed. In the current day, the Kaymaklı Monastery is a protected building in Trabzon. There have been slight modifications to the building in terms of restorations, like a modern roof made of metal. The monastery is currently not in use but can be visited by anyone who opts to do so. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Church (building) A church , church building , or church house

532-416: A place of pilgrimage. The vast majority of parish churches do not however enjoy such privileges. In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a rectory , parish hall , parochial school , or convent , frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church. A pilgrimage church is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or

608-412: A separate room for baptisms by immersion . Worship services take on impressive proportions in the megachurches (churches where more than 2,000 people gather every Sunday). In some of these megachurches, more than 10,000 people gather every Sunday. The term gigachurch is sometimes used. For example, Lakewood Church (United States) or Yoido Full Gospel Church (South Korea). In some countries of

684-429: A thorough search, including in the graveyard. Fierce fighting took place around Gandzasar in 1992, when Azerbaijan besieged the area. The Armenians broke the siege, which saved Gandzasar and enhanced its spiritual status, wrote Thomas de Waal . On August 16, 1992 some of the outlying buildings within the monastery complex were destroyed as a result of Azerbaijani bombardment by helicopters, which intentionally targeted

760-454: A video posted online showed Azerbaijani police at the monastery. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan's State Service of Cultural Heritage issued a statement that claimed that the "Ganjasar monastery" is "one of the most prominent monuments of Christian architecture of Caucasian Albania". It claimed that under Armenian "occupation" it was "vandalized by Armenians" who carried out "illegal repair-restoration". Azerbaijani historian Rizvan Hüseynov claimed

836-418: Is pentagonal . The founding date for the church is not clear but is believed to have been built on surviving parts of a 12-13th century Greek church on the site. The original roof of the main church was made of timber and had fallen-in by 1929. In 1961 a replacement roof, also made of timber, was installed when the church began to be used as a barn. The roof had fallen once again as the weather took its toll in

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912-519: Is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. Sometimes, the word church is used by analogy and for simplicity to refer to the buildings of other religions , such as mosques and synagogues . Church is also used to describe a body or an assembly of Christian believers , while "the Church" may be used to refer to

988-516: Is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons , which may be presided over by a dean or provost . Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices . They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community. A conventual church (in Eastern Orthodoxy katholikon )

1064-776: Is home to eight churches , with two additional churches located south of the Antarctic Convergence . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical, national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the Cenacle (the site of the Last Supper ) in Jerusalem was the "first Christian church". The Dura-Europos church in Syria

1140-461: Is located atop a hill, at an altitude of 1,270 metres (4,170 ft), to the south-west of the village of Vank (Azerbaijani: Vəngli ) in the province of Martakert . The walled monastery complex includes the church with its narthex ( gavit ), living quarters, bishop's residence, refectory, and a school building. The living quarters, located on the northern side contain eight cells (2.9 by 2.5 metres (9.5 ft × 8.2 ft)), were built in

1216-426: Is mainly characterized by its sobriety. The Latin cross is a well known Christian symbol that can usually be seen on the building of an evangelical church and that identifies the place's belonging. Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only. There is usually a baptistery at the front of the church (in what is known as the chancel in historic traditions) or in

1292-434: Is the main church in a Christian monastery , known variously as an abbey, a priory, a convent, a friary, or a preceptory. A parish church is a church built to meet the needs of people localised in a geographical area called a parish. The vast majority of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran church buildings fall into this category. A parish church may also be a basilica, a cathedral, a conventual or collegiate church, or

1368-492: Is the oldest surviving church building in the world. Several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral ( Armenia 's mother church) as the oldest cathedral in the world. Gandzasar monastery Gandzasar ( Armenian : Գանձասար ) is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic cathedral (historically a monastery) near the village of Vank , in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh , Azerbaijan . It has historically been

1444-516: The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war , the more than one hundred manuscripts kept there were evacuated to Yerevan and displayed at the Yerevan Matenadaran in March 2021. In the 1970s, Soviet Azerbaijani historians, particularly Rashid Geyushev and Ziya Bunyadov , asserted a negationist theory that postulated that Gandzasar was a Caucasian Albanian monument. They based their claim on the fact that it

