St. Stephen’s Church is a manifestation of the unity of Iranians

Azerbaijan is a land of wonders with a history of more than seven thousand years and is full of various historical works and buildings, St. Stephen’s Church as one of the relics of the apostles of Christ in the world is located in this region and around Jolfa, which is a must-see for everyone to visit this historical work. It has become a manifestation of the unity of different Iranian religions.

This very beautiful work, full of Armenian architecture in the 10th to 12th centuries, is one of the tourist attractions of East Azerbaijan near Jolfa city, which, according to historical documents, got its name from one of the apostles of Jesus Christ (pbuh) who died on the day of his death. On the 5th of August (14 August), Armenians from all over the world and Iran gather in this place to pray.

The architectural splendor of this historic work, which was registered in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006 and previously in the list of National Monuments of Iran in 1991, is so beautiful and unique in its kind that it attracts the eyes and hearts of every tourist. .

St. Stephen’s Church, which is also known as Jolfa’s Ruined Church, has been restored and rebuilt in different historical periods and was rebuilt for the first time about 400 years ago by a person named Hakop Joqatisi, who was the Grand Caliph of Wang Stephanos, and then during the Safavid rule. And in Qajar, restorations were made based on this unique work.

St. Stephen was one of the apostles of Christ and one of the first anointing missionaries who protested against the oppression of the Jewish elders and for this reason he was stoned. On the south wall of St. Stephen’s Church, the scene of his stoning can be seen.

Armenian sources consider Stepanos to be one of the first Christian martyrs who became famous among Christians; He is one of the seven righteous people who were sworn in by the apostles of Christ and were missionaries of Christianity. Finally, he was arrested and stoned to death by the Jews on December 26, 36 A.D.

The beautiful carved dome of St. Stephen’s Church in the midst of a stone fence and inside a fortress-like castle is one of the sights of this building, which has seven guard towers and five cylindrical and stone backs, and there is an entrance gate with a wooden and wrought iron door on its western wall. It has delicate carvings on the side bases and a transept arch, and on the top of the arch there is a relief design of Mary and the childhood of Jesus Christ.

On the outside of the walls of the church, there are also outstanding paintings, including the stoning of Saint Stephen on the eastern side, the crucifixion of Christ on the western side, and the ascension of Christ, and there are various designs and decorations in different parts of the church. So that the stone facade of the church is covered with carvings and carvings, and beautiful plaster paintings decorate the interior of the main prayer hall.

St. Stephen’s Church building has various parts such as prayer room, bell tower, Boos Peter’s prayer room or Daniel’s oven, church courtyard or church yard, main entrance counter, entrance vestibule, courtyard, old church, student training halls, accommodation for monks and travelers or warehouse and It has a storage place for provisions and stables, each of which has a special architecture and has special beauty.

The complex of St. Stephen’s Church was registered in the list of UNESCO works in 2006.

The main chapel of the church

The most important and one of the important indicators of the unique architecture of St. Stephen’s Church complex is related to the main prayer hall, which has dimensions of 16 x 21 meters and in the Qajar period, an inlaid wooden door was built for its entrance, on the top of this prayer hall there are decorations There is variety such as sculpting bases, arches, semi-columns and chains next to moqranskari.

In the initial part of the slope of the roof of the chapel, there is a circular pattern with a smaller circle in the center, which is similar to the sun, and the scene of the crucifixion of Christ is at the bottom of this pattern, and there are three windows in the lower part, and there are also patterns of the cross around it. it is visible

There are symbols and carvings on the stone in the exterior of the southern part of the prayer hall, in the upper part of the image of an eagle with flowers similar to the sun on both sides, and carrying a quadruped with its claws, and below this image, two other flowers and below them in a rectangular frame. The form of a scene from a story has been narrated, which is actually related to the scene of Stepanos’ martyrdom.

There are three stones above Stepanos’ head and a burning incense in his hand, and three angels are drawn to sanctify Stepanos’ character.

The beautiful architecture of the dome of St. Stephen’s Church

Church dome

The dome of the church is one of the most spectacular and beautiful parts of the church that can be seen from afar and it houses the porch, the prayer room and the altar and forms the space inside the church which is in the shape of a cross.

The corners of the moqrans and the vault of the dome also have colorful images that show the style of religious paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. This section has three stone prayer rooms, one in the middle of the altar and the other two on the north and south sides. They are among the decorations inside the church.

According to historical documents, these prayer rooms were created in the Qajar period.

Nowruz tourists visiting the church museum

Saint Stephen’s Church Museum

The church museum is one of the most visited parts of the St. Stephen’s complex, which annually hosts thousands of Dacha and foreign tourists, where an important part of the history of the complex can be explored.

This museum has 2 main and side parts, where a collection of works obtained from the church grounds such as inscriptions and pictures of historical correspondences of the church are displayed in the main part, and in the side part there are also stone replicas and pictures of historical Armenian churches in Iran. There is.

St. Stephen’s Church Museum was opened and put into operation in 2015 in collaboration with the Office of World Registration Bases of the Organization of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of the country and the Organization of Aras Industrial Free Trade Zone. It introduces the history of Azerbaijan and familiarizes the people with the culture and civilization of the people.

St. Stephen’s Church is the leader in Nowruz tourists

Director General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of East Azerbaijan, referring to the important role of St. Stephen’s Church in attracting and attracting domestic and foreign tourists to this province, said that this historical building is the leader among the many historical and heritage buildings and monuments of the province among tourists. Nowruz announced.

Ahmed Hamzezadeh stated: Since the beginning of Nowruz holiday, about 19 thousand domestic and foreign tourists have visited St. Stephen’s Church, which is far behind Azerbaijan Museum with about 9 thousand visitors.

He considered the restoration and organization of St. Stephen’s Church as one of the main and important priorities of the cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism of East Azerbaijan and stated: In recent years, measures have been taken to restore and restore the carvings of St. Stephen’s Church in Jolfa. These activities will continue.

Hamzezadeh pointed out that the restoration of the carvings and paintings of this church started in July 2017 and was completed in a few months. Technology and laboratory investigation of pigments, color standardization and its final stabilization were carried out.

He said: St. Stephen’s Church is one of the most important historical relics of Azerbaijan and Iran, located in the heart of the mountains of Jolfa border region and the Republic of Azerbaijan and on the banks of Aras River. It is considered a church in West Azerbaijan.

Hamzezadeh pointed out the importance of preserving and preserving such an important historical work that welcomes many tourists from different religions every year and added: the restoration of works that have been damaged by natural disasters in the past centuries should be done in a common way, in which In order to protect and preserve St. Stephen’s Church, its restoration and reconstruction has always been done by the elite experts of cultural heritage.

According to IRNA, St. Stopunus Church is located in a place called Qezel Wang or Red Monastery in East Azarbaijan province and near the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan and in the Aras Free Zone, 3 kilometers from the south bank of the Aras River.

The distance between Saint Stepanos and Jolfa city is about 17 kilometers.