Ghazanchetsots Cathedral


Holy Savior Cathedral, commonly referred to as Ghazanchetsots, is an Armenian Apostolic cathedral in Shusha, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is the seat of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Built between 1868 and 1887, the cathedral was consecrated in 1888. It was damaged during the March 1920 massacre of Armenians of the city by Azerbaijanis and experienced a decades-long decline, well into the Soviet period. During the Nagorno-Karabakh War Azerbaijan used the cathedral as an armory to store hundreds of missiles. It was restored in the aftermath of the war and reconsecrated in 1998. A landmark of Shusha and Karabakh, it has become an icon for the Karabakh Armenian cause. Standing high, Ghazanchetsots is one of the largest Armenian churches in the world.

History

Foundation

According to historical records, a small basilica church stood on its place as early as 1722. In the 19th century, following the conquest of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire, Shusha was one of the largest cities in region. Thomas de Waal notes that it was larger and more prosperous than either Baku or Yerevan, the current capitals of Azerbaijan and Armenia, respectively. The city was one of the major cities of Armenian cultural activity in the Caucasus, along with Tiflis. According to Russian imperial data of 1886 the city had a mixed Armenian and Tatar population of almost 27,000. The earliest part of the current cathedral, the bell tower, was built in 1858, which financed by the Khandamiriants family.
The construction of the church began in 1868 and was completed in 1887. Its name comes from Ghazanchi, a village in Nakhichevan, Armenians migrants from which financed the church's construction. It was designed by Simon Ter-Hakobian. The church was consecrated on September 20, 1888 according to an inscription on upper part of the southern portal. The inscription reads:

Decline

The majority of the Armenian population of Shusha was massacred or expelled in March 1920. The cathedral was damaged and gradually declined. After the region came under Soviet control, due to the state atheist policies, it was eventually closed down in 1930, and was turned into a granary in the 1940s. Its dome and part of the walls surrounding it were destroyed in the 1950s. It was then looted and its stones were used to build several upscale houses in the Azerbaijani part of the city. By the 1970s the cathedral "looked like it survived heavy shelling." Soviet and Azerbaijani authorities granted a permission to launch a restoration project of the cathedral in the 1980s under public pressure. The restoration began in 1981 and continued until 1988 and was supervised by Volodya Babayan. By 1987 only two of the four stone statues of angels on the bell tower had survived.

Nagorno-Karabakh War

Shusha's Armenian minority was expelled from the city when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in February 1988. The cathedral was turned into an armory by Azerbaijan. According to Armenian political analyst Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan the cathedral was set on fire three times between 1988 and 1991 using car tires. Azerbaijanis dismantled the stone statues of angels on the bell tower in 1989. They reportedly sold off its bronze bell, which was later found in a market in Donetsk, Ukraine and was bought by an Armenian officer for 3 million rubles and sent it back to Armenia. When Shusha was captured by Armenian forces on May 9, 1992, it was a turning point of the war. Prior to the fall of Shusha, Azerbaijani forces stored hundreds of boxes of Grad missiles as the cathedral was safe from potential Armenian bombardment. Shusha was used as a base for shelling of Stepanakert, the largest city of Karabakh, with Grad launchers for several months. Armenian volunteers, including noted activist Igor Muradyan, carried the wooden boxes of artillery and rocket shells out of the church immediately after the capture of the city. The flag of Armenia was raised on top of the damaged dome by Armenian troops. Melik-Shahnazaryan wrote that by the time of its capture "practically, only a stone skeleton had remained of the magnificent structure." A foreign visitor noted that its "windows were missing but the interior was in reasonable condition."
On August 23, 1992 Azerbaijani bombers attempted to target the church, however, no serious casualties were reported. Felix Corley suggested that the attempt was not of any military importance and "appeared to be a deliberate attempt to attack the Armenian heritage in Karabakh."
, 2018.

Restoration and revival

Restoration of the church began soon after its capture by Armenian forces. As of 1997 it was reportedly the only building being restored in Shusha. Restoration works were conducted by Volodya Babayan and primarily funded by Andreas Roubian, an Armenian Evangelical benefactor from New Jersey, who provided $110,000. Tens of thousands of dollars came from various Armenian diaspora communities and wealthy individuals. Cleanup and furnishing were completed in May 1998. The cathedral was reconsecrated on June 18, 1998 on the Feast of the Transfiguration by Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh. The first Divine Liturgy at the restored cathedral took place on July 19 with attendance of Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkadi Ghukasyan and officials from Armenia. Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian read a letter sent by Catholicos Karekin I, who did not attend due to health problems.
Yulia Antonyan suggested that its reconstruction was "perceived more as a cultural process aimed at a restoration of the Armenian cultural heritage, a spiritual and physical 'rebirth' of the Armenian nation" and came to symbolize the rebirth of Shusha. It now "towers, immaculate once more, above the ruined town," wrote Thomas de Waal in his 2003 book Black Garden. Daniel Bardsley wrote that the cathedral is now "one of the few pristine-looking buildings in the city."

Notable events

On October 16, 2008 a mass wedding, sponsored by Levon Hayrapetyan, a Russian-based businessman from Karabakh, took place in Nagorno-Karabakh. Some 700 couples got married on that day, 500 of whom married at Ghazanchetsots and 200 at Gandzasar monastery.
On April 14, 2016 Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I delivered a prayer for peace and safety of Nagorno-Karabakh. It came days after the clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces which were the deadliest since the ceasefire of 1994.
On April 6, 2017 Serj Tankian, the lead singer of the rock band System of a Down performed the Christian liturgical prayer "Lord, have mercy", in Armenian, at the cathedral.

Architecture

The cathedral's church is a domed basilica with four apsides. It is long and wide. Standing at a height of, it is one of the largest Armenian churches. Its dome, the conical roof of which is metallic, is tall. Artak Ghulyan criticized the proportions of the roof, restored by Volodya Babayan, as being unfaithful to the original proportions. The church has three identical entrances from the west, south and north. There are ornamental reliefs on the portals and windows. The church's floor plan is an imitation of that of Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's mother church. The cathedral is seen as having combined both innovative techniques and well-established traditions of Armenian architecture.
Both the church and the bell tower are built of white limestone. The freestanding bell tower has three floors and contains two bells, the larger of which was cast in Tula, Russia in 1857. Four sculptures of angels blowing trumpets stand on the top of its first floor.

Significance

The cathedral, along with Gandzasar monastery, is a symbol of history and identity for the Armenians of Artsakh/Karabakh. Novelist Zori Balayan noted that it was often recalled during the emergence of the Karabakh movement. It has become a symbol of liberation of the city as perceived by Armenians and a popular pilgrimage site for Armenians from Armenia and the diaspora. Catholicos Karekin II called the cathedral a symbol of the Armenian liberation movement of Artsakh during a mass at the cathedral in 2016. Furthermore, it is seen as a remnant of the 19th and early 20th century religious-cultural renaissance of the city.
Numerous manuscripts used to be kept at the cathedral, the earliest dated 1612. The Right Arm of Grigoris, the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator, was also kept at the church.

Heritage designation

The cathedral is included in the :hy:Շուշիի պատմության և մշակույթի անշարժ հուշարձանների ցանկ |list of cultural and historical monuments of the Artsakh Republic.
In 2001, Shusha State Historical and Architectural Reserve to which Ghazanchetsots Cathedral is included was added on the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Azerbaijan.