Sorawar Church

Sorawor Church (right) and St. Ananias Chapel (left), 2016

The Church of Our Lady Sorawor (also Zoravor ), Sorawar Church for short ([z-], Armenian Զորավոր Սուրբ Աստվածածին եկեղեցի Sorawor Surb Astwazazin jekeghezi ) is a church in the Armenian capital Yerevan , which dates back to the 17th century. It belongs to the Ararat diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is located in the old town (Shahar) in Yerevan's central district (Kentron).

architecture

The church is a three-aisled basilica without a dome. On the east side of the prayer hall is the main altar with prayer rooms in the north and south corners. The interior and exterior of the building are kept architecturally simple, but the three-arched vestibule in the western part has decorated columns. On the flat areas of the outer walls there are kachkars ( cross stones ) from the 17th century.

history

In the first half of the 17th century, the monk Movses Syunetsi, with the support of the residents of Yerevan, built a monastery complex that consisted of a church of Our Lady (Surp Astvatsatsin), the Ananias chapel , a prelature, a monastery school and rooms for the members of the congregation of fortified walls. The monastery was built when Philip I of Armenia (Pilipos, 1632–1635) was a Catholicos in Echmiadzin . However, the new monastery collapsed again in the great earthquake in 1679. The current church complex was built in 1693 and 1694 on the foundations of the destroyed monastery, with the wealthy Yerevan Khoja Panos as financial backer. According to an inscription about 100 years later, the church was renewed by Gabriel Haryurapet when Luke I of Armenia was Catholicos. The church was originally called simply Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God ), but it was given the nickname Zoravor (զորավար or „,“ strong, mighty ”) because an Armenian Bible by Zoravor from the 13th century was kept in it.

In 1889, the new St. Ananias Chapel was built on the northeast side of the church , from the east side of which a staircase leads to the St. Ananias cemetery.

During the Soviet era , the building complex served various non-ecclesiastical purposes, but both the main church and the St. Ananias Chapel were returned to the Catholic Echmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 1970 and were completely renovated. A choir was added to the Sorawor Church and a new house was built for the priests.