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{{Short description|Georgian Orthodox church in Azerbaijan}}
]
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Church of Kish
| native_name =Church of Saint Elishe<br />Müq. Yelisey Kilsəsi<br />Holy Mother of God Church<br>
Tanrının Müqəddəs anası Kilsəsi<br>
| infobox_width =
| image = Church, Kish (P1090438).jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption =
| map_type = Azerbaijan
| map_size = 275
| location = {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} ], ], ]
| geo = {{coord|41.248933|47.193067|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = ]
| rite =
| region =
| state =
| status = inactive (no parishioners), but mass held by Georgian priest<ref name=Azer>{{cite web |last= Storfjell |first= Bjørnar |title= The Church in Kish: Carbon Dating Reveals its True Age |pages= 33–39 |work=] |location= Los Angeles and Baku |issue= Spring 2003 (11.1) |url= http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai111_folder/111_articles/111_kish_church.html |access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref>
| functional_status =
| heritage_designation =
| leadership =
| website =
| architecture = yes
| architect =
| architecture_type =
| architecture_style =
| general_contractor =
| facade_direction =
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = probably early 12th century AD<ref name=Azer/>
| specifications =
| capacity =
| length =
| width =
| width_nave =
| height_max =
| dome_quantity = 1
| dome_height_outer =
| dome_height_inner =
| dome_dia_outer =
| dome_dia_inner =
| materials =
| nrhp =
| added =
| refnum =
| designated =
}}
The '''Church of Kish''' ({{langx|az|Kiş kilsəsi}}; also known from different sources<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928153504/http://www.dqdk.gov.az/aze/articles/alban.html |date=2009-09-28 }}</ref><ref></ref><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608160350/http://www.baku-icc-2009.az/content.php?lang=az&page=24 |date=2009-06-08 }}</ref> as '''Church of Saint Elishe''' ({{langx|az|Müqəddəs Yelisey kilsəsi}},;<ref name=RAA1>{{cite web |last= Karapetian |first= Samvel |title= Kish |work=] |url= http://raa.am/Kish/KISH_E_1.htm |access-date= 2009-06-20}}</ref> Latinised '''Saint Eliseus'''<ref name=Azer/>) or '''Holy Mother of God Church''' ,<ref name=RAA1/> is a ] church, probably dating to the early 12th century, in the village of ], approximately 5&nbsp;km north of ], ].<ref name=RAA1/> It has been inactive due to lack of parishioners since the 19th century, although mass was still regularly held as of 2000 by a Georgian priest.<ref name=Azer/> Archaeological research undertaken in 2000 concluded that it was first built as a ] Georgian church, later to become a ] church ]).<ref name=Azer/> Previous research had proposed that it had functioned at different times as a Caucasian Albanian Apostolic church,
<ref name=Wegge>{{cite book |last= Wegge |first= Bjørn |title= From Jerusalem to Gis: An investigation of the Eliseus-tradition in Courcasis.{{dubious|"...the Caucasus"?!|date=November 2020}} Paper Presented at the Conference Caucasus Albanians in the Past and Present. B. |page= 35 |year= 2003 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2023}}<ref name=KishB>{{cite book |last1= Karimov |first1= Vilayat |last2= Storfjell |first2= J. Bjørnar |title= Киш. Б. (Kish. B.) |page= 23 |year= 2003 |url= http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai111_folder/111_articles/111_kish_church.html |access-date=7 September 2011}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2023}} a Chalcedonian church within the ], and later as an ].<ref name=RAA1/> {{Unreliable source?|date=December 2024}}


==History==
The '''Church of Kish''' ({{lang-az|Kiş kilsəsi}}) is located in the village of Kish approximately 5km north of ], ] and considered to be one of the centres of Albanian-Udi Christian community in Azerbaijan.<ref> </ref>
According to the 7th century ] historian ], in the 1st century AD ], a disciple of ], arrived to a place called Gis, where he built a church and recited a liturgy. The church became the "spiritual center and the place of enlightenment of people of the East". On his way from Gis St. Elishe was killed near the pagan altar in the small Zerguni valley by unknown people.<ref></ref> According to the Armenian historian on architecture<ref>], the geographical position of Kish does not seem to match that described by Kaghankatvatsi. Karapetian believes that they have identified Gis as the village of Bomen/Bum 60&nbsp;km to the south-east of Kish,<ref name=RAA1/> in ].


