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Tekor Church

Coordinates: 40°22′17″N 43°24′53″E / 40.371389°N 43.414722°E / 40.371389; 43.414722
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Church of Saint Sarkis, Tekor
Տեկորի տաճար
Tekor Basilica in an engraving from the 1840s
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
Statuscompletely destroyed by local Turkish municipality
Location
LocationDigor, Turkey
Tekor Church is located in Turkey
Tekor Church
Shown within Turkey
Coordinates40°22′17″N 43°24′53″E / 40.371389°N 43.414722°E / 40.371389; 43.414722
Architecture
StyleArmenian
Groundbreaking5th century
Completed10th century

The Church of Saint Sarkis (Sargis) in Tekor, also known as the Tekor Basilica (Armenian: Տեկորի տաճար) was a late 5th century Armenian church built in historical Armenia.[1][2] It was erected in honor of Saints Sergius and Bacchus. It was located facing the town of Digor in the Kars Province of Turkey, about 16 kilometers west of the Armenian border. Tekor was a three aisled basilica with a dome. It was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1912 and 1936, and later damaged by vandalism. Now only the lower parts of the rubble and concrete core of the walls remain, the facing stone apparently removed to build the town hall (now itself demolished) in the 1960s. The inscription dating the building to the 480s was the oldest known writing in the Armenian language.[3]

Location

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The village of Tekor (Digor) had a population of 360 in 1886, with Armenians making up 70% and Kurds 25%.[4] Over 500 Armenians lived in the village by 1913.[5] At the time it was part of the Kagizman okrug of the Kars Oblast of the Russian Empire.[5][6] The Armenian presence came to an permanent end during the Turkish–Armenian War of 1920.[5]

Architectural significance

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Plan of Tekor Basilica
A watercolor by Arshak Fetvadjian from the early 20th century[7][8]

The Basilica of Saint Sarkis is significant in Armenian architectural history because its stone dome was among the earliest to be constructed in Armenia. Until its destruction, Tekor was the oldest extant domed church in Armenia.[9]

Hellenistic and Syrian influences

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Armenian church architecture of this era has Hellenistic and Syrian influences. Some churches like Tekor and Arucha show pediments of Syrian type and some churches like the palace church at Ani show distinct Syrian features in their layout and construction while Odzun retain Hellenistic features. The plan of the church at Bagaran is an example of Syrian influence. In Syria the plan occurs in the second century AD in the building known as the Praetorium of Mismiyah, later converted to a Byzantine church. The whole style of the Praetorium is akin to the characteristic of Syrian building, which influenced early Armenian church architecture.[10]

The Yererouk Church, Avan Cathedral, Zvartnots Cathedral, and the Mastara Church contain Greek inscriptions as well, the Zvartnots Cathedral and the Aruch Cathedral also contain Arabic inscriptions of the second-half of the 8th century.[11]

Armenian historians dispute the Syrian influences of Armenian church architecture.[12]

Armenian inscription in Tekor (478–490)

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"Sahak Kamsarakan built this martyrium of Saint Sargis for his intercession and of his whole family and wife and children and loved ones and [–]

And this site was founded by means of Yohan of the office of katʿołikos of Armenia and Yohan bishop of Arsharunik and Tayron elder of the community of Tekor and Manan hazarapet of Uran Horom [–]"[13]

Destruction and current state

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Photos of Tekor by Garegin Hovsepian
from the northwest before the 1912 earthquake[16]
from the southwest after the 1912 earthquake[19]

The church survived largely intact until the early 20th century. It wad abandoned in 1906.[20] It suffered significant damage in an earthquake on August 1, 1912,[21][22][a] when its dome, most of the roof, and much of the southern façade collapsed.[26][5][23] Dickran Kouymjian wrote that even in ruins, Tekor was "still massive and impressive."[20] In August 1920,[27] just before the Turkish–Armenian War, Ashkharbek Kalantar led the last Armenian expedition to Tekor and documented its state.[28] He wrote that the collapsed church "presents a pitiful picture" and that the "image is so disturbing that at first one needs some time to recover from the shock."[27][26]