1520-602: The House of Hasan-Jalalyan . It was consecrated on July 22, 1240, on the Feast of the Transfiguration ( Vardavar ) in attendance of some 700 priests. The gavit ( narthex ), to the west of the church, was started in 1240 and completed in 1266 by Atabek, the son of Hasan-Jalal and his wife, Mamkan. Kirakos Gandzaketsi , a contemporary historian, described the construction of the church in his History of Armenia . Gandzasar became

1596-578: The Last Judgment . North-west of the church are the remains of a bell tower , once an extremely tall structure. South of the church are the remains of a 2-story monastic building that had a portico with stone columns on the lower floor. Until 1915 it served as the seat of the Trebizond diocese tied to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople . At this time, the vibrant Armenian community of

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1672-757: The Mogadishu Cathedral , along with the Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Somaliland . Other countries with a limited number of churches include Bhutan and Western Sahara . In contrast, some estimates suggest that the United States has the highest number of churches in the world, with around 380,000, followed by Brazil and Italy . According to the Future for Religious Heritage, there are over 500,000 churches across Europe . Several cities are commonly known as

1748-682: The Proto-Germanic kirika word . This was probably borrowed via the Gothic from the Greek kyriake (oikia) , kyriakon doma , 'the Lord's (house)', from kyrios , 'ruler, lord'. Kyrios in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European language root *keue meaning 'to swell'. The Greek kyriakon , 'of the Lord', was used of houses of Christian worship since c.  AD 300 , especially in

1824-528: The Renaissance was extremely exaggerated. Domes and capitals were decorated with moulding, and the former stucco sculptures were replaced by fresco paintings on the ceilings. For the first time, churches were seen as one connected work of art, and consistent artistic concepts were developed. Instead of long buildings, more central-plan buildings were created. The sprawling decoration with floral ornamentation and mythological motives lasted until about 1720 in

1900-480: The Rococo era. The Protestant parishes preferred lateral churches, in which all the visitors could be as close as possible to the pulpit and the altar . A common trait of the architecture of many churches is the shape of a cross (a long central rectangle, with side rectangles and a rectangle in front for the altar space or sanctuary). These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in

1976-737: The San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo , the Salisbury Cathedral and Wool Church in England, and Santhome Church in Chennai , India , show the elaborate stylings characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Some of the most well-known gothic churches remained unfinished for centuries after the style fell out of popularity. One such example is the construction of the Cologne Cathedral , which began in 1248,

2052-580: The clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces , which were the deadliest since the ceasefire of 1994. The monastery's 770th anniversary was commemorated in 2010 and the 777th anniversary in 2017. It remained under Armenian control after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. Following the Azerbaijani offensive of September 19–20, 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh was dissolved and the entire population fled to Armenia. In early October 2023,

2128-452: The gavit of the Holy Cross church of Haghpat Monastery . The portal on western facade of the gavit is richly decorated. The main church, named for John the Baptist , has a rectangular, cruciform plan with two-floored sacristies (chambers) on four corners. In its style, it is similar to the plans of the main churches of Geghard , Hovhannavank and Harichavank , also built in

2204-501: The " City of Churches " due to their abundance of churches. These cities include Adelaide , Ani , Ayacucho , Kraków , Moscow , Montreal , Naples , Ohrid , Prague , Puebla , Querétaro , Rome , Salzburg , and Vilnius . Notably, Rome and New York City are home to the highest number of churches of any city in the world. Although building churches is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, which has around 1.5 million Christians,

2280-496: The 13th century. The church is prominent for its richly decorated 16-sided cupola . The bas-reliefs on its exterior depict the Crucifixion of Jesus , Mary with baby Jesus, Adam and Eve , two ktetors (patrons) holding the model of the church, geometrical figures, such as rosettes , head of a bull and an eagle. The bas-reliefs have been compared to the elaborate carvings of Aghtamar . The interior pendentives under

