Odzun Church ( hy, Օձունի եկեղեցի) is an

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 ...

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 ...

constructed around the 5th–7th century in the

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 ...

village of the Lori Province of

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 ' ...

History

The first church appeared here in the 6th century. In the 8th century it was reconstructed by Hovhannes III Odznetsi (Հովհաննես Գ Օձնեցի) who served as the

katholikos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient G ...

between 717 and 728 and was, as his name suggests, from Odzun. This is the time the church got its current form of a pink

felsite Felsite is a very fine-grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals. Felsite is a field term for a light-colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition. Color ...

basilica with three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s, the two side naves being narrow. At the northern (not preserved anymore) and southern side there are unusual arcaded

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

s and the west cloister has a blind wall with an arched entrance in the middle. Odzun cupola

The

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of te ...

is barrel vaulted. Four columns support the rib vaulted

tambour In classical architecture, a tambour ( Fr.: "drum") is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration. The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or rais ...

and there are two more columns at the western part of the church. At the eastern façade above the central window one can observe a carving of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

with the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

of St. John and two

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s below. At the southern façade, at each side of the central window there are two angels and traces of another figure, probably Christ. Much later, in the 19th century two small bell towers were added. The church was renovated between 2012 and 2014. There are numerous gravestones of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

around the church, as well as a funerary monument. Its stepped platform supports two carved

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

e, each within one of a set of double arches. The east and west sides of the monument are carved with scenes from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

and introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Its north and south side are carved with geometrical motifs and floral shapes. It is suggested that this monument commemorates Hovhannes Odznetsi, but its style suggests that it was probably erected earlier, in the 6th century. This is one of only two such funerary monuments in

. The one located in Odzun was given as a gift to Armenia from an Indian king around the 8th century. The other one is situated in Aghudi in southern Armenian province of Syunik.

Gallery

Image:Map of Haghpat.jpg, Map of Odzun and surrounding region. File:Odzun.jpg, North and west sides of the church. File:Odzun-funerary-monument.jpg, Funerary monument. Image:Odzun portal.jpg, Portal to the church. File:Odzun 1918.png, The church in the early 20th century

References

External links

Armeniapedia.org

{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Lori Province Armenian Apostolic churches in Armenia Buildings and structures in Lori Province

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links