The Church of Saint Sarkis in Tekor (also known as the Tekor Basilica hy, Տեկորի տաճար) was a 5th-century
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 ...
built in historical Armenia.
It was located facing the town of
Digor in the
Kars Province
Kars Province ( tr, Kars ili; ku, Parêzgeha Qersê; hy, Կարսի նահանգ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its closed border with Armenia. The provincial capital is the city of ...
of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, 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
Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken t ...
.
THE TEKOR BASILICA
at VirtualAni.org
Architectural significance
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.
See also
* Yererouk, a contemporaneous 4th-5th century Armenian basilica about 18 kilometres northwest of Digor, in Armenia.
References
Bibliography
*
Տեկորի տաճարը
Թորոս Թօրամանեան, Թիֆլիս, 1911։
{{Armenian Churches
Armenian Apostolic churches in Turkey
Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 5th century
Destroyed churches in Turkey
Demolished buildings and structures in Turkey
Armenian buildings in Turkey