Saint George Church of New Julfa or Gharib Church, ( Armenian: , Persian: ), is an

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

church in

New Julfa New Julfa ( fa, نو جلفا – ''Now Jolfā'', – ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; hy, Նոր Ջուղա – ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayande River. Established and named after the ol ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It is the second-oldest church in New Julfa.

History

Saint George Church was built in 1611. It is a famous place of pilgrimage for Armenians, as 15 pieces of stones were brought here from Etchmiadzin by the order of

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third s ...

, so that the Armenians would not leave New Julfa and would not return to Armenia.The Safavid king, who tried to keep the Armenians in Isfahan by any means possible, and was aware of their deep religious beliefs, ordered to demolish the

Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral) or simply Etchmiadzin. Alternatively spelled as Echmiadzin, Ejmiatsin, and Edjmiadsin. ( hy, Էջմիածնի մայր տաճար, Ēǰmiatsni mayr tačar) is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located ...

and move its stones to Isfahan and rebuild that church in Julfa. Nevertheless, since this was not practical, only fifteen pieces of stone were removed from the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

and different parts of the church and transferred to Isfahan. The belfry was built in the 1920s and the church was renovated in 1959. Three pieces of these stones with a carved cross in them were put in front of the altar and the rest were placed in the north courtyard of St. George's Church. Because these stones are sacred to Armenians, since then, St. George's Church has become a shrine for Armenians in Iran.

Architecture

The church building has a rectangular plan in the east–west direction with dimensions of 26 x 11.6 meters and has three small arched

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

s. The domes and roof of the church are on arches which rest on three pairs of wide columns attached to the inner walls.St. Georg Church
/ref> All three domes, the largest of which is the eastern dome, have skylights. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

, founded in 1920, is located, on the roof, at the western end of the church. The materials used in the church are brick and clay. The exterior walls of the building are covered with thatch and the interior walls are covered with plaster and on the inner walls, small decorations are drawn in the form of geometric lines.

Photographs

Inside chapel

Inside chapel

References

Architecture in Iran Churches in Isfahan Armenian Apostolic churches in Iran Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 17th century Tourist attractions in Isfahan {{Iran-church-stub

History

Architecture

Photographs

See also

References