2356-425: The 17th century. On the eastern side there is a refectory , built circa 1689. The two-floored school building was erected in 1898. To the south of the monastery walls is the old cemetery, where priests, bishops and notable laypeople (such as meliks ) of the areas were buried. Anatoli L. Yakobson called Gandzasar an "encyclopedia" of Armenian architecture , while Bagrat Ulubabyan and M. S. Asatryan described it as

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2432-540: The East, although it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike . The earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church ( domus ecclesiae ), the Dura-Europos church , founded between 233 and 256. In the second half of the third century AD, the first purpose-built halls for Christian worship ( aula ecclesiae ) began to be constructed. Although many of these were destroyed early in

2508-699: The Kalbajar region, is not Gandzasar, but Ganjasar, and has nothing to do with the Armenian Gregorian Church." Historians who have challenged the Azerbaijani state version of the region's local history, including Victor Schnirelmann , note that Caucasian Albania disappeared in the 10th century, and that the Armenian Church simply adopted the name for its easternmost diocese out of tradition. Schnirelmann notes that Azerbaijani historians intentionally omit

2584-593: The Maldives, which has approximately 1,400 Christians, building churches is prohibited. However, only foreign Christian workers are allowed to practice their religion privately. Despite the prohibition on church construction, both countries have secret home churches . Christianity is the world's largest and most widespread religion, with over 2.3 billion followers. Churches are found across all seven continents , which are Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Oceania . Antarctica

2660-516: The Romanesque church include circular arches , round or octagonal towers, and cushion capitals on pillars. In the early Romanesque era, coffering on the ceiling was fashionable, while later in the same era, groined vaults gained popularity. Interiors widened, and the motifs of sculptures took on more epic traits and themes. The Gothic style emerged around 1140 in Île-de-France and subsequently spread throughout Europe. Gothic churches lost

2736-576: The UK include a former tram power station, a former bus garage , a former cinema and bingo hall, a former Territorial Army drill hall, and a former synagogue . HMS  Tees served as a floating church for mariners at Liverpool from 1827 until she sank in 1872. A windmill has also been converted into a church at Reigate Heath . There have been increased partnerships between church management and private real estate companies to redevelop church properties into mixed uses. While it has garnered criticism,

2812-446: The altar, gavit, and tiling of the floor. Hayrapetyan also funded the asphalting of the road leading to the church. Some controversy surrounded the tiling of the wall around the monastery in 2011. It was funded by Hayrapetyan and carried out by a company owned by Vladimir Hayrapetyan, his younger brother. While Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan said the wall was not medieval and did not have much architectural significance, therefore tiling

2888-412: The architecture and location often provide for attractive homes or city centre entertainment venues. On the other hand, many newer churches have decided to host meetings in public buildings such as schools, universities, cinemas or theatres. There is another trend to convert old buildings for worship rather than face the construction costs and planning difficulties of a new build. Unusual venues in

2964-439: The cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region. Cathedrals tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of national and regional pride, and many are among

3040-518: The church. Corley writes that the attempted bombing of Gandzasar was not of any military importance and that its raid "appeared to be a deliberate attempt to attack the Armenian heritage in Karabakh." On August 31, 1992 Armenia's Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Serzh Sargsyan , the head of the self-defense committee of Karabakh Armenians, convened the first meeting of the region's commanders in one of

3116-450: The city numbered 30,000. In 1915, the normal functions of the monastery were interrupted when it was used as a transit camp for Armenians being deported to Syria during the Armenian genocide . After the Russian capture of Trebizond , Armenian monks returned to the monastery, and monks were there until sometime after World War I , supposedly 1923. A fire may have partially ruined the site at

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3192-506: The compact qualities of the Romanesque era, and decorations often contained symbolic and allegorical features. The first pointed arches , rib vaults , and buttresses began to appear, all possessing geometric properties that reduced the need for large, rigid walls to ensure structural stability. This also permitted the size of windows to increase, producing brighter and lighter interiors. Nave ceilings rose, and pillars and steeples heightened. Many architects used these developments to push