According to a Georgian historiographer, in the 10th century, the population of Kish converted to the Georgian Orthodox Church (]). The church of Kish was turned into a residence of a Georgian bishop, functioning till 17th century.<ref name=RAA2></ref> By the time when Russia took possession of the region the village of Kish had ] population.<ref></ref> According to ], the ] appeared to have been prevalent north of ] until the nineteenth century, and the Armenian population appeared to be of relatively recent arrival. While many Armenians undoubtedly settled there fleeing the Turko-Mongolic invasions, many more entered the region with the coming of the Russians in the early nineteenth century.<ref>Robert H. Hewsen. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians," in: Samuelian, Thomas J. (Hg.), Classical Armenian Culture. Influences and Creativity, Chicago: 1982, 27-40.</ref>
== History==


According to ], Kish was conquered by ] in 1117 and was given to '']'' of Tsuketi and became seat for the bishop of Eliseni (]), Tsuketi and Shakihi (]).<ref>{{Citation |last1=Minorsky |first1=V. |title=S̲h̲akkī |date=2012-04-24 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/shakki-SIM_6788?s.num=25&s.rows=100&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=Fat%E1%B8%A5+%CA%BFAl%C4%AB+K%CC%B2h%CC%B2%C4%81n |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |access-date=2023-12-30 |publisher=Brill |language=en |last2=Bosworth |first2=C. E.}}</ref>
A medieval tradition, first set down in writing by ] in his "History of the Country of Aluank" <ref></ref> says that the apostle St. Yegishe, a disciple of ], was martyred at a place called Gis. Kagankatvatsi wrote that in a later age ''…pious Vachagan, the king of Albania, erected a pillar over the dungeon of Yeghishe's martyrdom''.<ref>{{cite book
| last =Kartapetian
| first =Samvel
| title =Armenian Cultural Monuments in the region of Karabagh
| publisher =RAA
| location=Yerevan
| date =2001
| pages =79
| id =ISBN 5-8080-0468-3}}</ref> Based on the similarity of the names, the location of Gis has been identified as present-day Kish by some commentators. <ref name="eparhia"></ref> However, because the geographical position of Kish does not seem to match that described by Kagankatvatsi, other commentators have dismissed that theory and have identified Gis as the village of Bomen / Bum 60km to the southeast of Kish, in Gabala district, Uti (Utik) province. <ref></ref>


==Research and dating==
In the 12th century the inhabitants of Kish were Chalcedonian Christians who adhered to the Georgian Church. At that time the church was part of a monastery and was known as the Sourb Astvatzatzin Church. In later centuries it became known as St. Yeghishe the Apostle's Monastery, and continued to function until the 17th century. Kish's Christian population was forced to convert to Islam in the 1720s. After Russia took possession of this region as a result of the 1813 ], many villagers renounced Islam and returned to their Christian faith, though the majority of the population remained Muslim. The Christians appear to have, in public anyway, identified themselves as being ethnically Armenian. The church was re-consecrated (sometime before 1839, when the sanctuary is mentioned in connection with a robbery of its church objects). In 1836 all active churches in this region that were not Georgian or Russian were incorporated into the ]. The monastery had been re-founded by the 1860s, and became an active place of pilgrimage because of its believed connection with St. Yegishe.<ref></ref>
]


In 2000–2003 the ] funded a joint project between ] and the ] for the archaeological research and restoration of the church of Kish. Dr. Vilayat Karimov of Baku's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography served as the director of excavations, and the archaeological advisor for the project was ]. ] of various objects found on the site showed that the cultic site found beneath the ] of the church dates to about 3000 B.C., while the construction of the existing church building dates to about the 12th century (990–1160 A.D. ] date).<ref name=Azer/>
Media in Azerbaijan represents the Kish church as the first church built in ] and also the first church built in the ].<ref></ref><ref></ref>


The existing church building cannot be dated to the times of St. Elishe, but the archaeological evidence demonstrates that the church is located on an ancient cultic site. It is very unlikely that St. Elishe built in Kish a church in the modern understanding of this word. Even if the person did exist, it appears likely that he built only the altar or used an existing pagan cult structure.<ref name=eparhia></ref>
== Kish and the Norwegians ==


