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The Church of Kish (Template:Lang-az) is located in the village of Kish approximately 5km north of Shaki, Azerbaijan and considered to be one of the centres of Albanian-Udi Christian community in Azerbaijan

History

According to the 10th century "History of the Country Aluank" by Movses Kalankatuatsi, the apostle St. Elishe, a disciple of Thaddeus of Edessa, was martyred at a place called Gis. Movses Kalankatuatsi also wrote that in the 5th century …pious Vachagan, the king of Albania, erected a pillar over the dungeon of Yeghishe's martyrdom . According to the Baku eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the location of Gis mentioned by Movses Kalankatuatsi is identified with the present-day Kish, located on the left bank of river Kura, in Shaki district of Azerbaijan . The Church of Kish was the first church built in Caucasian Albania and in the Caucasus .

According to Georgian historiography, in the 10th century, the population of Kish converted to the Georgian Orthodox Church. Known at the time as part of Sourb Asvatzatzin Church, Kish turned into a residence of Georgian bishop, functioning till 17th century . The population of Kish converted to Islam in 1720s, however, later when Russia took possession of the region, some villagers returned to Christian faith. In 1836, Albanian church was incorporated into the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the Church of Kish was refounded in 1860s and became a place of piligrimage for its believed connection with St. Elishe .

Research and dating

In 2000-2003 the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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 Aylesbury, England. 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.).

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 .

References

1. Orthodox in Azerbaijan
2. Moses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Country Aluank
3. Kartapetian, Samvel (2001). Armenian Cultural Monuments in the region of Karabagh. Yerevan: RAA. p. 79. ISBN 5-8080-0468-3.
4. ^ Official website of Baku eparchy of Russian Orthodox Church. Architectural heritage of Caucasian Albania
5. Interview with Russian Ortodox Baku and Caspian Bishop Alexander
6. Movses Kalankatuatsi, open citation, Book 2, Chapter XLVIII
7. ^ Samvel Karapetian, "Research on Armenian Architecture", Online Version
8. Azerbaijan International Magazine. About the Kish Church Reconstruction Project

See also

• Udi people
• Caucasian Albania

External links

• Photo of Church
• Research on Armenian Architecture: Kish village, Shaki District, Republic of Azerbaijan
• The Kish Church

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