The church was further damaged by an earthquake on May 1, 1935[21][24][b] and was deliberately targeted by the Turkish military during artillery exercises in 1956.[30][31] The facing stones of what remained of the church were removed by the 1960s. Nicole and Jean-Michel Thierry, who visited in 1964, reported that the church was "almost entirely leveled" and it had lost all its facing stones.[32] An American couple photographed the ruins in 1966, showing its walls entirely stripped of facing stones.[33]

In 1964 the Thierrys did not notice "traces of reuse in modern houses" during their self-described "superficial" field work,[32] but according to Murad Hasratyan and Samvel Karapetyan, under Turkish control, its stones were gradually removed by local peasants and used as construction material.[23][14][c] Hasratyan noted that its polished and sculpted stones can be found in the walls of local houses and barns.[d] Steven Sim who visited in the 1980s, reported that according to locals, its facing stones were used in the 1960s for the construction of the Digor town hall, which was itself was demolished in the 1970s.[26] According to Kouymjian, upon his visit in 1999, "there were only fragments, chunks of masonry walls" remaining.[20] Sim argues that its present state is "mostly the work of man rather than earthquakes."[26]

According to art historian Karen Matevosyan, who visited in 2013, the ruins form part of a local Kurdish man's house.[35] A Turkish researcher wrote in 2020 that villagers store poultry and other belongings in the church's remnants.[36] An Armenian art historian, who visited in 2022 noted that the site is filled with litter.[37]

A Turkish survey in 2014 noted that the church has "reached our time in a dilapidated state, with some of its eastern and northern walls standing without facing stones". The survey drew its plan and section sketches, took measurements and photographs.[22] In October 2019, the Kars Regional Cultural Heritage Preservation Board (under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism) decided to register the church as an immovable cultural property. It noted that the property is "currently in an unprotected state and is in quite a neglected condition." It indicated that only parts of the apse section and the northern body walls have survived.[38]

[edit]
  • Picture of Tekor Basilica in 1881
    Picture of Tekor Basilica in 1881
  • front view
    front view
  • side view
    side view
  • Photo by Aram Vruyr before the 1912 earthquake
    Photo by Aram Vruyr before the 1912 earthquake
  • from the northwest before the 1912 earthquake
    from the northwest before the 1912 earthquake
  • from the southwest after the 1912 earthquake
    from the southwest after the 1912 earthquake
  • Tekor Basilica before earthquake in 1912
    Tekor Basilica before earthquake in 1912

See also

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  • Yererouk, a contemporaneous 5th–6th century Armenian basilica about 18 kilometres northwest of Digor, in Armenia.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The date is erroneously given as 1911 in some sources,[6][5][23][24] while some sources erroneously state that the collapse was due to a lightning strike.[25][26]
  2. ^ The date is erroneously given as 1936 in some sources.[26][29]
  3. ^ "The monument itself was almost entirely destroyed after 1920, its revetment stones being appropriated as building material."[14]
  4. ^ «...հուշարձանից այսօր մնացել են պատերի կրաբետոնի միջուկի մի քանի կույտեր, իսկ սրբատաշ, վաղմիջնադարյան արվեստի բացառիկ քանդակներով քարերը կարելի է տեսնել մոտակա թուրքա-քրդաբնակ գյուղի տների և գոմերի պատերի շարվածքում:»[34]