Bjørnar Storfjell stated that there's clear evidence that this church was built as ] church.<ref name=Azer/> Excavations revealed that the church represented two different periods of use, with two different corresponding floor levels of the ] area.<ref name=Azer/> A chancel (the altar area, where the priest officiates) only slightly elevated in comparison to the ] reflects a diophysite view on the nature of Christ (] is seen as equally divine and human at the same time), while a higher elevation of the chancel is typical of ] (] is seen as purely divine).<ref name=Azer/> The officiating priest is seen as the representative of Jesus, and the ] approach reflects on the priest's degree of proximity to the worshippers.<ref name=Azer/> In Kish, the floor level of the chancel was raised during a second period of use from a mere 30-40 cm to about one meter (100 cm) above that of the nave.<ref name=Azer/> According to Storfjell, the architecture of the apse of the original church in Kish suggests a diophysite Christology, and since the Georgian Church was the only diophysite church existing in the Caucasus in the late medieval period, it seems reasonable to suggest that the Kish church was initially built as a Georgian church and was later taken over by monophysites.<ref name=Azer/> At the time, the monophysite doctrine was represented in the region by two Churches: the Armenian and the Caucasus Albanian Church, the latter having adopted Monophysitism during the eighth century.<ref name=Azer/> Storfjell posits that the rising of the chancel floor to 1 meter above the nave floor level took place in the 17th century, while under the control of the Caucasus Albanian Church.<ref name=Azer/>
In the 1990s ] developed a theory of the Black Sea origins of parts of the Scandinavian race. Heyerdahl accepted certain Norse legends as literal truth, in particular stories about Odin, and set about identifying persons and locations mentioned in those legends with real places. Based on similarities of names in Norse mythology and names in the Black Sea-region (e.g. ] and Azer / ], ] and ]) Heyerdahl claimed that the Udi ethnic minority in Azerbaijan was the descendants of the ancestors of the Scandinavians. He travelled to Azerbaijan on a number of occasions in the final two decades of his life and visited the Kish church. Heyerdahl's ] was rejected by all serious historians, archaeologists, and linguists but was accepted as fact within a section of Norway's state-run church, the ].


==Gallery==
Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise (NHE), part of Normisyon, an organisation within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway, was established in 1994, in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, to give aid to internally displaced persons within Azerbaijan. Another branch of Normisyon, Viator Mikrokredit Azerbaijan, runs a bank in the town of Shaki near Kish.<ref></ref>
<gallery class="center" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Gishi church plan.svg|Plan of the church
File:Kishchurchfrontview.jpg|West facade with entrance (2007)
File:Kishchurchrearview.jpg|Church of Kish from the NE (rear view; 2007)
File:120kish.jpg|Altar and dome (2011)
File:Kishdome.jpg|Dome with cross decoration and chandelier (2007)
File:117kish.jpg|Dome and chandelier (2011)
File:Kishcrypt.jpg|Crypt with burials (2007)
</gallery>


==See also==
Bjorn Wegge, the Director of Information for NHE, initiated a 1997 album involving a Norwegian choir and Azeri musicians and singers. It featured a photograph of the Kish church on its cover. The belief in Heyerdahl's theory is explicitly stated in the choice of the album's title: "The Land We Came From", with the choir's leader stating that Azerbaijan was "a culture that may be our long-forgotten homeland".<ref></ref>
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References==
In the late 1990s NHE initiated and organised restoration projects of a disused 19th-century Armenian church in the Udi-populated village of Nij, and the church in Kish. Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded both projects. Allegations of complicity with the Azerbaijan government in cultural cleansing and the re-writing of history have dogged both projects.<ref></ref>
{{reflist|2}}
The Kish church project was also initiated by Bjorn Wegge, Storgfjell describes him as "the father of the project". The restoration of the Kish church was preceded by an archaeological excavation that was also run by NHE and paid for by Norway. The chief archaeologist was the Norwegian J. Bjørnar Storfjell. As a result of a visit to the church by Heyerdahl during the excavation, Storfjell was appointed by Heyerdahl to be the chief archaeologist of a YUKOS-sponsored archaeological excavation to the Sea of Azov in 2001 to find evidence to back up Heyerdahl's Odin theory. <ref></ref> Photographs of artefacts found during the Azov excavation appeared in Heyerdahl's 2001 book "Jakten på Odin. På sporet av vår fortid" (The Hunt for Odin. Examining our Past).