3268-428: The compound. According to an inscription above the door, it was built in 1424 by prince Hodja Stephanos Shemsedli (Khoja Stepanos Shemsedin). The chapel has reused khachkars in its walls. The original complex included a zhamatun, fountain known as the milk fountain, a tower, the mentioned chapel, and an arcaded monastic building. The main church is rectangular in form, with three naves and three apses . The main apse

3344-583: The country contains the remnants of a historic church known as the Jubail Church , which dates back to the fourth century and was affiliated with the Church of the East . Discovered in 1986, the site was excavated by the Saudi Antiquities Department in 1987. As of 2008, the findings from this excavation had not been published, reflecting sensitivities regarding artifacts from non-Islamic religions. In

3420-430: The cylindrical dome in the interior are decorated with geometrical ornaments such as stars, circles and squares, plants such as spiral shoots , palmettes . Each side of the pendentive has high reliefs depicting head of a sheep, heads of a bull and anthropomorphic figures. According to Yakobson, sheep and bulls were considered holy animals in this period and are used as protectors of the structure. Since its foundation

3496-464: The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, there was a wave of church construction in Western Europe . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical , national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The word church is derived from Old English cirice word, 'place of assemblage set aside for Christian worship', from

3572-505: The eleventh. The oldest structure in the compound is dated to 1424. In 1461 it was pillaged and destroyed by Turks. In the 16th century, the rebuilt monastery became a center of Armenian manuscript production . It was named Ամենափրկիչ Վանք (Amenaprgič Vank) in Armenian, which translates as "Monastery of the All-Saviour". The Ottoman Sultan Murad III is said to have eaten a meal at the monastery consisting only of dairy products. He confirmed

3648-576: The fact that Gandzasar is a typical example of Armenian architecture of 10th-13th centuries, as well as the numerous Armenian inscriptions on its walls. Thomas de Waal noted that in a 1997 pamphlet titled "The Albanian Monuments of Karabakh" by Igrar Aliyev and Kamil Mamedzade "carefully left out all the Armenian writing" in the depiction of the façade of Gandzasar on its cover. Rouben Galichian notes that Gandzasar, though presented in Azerbaijan as supposedly an "Albanian-Azerbaijani" historic monastery and

3724-632: The first church to be reopened after decades of suppression. According to Zori Balayan several KGB agents "could [have been] spotted among the crowd attending." Gandzasar served as seat of the bishop before it was moved to Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha (Shushi) in 1998. Gandzasar was attacked several times during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . On July 6, 1991 Soviet soldiers and OMON (special police) officers raided Gandzasar allegedly in search of guns. They checked papers and conducted

3800-733: The front altar. Often, the altar will not be oriented due east but toward the sunrise. This tradition originated in Byzantium in the fourth century and became prevalent in the West in the eighth and ninth centuries. The old Roman custom of having the altar at the west end and the entrance at the east was sometimes followed as late as the eleventh century, even in areas of northern Europe under Frankish rule, as seen in Petershausen (Constance) , Bamberg Cathedral , Augsburg Cathedral , Regensburg Cathedral , and Hildesheim Cathedral . The Latin word basilica

3876-530: The inscriptions have been "falsified." Armenian archaeologist and historian Hamlet Petrosyan and the organization Monument Watch responded to the claims. Armenia's representative to UNESCO, Christian Ter-Stepanian accused Azerbaijan of an attempt to "appropriate and distort the identity of Gandzasar, one of the most famous medieval Armenian monasteries." In a Time article, Christina Maranci warned that its Armenian inscriptions, khachkars, and tombstones are endangered under Azerbaijani control. The monastery

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3952-422: The interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, to represent the church's bringing light to the world. Another common feature is the spire , a tall tower at the "west" end of the church or over the crossing . Another common feature of many Christian churches is the eastwards orientation of

4028-439: The late 2000s. Currently, the church has a metal roof to protect the interior of the church from the elements. There was a narthex or zhamatun at the western end of the church, but it has entirely disappeared. The inside of the church is decorated with elaborate frescoes showing various biblical scenes. They are believed to have been painted in the 17-18th centuries. On the west wall is a large fresco on three sections depicting