References

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  1. ^ Der Nersessian, Sirarpie (1978). Armenian art. London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0-500-23288-0.
  2. ^ Edwards, Robert W. (2016). The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology, ed., Paul Corby Finney. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 572–573. ISBN 978-0-8028-9017-7.
  3. ^ "THE TEKOR BASILICA: THE CHURCH OF SAINT SARGIS". VirtualANI. 14 June 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  4. ^ Свод статистических данных о населении Закавказского края, извлечённых из посемейных списков 1886 года, г. Тифлис, 1893; accessible online: "Нахичеванский участок 1886". ethno-kavkaz (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 October 2025. село Дигор (Дикор)
  5. ^ a b c d e Mnatsakanian, Stepan (1985). "Տեկորի տաճար [Tekor church]". Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia Volume XI (in Armenian). p. 641.
  6. ^ a b Hakobian, T. Kh.; Melik-Bakhshian, St. T. [in Armenian]; Barseghian, H. Kh. [in Armenian] (2001). "Տեկոր [Tekor]". Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Dictionary of Toponyms of Armenia and Surrounding Regions] Volume V (in Armenian). Yerevan University Press. pp. 70-71.
  7. ^ "Տեկորի Սբ. Երրորդության ավերակ եկեղեցին (Զ-րդ դարի Ա կեսի օրերից)". gallery.am (in Armenian). National Gallery of Armenia. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  8. ^ Macler, Frédéric (1920). "L'architecture arménienne dans ses rapports avec l'art syrien". Syria (in French). 1 (4): 253–263.
  9. ^ Kouymjian, Dickran. "Index of Armenian Art: Armenian Architecture - Tekor: St. Sarkiss". Armenian Studies Program. California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20.
  10. ^ Rice, David Talbot (1973). "XVIII. Iranian Influences in the Caucasus". Byzantine art and its influences. London: Variorum Reprints. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-902089-42-6.
  11. ^ Greenwood, Timothy (2004). "A Corpus of Early Medieval Armenian Inscriptions". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 58: 27–91. doi:10.2307/3591380. ISSN 0070-7546.
  12. ^ Der Kevorkian, Chahé; Hasratian, Mourad (2013). On the Relevancies of Early Christian Architecture of Armenia and Syria. Yerevan National academy of science of the republic of Armenia, Institute of arts: "Gitutiun" publishing house of the NAS RA. ISBN 978-5-8080-1017-8.
  13. ^ Greenwood, Tim (2000). A History of Armenia in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries. University of Oxford. p. 285.
  14. ^ a b c d Karapetyan, Samvel (2015). Another Genocide After the Genocide, Volume 1 (PDF). Research on Armenian Architecture. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-9939-843-26-1.
  15. ^ Karapetyan, Samvel, ed. (2010). "The Condition of Armenian Monuments in Western Armenia" (PDF). Vardzk (2). Research on Armenian Architecture: 6–7. ISSN 1829-2003.
  16. ^ [14][15]
  17. ^ "Утерянное наследие Западной Армении: монастырь Хцконк и Текорская базилика". armmuseum.ru (in Russian). Armenian Museum of Moscow and Culture of Nations. July 2, 2020. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Текорская базилика. Фотограф Г. Овсепян, 1912. Музей истории Армении
  18. ^ "Տեկորի տաճարը". treasury.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 25 November 2022.
  19. ^ [14][17][18]
  20. ^ a b c Kouymjian, Dickran (March 11, 2003). "When Does Genocide End? The Armenian Case" (PDF). Sonoma State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2023.
  21. ^ a b Asatryan, Armen (December 14, 2020). "Ինչպես Տեկորի տաճարն ավերվեց 1912թ. երկրաշարժից". Aravot (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 25 November 2022.
  22. ^ a b Keskin, Candaş, ed. (May 11–15, 2015). "Tekor (Digor) Katedrali/Surp Sarkis Kilisesi" (PDF). 33. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı (in Turkish). 2. Erzurum: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums: 117–118, 128. ISSN 1017-7663. Tekor (Digor) Katedrali/Surp Sarkis Kilisesi
  23. ^ a b c Hasratyan, Murad (2002). "Տեկորի Ս. Երրորդություն վանք". from "Christian Armenia" Encyclopedia (in Armenian). Yerevan State University Institute for Armenian Studies. pp. 1002–1003. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020.
