Armenian church
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
in an abandoned medieval town site called Mren. It is located in the Kars region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, near the border with
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, about 1.5 km west of the
Akhurian River
The Akhuryan ( hy, Ախուրյան ''Axuryan''; xcl, Ախուրեան ''Axurean''; russian: Арпачай or Ахурян), or Arpachay ( tr, Arpaçay) is a river in the South Caucasus. It originates in Armenia and flows from Lake Arpi, al ...
.
The church of Mren is a domed triple-nave
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
, believed, on the basis of an inscription on its west facade and on stylistic features, to have been built 631–639. It was built by David Saharuni, an Armenian ally of the emperor Heraclius, to celebrate the latter's entry into Jerusalem in 628.
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 01.jpg, Path leading from village Karabağ to city of Mren
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 30.jpg, Collapsed side aisle
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 28.jpg
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 09.jpg, Portal with relief
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 04.jpg, Facade with khachkars
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 27.jpg, Lintel with relief
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 25.jpg, Side aisle
File:Cathedral of Mren and surroundings 16.jpg, Apse
See also
*
Odzun Church
Odzun Church ( hy, Օձունի եկեղեցի) is an Armenian basilica constructed around the 5th–7th century in the Odzun village of the Lori Province of Armenia.
History
The first church appeared here in the 6th century. In the 8th centur ...
, an architecturally similar and contemporaneous three-nave basilica with dome in
Odzun
Odzun ( hy, Օձուն) is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is situated on a plateau above the left bank of the Debed river gorge, about a thousand metres above the Yerevan–Tbilisi highway, a few kilometres south of the town of Alav ...
,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
Further reading
*
* Maranci, Christina, "New Observations on the Frescoes at Mren," ''
Revue des Études Arméniennes
''Revue des Études Arméniennes'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles relating to Classical and medieval Armenian history, art history, philology, linguistics, and literature.