4104-696: The limits of structural possibility, an inclination that resulted in the collapse of several towers whose designs that had unwittingly exceeded the boundaries of soundness. In Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, it became popular to build hall churches , a style in which every vault would be built to the same height. Gothic cathedrals were lavishly designed, as in the Romanesque era, and many share Romanesque traits. However, several also exhibit unprecedented degrees of detail and complexity in decoration. The Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Reims in France, as well as

4180-522: The main trade route into eastern Anatolia and beyond. An Armenian community existed in Trabzon as early as the 7th century. During the Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries, numerous Armenian families fled here from Ani . However, exact date of the monastery's foundation and origin remains unclear. A religious community was present at the site from at least the fifteenth century, and possibly as early as

4256-474: The monastery was for centuries a center of education and manuscript production. It served as the burial place of Armenian princes of Khachen. Gandzasar is the principal historic tourist attraction in all of Karabakh (Artsakh) and one of the top destinations overall. It is also a center of pilgrimage as the region's main historic cathedral both for Karabakh Armenians and tourists (of Armenian ancestry). Thomas de Waal noted as early as 1997 that Gandzasar,

4332-515: The monastery's possession of its lands, and the place came to be called in Turkish Kaymaklı , meaning "with/of kaymak ", in memory of the occasion. Previously it had been called Yesil Manastir - the Green Monastery . The site was a terrace enclosed by a wall 30 x 40m. The wall is now almost completely destroyed. The oldest surviving structure is a small chapel located at the eastern end of

4408-475: The monastic cells of Gandzasar. On January 20, 1993 an air strike conducted by two Azerbaijani attack aircraft caused serious damage to the monastery, killed several people nearby and wounded a priest. Following the war, the monastery was completely refurbished through the funding of Russia-based businessman and philanthropist Levon Hayrapetyan  [ hy ] , a native of Vank. Restoration works, which lasted from 2000 to 2002, included restoration of

4484-575: The most famous church in Karabakh, "has acquired a mythical status in Karabakh." Felix Corley wrote that it is, along with Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi (Shusha), a powerful symbol of history and identity of Karabakh Armenians regardless their religiosity. A branch of the Matenadaran , the Yerevan-based museum and research institute of manuscripts, was established at the monastery in 2015. During

4560-427: The most important church of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since its foundation. One of the finest pieces of Armenian architecture of the mid-1200s, the building is best known among scholars for its richly decorated dome. In Azerbaijan , where it is referred to as "Ganjasar" ( Azerbaijani : Gəncəsər ), the history of the monastery is falsified. Azerbaijan authorities deny its Armenian heritage and instead call it

4636-518: The next century during the Diocletianic Persecution . Even larger and more elaborate churches began to appear during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great . From the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, a wave of cathedral building and the construction of smaller parish churches occurred across Western Europe . Besides serving as a place of worship , the cathedral or parish church

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4712-453: The participants of a 949 council convened in Khachen to reconcile Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Armenians. Khachkars dated 1174, 1182, and 1202 have been found around the monastery, which also point to the existence of a church or monastery at the site. The main church was built between 1216 and 1238 by Hasan-Jalal Dawla, the Armenian prince of Inner Khachen and the patriarch of

4788-564: The partnership allows congregations to increase revenue while preserving the property. With the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Maldives , all sovereign states and dependent territories worldwide have church buildings. Afghanistan has the fewest churches globally, featuring only one official church: the Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel in Kabul . Somalia follows closely, having once housed

4864-535: The people". In the 16th century it became subordinate to the Etchmiadzin catholicosate . According to contemporary sources, in early 1700s the patriarch of Gandzasar had authority over some 900 villages with hundreds of households in each, composed of peasant and merchant Armenians. In the 17th and 18th centuries Gandzasar became the center in the liberation efforts by Karabakh Armenian meliks , who were united around Catholicos Yesayi Hasan-Jalalyan (d. 1728). He

