St. Kristapor Church of Agulis
Location: Yukhari Aylis (Az.) / Agulis (Arm.)
Destruction
The domed structure of St. Kristapor was in good condition when historian Argam Ayvazyan documented it during his fieldwork in Nakhchivan (1964-1987). Above the western door, a relief depicted a crowned Mary with Jesus in her lap. Carved reliefs adorned the arches of the other two doorways of the church. Armenian inscriptions could be found on the western, southern, and northern facades. 1,2 As is visible in the IKONOS satellite image below, the church was destroyed by February 3, 2000. The graded surface and presence of berms indicate recent large-scale earthmoving at the site.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the intact church in 1973; drag left to see the vacant site and evidence of earthmoving as of February 3, 2000.
Geolocation
St. Kristapor Church was located on the slope of Gindar hill in the central district of Agulis. 1,2 Its location is marked on 1:50K scale Soviet topographic maps of 1936 and 1977. CHW confirmed the church's precise location using KH-9 Hexagon satellite imagery dated July 29, 1973 and July 12, 1982.
Timeline
Image Gallery
Images © Argam Ayvazyan Archive, used with permission.
References
1 Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments of Nakhichevan. Transl. Krikor H. Maksoudian. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990, p. 18.
2 Ayvazyan, Argam. Nakhijevan ISSH haykakan hushardzannery. Hamahavak tsutsak. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1986, p. 24-25.
3 Ayvazyan, Argam. Agulis: Patmamshakutayin hushardzanner. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1984, p. 24.
4 Upravlenie voennykh topografov RKKA, J-38-44-B (Dasta), 1:50,000, 1936.
5 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1206-100170F021, July 29, 1973.
6 Generalnyi shtab, J-38-44-B (Dasta), 1:50,000, 1977.
7 KH-9 Hexagon, DSC1217-200631A018, July 12, 1982.
8 Maxar Technologies & East View Geospatial, February 3, 2000.
9 Research on Armenian Architecture, Nakhijevan Atlas. Yerevan: Tigran Metz Publishing House, 2012, p. 32.
