Ghazanchetsots in peril: Shushi’s ‘white bride’ revisited
May 08, 2021
On May 8, 1992, the liberation of Shushi was celebrated with “Hayr mer” («Հայր մեր» | “The Lord’s Prayer”) at the church altar of Ghazanchetsots.
Bombed during the 2020 Artsakh War, vandalized, and recently dismantled under the pretext of “renovation,” Ghazanchetsots has now become a bleeding wound too painful to look at.
Check out the facts you might not know about the monument's glorious and tumultuous history below.
(Photo courtesy of Kourken Papazian)Perched on a high plateau over the Karkar gorge, the Holy Savior Cathedral of Shushi was a beacon of light and liberty with its conical metallic dome.
Built of smooth milky limestone and standing thirty-five meters high at the center of the city, it exuded a sense of timeless elegance.
Under Azerbaijani occupation since the end of Nov. 2020, it is threatened by cultural destruction, sharing a similar fate of Armenian churches and cross-stones long gone.
The torn-down dome
Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, churches in Artsakh were usually built in the basilica style, due to economic reasons. Harking back to traditional Armenian architecture, Ghazanchetsots was one of the only nine churches in Artsakh that was built with a dome during this period. The seventeen meter-dome was based on four external pillars, similar to that of Etchmiadzin Cathedral. It was torn down in early May of 2021.
(Photo: Gegham Stepanyan)
Cauldron money
Armenian migrants from the village of Ghazanchi (Shahkert, present-day Qazançı) in Nakhichevan, made cauldrons (ghazan in Turkish) to finance the church’s construction between 1868 and 1887. The architect’s name, Simeon Ter Hakopiants, is preserved in the floor inscriptions of the church. The Armenian inscription on the three-story belfry says that it was built in memory of all the people of Ghazanchi.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Doomed angels
Sculptures of four angels stood on the first floor of the belfry blowing trumpets, heralding the last judgement and the resurrection of the dead. They were destroyed after the Shushi massacres of 1920, and during the first Artsakh War. Following their restoration, one of the angels was depicted on Shushi's coat of arms. All four sculptures were smashed to pieces after the fall of the city in Nov. 2020.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
In tune with its environment
One of the largest churches in the Armenian world, Ghazanchetsots is perfectly in tune and harmoniously blended in with its environment. Precious manuscripts, dating back to the early seventeenth century, were kept at the monumental cathedral, as well as The Right Arm of Grigoris, the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator, founder and patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic church.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
An incredible echo experience
An underground semicircular room with special acoustic properties was designed in such a way that if you stood in the center, you could hear your own voice louder than usual, but it would sound normal to the person next to you. If two people stood at diametrically opposite points, they could clearly hear each other whispering. According to local lore, before liturgy, a priest could receive absolution in this crypt by hearing his own voice saying, “Let my ears hear what my lips utter.”
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The genius of Armenian architecture
In a clear attempt to imitate the grand style of Armenia's mother church, Etchmiadzin, the cathedral’s floor plan is a spatial layout of cross-domed basilica with four apsides. The 34.7 meters long and 23 meters wide church represents a fusion of innovative and traditional architectural techniques. It has three identical entrances and is rich in ornamental reliefs on the portals and windows, as well as Armenian inscriptions honoring private donors.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The Lord’s Prayer
Over the years, the architectural complex of the Holy Savior Cathedral was used as a granary, barn, and garage. Stones were removed from the walls to build houses. The bronze bell was sold, and the church was set on fire. During the first Artsakh War it was converted into an armory of Grad missiles. On May 8, 1992, the liberation of Shushi was celebrated with “Hayr mer” («Հայր մեր» | “The Lord’s Prayer”) at the church altar.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
A symbol of history and identity
Second only to Gandzasar Monastery as a spiritual center in Artsakh, Ghazanchetsots was restored to its full glory in 1997, to become the seat of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since then it has emerged as a symbol of history and identity for the people of Artsakh. A mass wedding of 500 couples was held at the church in 2008.
(Photo: Armenpress)
Krunk under the collapsed roof
The cathedral was bombed twice and heavily damaged in early October of 2020. Three foreign journalists were injured there while covering the war. Four days after the attacks, on October 12, 2020, Sevak Avanesyan, first cellist of the Belgian National Philharmonic Orchestra, played "Krunk" («Կռունկ» | "The Crane") by Komitas under the collapsed roof of the church. Videos of his solemn performance went viral and attracted international attention.*
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
* On January 26, 2021, the human rights ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh issued a public report titled: “The Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh): Cases of vandalism and at risk of destruction by Azerbaijan.”
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Sevak Avanesyan performs "Krunk"
Related In Pictures
Located in the Western Armenian province of Kars (which lies within Turkey’s borders today), the medieval city of Ani, also known as the “City of 1,001 churches” and the “City of forty gates,” lies in ruins. Nonetheless, its remains—including the magnificent frescoes painted inside its old churches—carry the memories of the sacred city’s glorious past and abundant beauty. Strolling around Ani, I could not help but wonder what these ancient stones would tell us. If only they could speak… What memories and stories would they share?
Every night, a beautiful Armenian maiden named Tamar would wave a light from Akhtamar Island’s shore in the direction of her lover, who would then swim to her from the mainland to reunite in silence. But Tamar was a princess and the boy, a commoner. When her father found out about their secret meetings, his anger got the best of him. As Tamar was lighting her lover’s way, her father approached her and blew out the light. Without a glow to guide him across Lake Van, the boy drowned in the darkness of the night, wailing, “Akh, Tamar!” (“Oh, Tamar!”).
Unlike the snow-covered, gloomy provincial town where the murders of Orhan Pamuk’s imagination took place, the Kars that welcomed my friend and me on our short trip to Western Armenia was warm, lively, and hospitable; enough to set my soul at ease, after a tumultuous arrival in the country.
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