==External links==
== Research and dating ==
{{commons category}}
*
* , Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:1 (Spring 2003), p.&nbsp;33.
* , Azerbaijan International, Vol. 8:4 (Winter 2000), pp.&nbsp;18–19.
* {{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:1 (Spring 2003), pp.&nbsp;33–39.
* {{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*


{{Caucasian Albanian churches and monasteries in Azerbaijan}}
In 2000-2003 the ] funded a joint project between Baku State University for Architecture and Construction and the Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise for archeological research and restoration of the church of Kish. Dr. Vilayat Karimov of Baku's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography served as the Director of Excavations, and the Archaeological Advisor for the project was J. Bjørnar Storfjell, who currently directs the Thor Heyerdahl Research Centre in ], ]. ] of various objects found on the site showed that the cultic site found beneath the ] of the church dates to about 3000 B.C., while the construction of the existing church building dates to about the 12th century (990-1160 A.D.).<ref></ref>
{{Armenian Churches}}
{{Georgian churches in Azerbaijan}}
{{Georgian churches}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Kish}}
The existing church building cannot be dated to the times of St. Elishe, but the archeological evidence demonstrates that the church is located on an ancient cultic site. It is very unlikely that St. Elishe built in Kish a church in the modern understanding of this word. Even if the person did exist, it appears likely that he built only the altar or used an existing pagan cult structure.<ref name="eparhia"/>
]

]
== References ==
]
<references/>
]
]
== See also ==

* ]
* ]

== External links ==
*
*
*

{{Azerbaijan-stub}}

]

Latest revision as of 15:29, 24 December 2024

Georgian Orthodox church in Azerbaijan
Church of Kish
Church of Saint Elishe
Müq. Yelisey Kilsəsi
Holy Mother of God Church
Tanrının Müqəddəs anası Kilsəsi
Religion
AffiliationGeorgian Orthodox Church
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusinactive (no parishioners), but mass held by Georgian priest
Location
LocationAzerbaijan Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan
Church of Kish is located in AzerbaijanChurch of KishShown within Azerbaijan
Geographic coordinates41°14′56″N 47°11′35″E / 41.248933°N 47.193067°E / 41.248933; 47.193067
Architecture
Completedprobably early 12th century AD
Dome(s)1

The Church of Kish (Azerbaijani: Kiş kilsəsi; also known from different sources as Church of Saint Elishe (Azerbaijani: Müqəddəs Yelisey kilsəsi,; Latinised Saint Eliseus) or Holy Mother of God Church , is a Georgian Orthodox church, probably dating to the early 12th century, in the village of Kiş, approximately 5 km north of Shaki, Azerbaijan. It has been inactive due to lack of parishioners since the 19th century, although mass was still regularly held as of 2000 by a Georgian priest. Archaeological research undertaken in 2000 concluded that it was first built as a diophysite Georgian church, later to become a Chalcedonian church Caucasian Albanian). Previous research had proposed that it had functioned at different times as a Caucasian Albanian Apostolic church, a Chalcedonian church within the Georgian Orthodox Church, and later as an Armenian Apostolic Church.

History

According to the 7th century Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi, in the 1st century AD St. Elishe, a disciple of Thaddeus of Edessa, arrived to a place called Gis, where he built a church and recited a liturgy. The church became the "spiritual center and the place of enlightenment of people of the East". On his way from Gis St. Elishe was killed near the pagan altar in the small Zerguni valley by unknown people. According to the Armenian historian on architecture Samvel Karapetian, the geographical position of Kish does not seem to match that described by Kaghankatvatsi. Karapetian believes that they have identified Gis as the village of Bomen/Bum 60 km to the south-east of Kish, in Gabala district.

According to a Georgian historiographer, in the 10th century, the population of Kish converted to the Georgian Orthodox Church (Chalcedonism). The church of Kish was turned into a residence of a Georgian bishop, functioning till 17th century. By the time when Russia took possession of the region the village of Kish had Udi population. According to Robert H. Hewsen, the Udi language appeared to have been prevalent north of Kura River until the nineteenth century, and the Armenian population appeared to be of relatively recent arrival. While many Armenians undoubtedly settled there fleeing the Turko-Mongolic invasions, many more entered the region with the coming of the Russians in the early nineteenth century.

According to Vladimir Minorsky, Kish was conquered by David the Builder in 1117 and was given to eristavi of Tsuketi and became seat for the bishop of Eliseni (Elisu), Tsuketi and Shakihi (Shaki).

