About Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran
Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran located in northwest of the country, Azerbaijan province. It inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. They manifest universal value of the Armenian architectural and decorative traditions.
Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran consist of two monasteries and a church. The ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith or three Armenian Christian religious buildings include St Thaddeus monastery, Saint Stepanos monastery and the chapel of Dzordzor. The oldest among them and the second religious center for Armenian Church is Saint Thaddeus monastery.
This ensemble of three Armenian sacred churches that were established during the period between the 7th and 14th centuries A.D., and rebuilt a number of times and undergoes many renovations due to nature, human inflicted disasters and damage caused by earthquakes and various warring factions.
Saint Thaddeus
Saint Thaddeus Monastery (also known as Saint Jude) has always been a place of high spiritual value for Christians and other inhabitants in the region as well as Armenian tradition says that St Thaddeus brought Christianity to the area in the 1st century. They are still important pilgrimage sites for members of the Armenian Church.
It is also a known as Qareh Kalisa (Black Church). This church sits on a high and empty plateau and in the mountainous area of West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. That is visible from long distances. This is richly carved with saints, angels, kings and crosses, and It was best observed from the surrounding fortress-style walls.
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Saint Stepanos monastery
This church located about 15 km northwest of the city of Julfa in the province of Esat Azarbaijan, northwestern Iran. This church is mounted on a spur in a sensitive border area on a wooded hill high above the wild Aras River, west of Jolfa.
It is part of an Armenian monastery located in Maku, West Azerbaijan, Iran. It was part of a much bigger monastery and slowly destroyed after many years.
It is one of the most visitable historical monuments in Iran, and made of carved stones in different sizes.
