Saint Mary Church of New Julfa (, ) is a historical

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 around the ...

church in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, completed in 1613.

History

In the 17th century the

Armenian people Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

of New Julfa built a small church named Surp Hakop Church. Surp Hakop Church is the oldest surviving church of

New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...

. It was built strictly for the religious needs of the people and did not have any kind of decorations. However, as the Armenian population in New Julfa increased, the church became insubstantial. Hence, Khoja Avedik, a wealthy silk merchant, went to the church and decided to expand the church when he could not attend a religious ceremony because the church was full. He decorated the church with lights, silver and gold

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

s, and valuable

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

es and

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s. He rebuilt the entire church using his own personal funds and named it St. Mary church. Khoja Avedik was then buried in the church after his death. Two large

s painted by European artists have been bought by an Armenian businessman and have been donated to the church.

Architecture

The plan of the east-west rectangular church is of the type of domed halls in

Armenian architecture Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenians, Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many o ...

. The building has several small arched domes, but its main

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 ...

, which has four skylights; is located in the middle of the building and is fixed on arches that rest on wide columns attached to the north and south walls. These columns divide the interior of the church into three interconnected sections. In the eastern part of the building is the altar of the church and on both sides there are two rectangular chambers. The materials used in the building are clay and brick. The interior walls of the building are covered with plaster, and on them are paintings with themes from the Bible. The area around the church, except for its eastern side, has a portico with twenty stone-carved columns. Arches connect all these columns. The outer surface of the arches is decorated with glazed tiles in different colors, which adds to the beauty of the exterior of the church. There are various buildings in the churchyard. In 1848, 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 to ...

was built in the western part of the church and above its entrance.. Adjacent to the south side of the building is a small

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

called Stepanos. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is located near and inside the courtyard of this church. St. Mary Church A Church with Gothic Architecture
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Gallery

St. Mary Church, Isfahan 1.jpg, ٍٍ Entrance facade St. Mary Church, Isfahan 2.jpg, Entrance to the church

References

External links

Interior photoExterior photo
{{Armenian churches and monasteries Churches in Isfahan Armenian Apostolic churches in Iran 1610s establishments in Iran Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 17th century 17th-century churches in Iran

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links