Ghazanchetsots Cathedral
| Ghazanchetsots Cathedral Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ Ղազանչեցոց Եկեղեցի |
|
|---|---|
The newly restored Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots and the belltower. |
|
 Shown within Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
|
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic |
| Geographic coordinates | 39°45′32″N 46°44′52″E / 39.758819°N 46.747883°ECoordinates: 39°45′32″N 46°44′52″E / 39.758819°N 46.747883°E |
| Affiliation | Christianity |
| Rite | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Armenian |
| Groundbreaking | 1868 |
| Completed | 1887 |
Ghazanchetsots Cathedral (Armenian: Ղազանչեցոց Եկեղեցի), also known as the Cathedral of Christ the Holy Savior (Ղազանչեցոց Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ Մայր Տաճար) and the Shushi Cathedral (Շուշիի Մայր Տաճար), is an Armenian church located in Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh.
Contents |
[edit] History
Ghazanchetsots Cathedral was built between 1868 and 1887 and has a facade of white limestone.[1] Its architect, Simon Ter-Hakobyan, intended the church to resemble Etchmiadzin Cathedral. In front of the west entrance is a freestanding three-story bell tower, constructed in 1858. Large statues of angels blowing trumpets stood at each corner of the bell tower's second story. However, they were destroyed during the Nagorno-Karabakh War when Shusha was under Azeri control.[2]
The cathedral has seen a number of uses over the years. Its use as a functioning church ended after the Shusha pogrom of 1920. During the Soviet period period it was used as a granary, and then as a garage. During the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijani forces used the cathedral as a GRAD munitions storehouse until May 1992,[3] when Shusha was captured by Armenian forces. In the years after that capture the church was repaired and renovated. Replica angel statues were made to replace the destroyed originals; an image of one forms part of the coat-of-arms of Shusha. In 1998 it was re-consecrated as a church, and now serves as the main cathedral and headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church's Diocese of Artsakh.[4]
[edit] Gallery
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shushi Cathedral |
-
-
-
Looking up towards the dome of the cathedral
-
A mural of Saint Peter
-
The pews of the cathedral
-
The belfry
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hasratyan, Murad M. Շուշի (Shushi). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. viii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1982, p. 601.
- ^ Hasratyan, Murad and Zaven Sargsyan. Armenia: 1700 Years of Christian Architecture. Yerevan: Mughni Publishing, 2001. p. 234.
- ^ De Waal, Thomas. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 179-180, 190. ISBN 0-8147-1944-9.
- ^ Hasratyan and Sargsyan. Armenia, p. 234.