4940-575: The proclamation of God's Word is of particular importance, the visitor's line of sight is directed towards the pulpit . The Baroque style was first used in Italy around 1575. From there, it spread to the rest of Europe and the European colonies. The building industry increased heavily during the Baroque era. Buildings, even churches, were used to indicate wealth, authority, and influence. The use of forms known from

5016-602: The seat of the Catholicosate of (Caucasian) Albania , a see of the Armenian Apostolic Church , in the late 14th century. Rouben Paul Adalian considers the foundation of the see a result of an ancient bishopric seeking "ecclesiastical autonomy to compensate for the lack of control and communication from a central pontificate" and part of various local strategies in an Armenia dominated by foreign and Islamic rule to "preserve some semblance of religious authority among

5092-568: The seat of the diocese of Artsakh, which was moved to Shusha. It was gradually abandoned and became dilapidated by the late 19th century. Gandzasar was closed down by the Soviet authorities no later than 1930. The diocese of Artsakh was reestablished in 1989. Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan was named its primate. Due to his efforts, Gandzasar reopened on October 1, 1989 after six months of renovations. The Soviet government had given permission, while that of Soviet Azerbaijan had not. Gandzasar became

5168-557: The world which apply sharia or communism , government authorizations for worship are complex for Christians. Because of persecution of Christians , Evangelical house churches have thus developed. For example, there is the Evangelical house churches in China movement. The meetings thus take place in private houses, in secret and in "illegality". Old and disused church buildings can be seen as an interesting proposition for developers as

5244-476: The world's most renowned works of architecture. Either, a discrete space with an altar inside a larger cathedral, conventual, parish, or other church; or, a free standing small church building or room not connected to a larger church, to serve a particular hospital , school , university , prison, private household, palace , castle , or other institution. Often proprietary churches and small conventual churches are referred to by this term. A collegiate church

5320-554: The worldwide Christian religious community as a whole. In traditional Christian architecture , the plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross with the centre aisle and seating representing the vertical beam and the bema and altar forming the horizontal. Towers or domes may inspire contemplation of the heavens . Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designed for other purposes have been converted to churches, while many original church buildings have been put to other uses. From

5396-582: Was frequently employed as a general gathering place by the communities in which they were located, hosting such events as guild meetings, banquets , mystery plays , and fairs . Church grounds and buildings were also used for the threshing and storage of grain. Between 1000 and 1200, the Romanesque style became popular across Europe . The Romanesque style is defined by large and bulky edifices typically composed of simple, compact, sparsely decorated geometric structures. Frequent features of

5472-580: Was halted in 1473, and was not resumed until 1842. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the changes in ethics and society due to the Renaissance and the Reformation also influenced the building of churches. The common style was much like the Gothic style but simplified. The basilica was not the most popular type of church anymore, but instead, hall churches were built. Typical features are columns and classical capitals . In Protestant churches , where

5548-499: Was initially used to describe a Roman public building usually located in the forum of a Roman town. After the Roman Empire became officially Christian , the term came by extension to refer to a large and influential church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope . The word thus retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical. A cathedral is

5624-494: Was justified, critics argued it was part of the historic complex. On October 16, 2008 a mass wedding , sponsored by Levon Hayrapetyan took place in Karabakh. Some 700 couples got married on that day, 500 of whom married at Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi and 200 at Gandzasar. On April 13, 2016 Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I delivered a prayer for peace and safety of Nagorno-Karabakh. It came days after

5700-604: Was staunchly pro-Russian and in a 1701 letter signed by Karabakh and Syunik meliks , he asked Peter the Great to protect Armenians from Muslims. However, it was not until the early 1800s that the Russian Empire took control of the region. The Karabakh Khanate eventually came under complete Russian control through the Treaty of Gulistan . Through the 1836 regulation by the Russian authorities, known as Polozhenie , Gandzasar ceased to be

5776-613: Was the seat of the Albanian Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church. This theory was adopted and promoted by other Azerbaijani historians, such as Davud Akhundov, and since been adopted by Azerbaijan's authorities. For instance, in 2017, Hikmet Hajiyev , Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, stated that Gandzasar is an "Albanian Christian temple, occupied by the Armenian armed forces in

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