Research and dating

Objects found on the site of the church dating to 3000 B.C.

In 2000–2003 the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded a joint project between Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University and the Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise for the archaeological research and restoration of the church of Kish. Dr. Vilayat Karimov of Baku's Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography served as the director of excavations, and the archaeological advisor for the project was J. Bjørnar Storfjell. Radiocarbon analysis of various objects found on the site showed that the cultic site found beneath the altar of the church dates to about 3000 B.C., while the construction of the existing church building dates to about the 12th century (990–1160 A.D. calibrated Carbon-14 date).

The existing church building cannot be dated to the times of St. Elishe, but the archaeological evidence demonstrates that the church is located on an ancient cultic site. It is very unlikely that St. Elishe built in Kish a church in the modern understanding of this word. Even if the person did exist, it appears likely that he built only the altar or used an existing pagan cult structure.

Bjørnar Storfjell stated that there's clear evidence that this church was built as diophysite church. Excavations revealed that the church represented two different periods of use, with two different corresponding floor levels of the chancel area. A chancel (the altar area, where the priest officiates) only slightly elevated in comparison to the nave reflects a diophysite view on the nature of Christ (Jesus is seen as equally divine and human at the same time), while a higher elevation of the chancel is typical of Monophysitism (Christ is seen as purely divine). The officiating priest is seen as the representative of Jesus, and the Christological approach reflects on the priest's degree of proximity to the worshippers. In Kish, the floor level of the chancel was raised during a second period of use from a mere 30-40 cm to about one meter (100 cm) above that of the nave. According to Storfjell, the architecture of the apse of the original church in Kish suggests a diophysite Christology, and since the Georgian Church was the only diophysite church existing in the Caucasus in the late medieval period, it seems reasonable to suggest that the Kish church was initially built as a Georgian church and was later taken over by monophysites. At the time, the monophysite doctrine was represented in the region by two Churches: the Armenian and the Caucasus Albanian Church, the latter having adopted Monophysitism during the eighth century. Storfjell posits that the rising of the chancel floor to 1 meter above the nave floor level took place in the 17th century, while under the control of the Caucasus Albanian Church.

Gallery

  • Plan of the church Plan of the church
  • West facade with entrance (2007) West facade with entrance (2007)
  • Church of Kish from the NE (rear view; 2007) Church of Kish from the NE (rear view; 2007)
  • Altar and dome (2011) Altar and dome (2011)
  • Dome with cross decoration and chandelier (2007) Dome with cross decoration and chandelier (2007)
  • Dome and chandelier (2011) Dome and chandelier (2011)
  • Crypt with burials (2007) Crypt with burials (2007)

See also

References

  1. ^ Storfjell, Bjørnar. "The Church in Kish: Carbon Dating Reveals its True Age". Azerbaijan International. Los Angeles and Baku. pp. 33–39. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  2. dqdk.gov.az Alban-udi xristian kilsəsi Archived 2009-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  3. affa.az Azərbaycanda din
  4. baku-icc-2009.az Alban-Udi kilsəsi Archived 2009-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Karapetian, Samvel. "Kish". Research on Armenian Architecture. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  6. Wegge, Bjørn (2003). From Jerusalem to Gis: An investigation of the Eliseus-tradition in Courcasis. Paper Presented at the Conference Caucasus Albanians in the Past and Present. B. p. 35.
  7. Karimov, Vilayat; Storfjell, J. Bjørnar (2003). Киш. Б. (Kish. B.). p. 23. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  8. Movses Kaghankatvatsi. History of Albania. Book 1, Chapter VI
  9. kvali.com Georgians [https://web.archive.org/web/20031107072000/http://www.kvali.com/kvali/index.asp?obiektivi=show&n=392 Archived 2003-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Samvel Karapetian, Online Version
  11. Игорь Кузнецов, "Удины".
  12. Robert H. Hewsen. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians," in: Samuelian, Thomas J. (Hg.), Classical Armenian Culture. Influences and Creativity, Chicago: 1982, 27-40.
  13. Minorsky, V.; Bosworth, C. E. (2012-04-24), "S̲h̲akkī", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Brill, retrieved 2023-12-30
  14. Official website of Baku eparchy of Russian Orthodox Church. Architectural heritage of Caucasian Albania

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