  24. ^ a b Kouymjian, Dickran (2003). "TEKOR: St. Sarkiss". armenianstudies.csufresno.edu. Armenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on 27 March 2003.
  25. ^ Fetvadjian, Arshag (1958). Kurkjian, Vahan M. (ed.). Architecture in Armenia. Armenian General Benevolent Union. p. 426.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "The Tekor Basilica: The Church of Saint Sargis". virtualani.org. June 14, 2005. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Kalantar, Ashkharbek (1994). "Unpublished Documents on Medieval Monuments of Shirak: The Church of Tekor". In Karakhanyan, G. (ed.). Armenia From the Stone Age to the Middle Ages: Selected Papers. Translated by V.G. Gurzadyan. Neuchâtel: Recherches et Publications. pp. 80-83. ISBN 2-940032-01-7.
  28. ^ "Աշխարհբեկ Քալանթար". ysu.am (in Armenian). Yerevan State University. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  29. ^ Şeker & Özkaynak 2022, p. 40.
  30. ^ Kouymjian, Dickran (1985). "The Destruction of Armenian Historical Monuments as a Continuation of the Turkish Policy of Genocide". In Libaridian, Gerard (ed.). The Crime of Silence: Permanent Peoples' Tribunal. London: Zed Books. p. 174. ISBN 0-86232-424-6. Subsequent, but conscious, destruction of individual monuments by dynamite or artillery. Churches provided convenient targets for artillery practice during manoeuvres of the Turkish army in the east. The best known examples: the basilica of Tekor (4th-5th century)...
  31. ^ Karapetyan, S. G. (2015). "Genocide after the Genocide" (PDF). Fundamental Armenology. 1. Armenian National Academy of Sciences: 4. ISSN 1829-4618. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-05-10. In 1956 the church of Tekor became the target of the Turkish army during artillery exercises.
  32. ^ a b Thierry, Jean-Michel; Thierry, Nicole (1965). "Notes sur des monuments arméniens en Turquie (1964) [Notes on Armenian Monuments in Turkey (1964)]" (PDF). Revue des Études Arméniennes (in French). 2: 171.
  33. ^ The photos were published in a 1972 book on Armenian monuments («Հայկական ճարտարապետութեան յուշարձաններ»), see interview with Yervant Pamboukian. "Պատմաբան Երուանդ Փամպուքեան` Տեկորի Եւ Խձկոնքի Եկեղեցիներուն Մասին". Aztag (in Armenian). September 25, 2015. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016.
  34. ^ Hasratyan, Murad (2015). "Հայկական ճարտարապետական հուշարձանների ավերումը թուրքերի կողմից (XI–XX դդ.) [The Destruction of Armenian Architectural Monuments by Turks (11th–20th centuries)]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (2): 8.
  35. ^ Matevosyan, Karen (October 26, 2017). "Տեկորի տաճարի ... նկարները ես եմ արել 2013-ին". Facebook (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. ...կարելի է ասել` տաճարի տեղում (որը մի քրդի տան բակ է)...
  36. ^ Ezen, Recep (2020). "Seyyahların Gözüyle Karşı Gravürleri [Engravings of Kars through the Eyes of Travelers]" (PDF) (in Turkish). Kastamonu University. pp. 34–35. Archived from the original (Master's Thesis) on 6 November 2023. Bugün de kalıntılar köylülerin kümes ve eşyalarını koyacağı bir yer haline gelmiştir.
  37. ^ Shalunts, Narine (7 August 2022). "Տեկորի տաճարի արժեքի մասին շատ եմ խոսում դասերիս ժամանակ". Facebook (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Տեսարանը հնարավորինս տխուր էր, պատերի վրա գրեթե ոչ մի սրբատաշ քար չէր մնացել, քրդական ամենազազրելի տեսքով խրճիթները մխրճված էին տաճարի մեջ, տարածքն էլ աղբանոցի էր վերածված:
  38. ^ "Karar [Decision] 16.10.2019-2588" (PDF). korumakurullari.ktb.gov.tr (in Turkish). Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism Kars Regional Cultural Heritage Preservation Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2023.

Bibliography

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  • Armen, Garbis (1992), An Architecture of Survival, ISBN 0-9695988-0-7
  • Տեկորի տաճարը, Թորոս Թօրամանեան, Թիֆլիս, 1911։
  • Şeker, Burçin Şenol; Özkaynak, Merve (2022). "Seismic Performance Evaluation of Historical Case Study of Armenian Architecture Tekor Church". Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports. 32 (2). Poland: the Institute of Environmental Engineering and the Institute of Civil Engineering at the University of Zielona Góra: 36–52. doi:10.2478/ceer-2022-0018.
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