Holy Bethlehem Church of New Julfa or Bedkhem Church, (

Armenian 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 ...

: ,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ), is an Armenian Apostolic church in the Julfa quarter in Isfahan, Iran. One of the most important historical churches of the city, it belongs to the Abbas I era. The church is located in the Julfa square near

Saint Mary Church St. Mary's Church, St. Mary the Virgin's Church, St. Mary Church, Saint Mary Church, or other variations on the name, is a commonly used name for specific churches of various Christian denominations. Notable uses of the term may refer to: Albania ...

. The Bedkhem church was built by an

merchant named Khaje Petros. There are decorations and paintings on its walls depicting the life of Jesus. The 72 exquisite paintings, painted by Armenian artists, are presented in two rows. In the lower row the paintings are painted sequentially, but in the upper row each painting is in a separate frame.' The architecture and the gilded decorations of the church's dome are notable. Inside the church there are

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...

s in

which date back to 1627 and 1711. The inscriptions are installed in remembrance of those who performed charitable work for the church. On the southern portal there is an inscription as follows: :::''Pray for Khaje Petros, who was a good man, in the presence of God. He built this church by his own personal expenditure for the immortality of his name and his father's name (Vali Jan) and his mother's name (Shoushan) and his family's name in 1077'' (in the

Armenian calendar 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 ...

which is 1627 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

). The church has three parts: *The entrance with a

balcony A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony ...

, which seems to have been a special place for engaged girls. *The chapel, above which is the dome. *The

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

The church has a

rectangular In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles. It can also be defined as: an equiangular quadrilateral, since equiangular means that all of its angles are equal (360°/4 = 90°); or a parallelogram containin ...

plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...

. The doors are 31 m long and 14 m high. Its dome is 26 in height. Opposite the church, there is a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

with two entrances.

Gallery

Bedkhem Church, Isfahan, Iran.jpg, Սբ․ Բեթղեհեմ և Սբ․ Աստւածածին.jpg, New Julfa Holy Bethlehem Church (left) and

(right). Jolfa Maryam.jpg, Holy Bethlehem Church from Julfa Square. Bedkhem Church 12.jpg, The church and its courtyard. Bedkhem Church 11.jpg, Facade of the church. Սուրբ Բեթղեհեմ եկեղեցի-1 (Նոր Ջուղա).jpg, Graves in the courtyard of the church. Bethlehem Church-one.jpg, Altar of the church.

References

{{reflist Architecture in Iran Churches in Isfahan Armenian Apostolic churches in Iran Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 17th century Churches completed in 1627 17th-century churches in Iran 1620s establishments in Iran