Day 3 - St.Stepanos Monastery

History 

*3   St. Stepanos Monastery of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Azerbaijan-Iran is located 16 km west of Jolfa in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran near the Darashamb region, where the Armenian Darashamb village was located too. The name of the cathedral which is also the name of the Monastery was driven from the name of the first martyr of Christianity, who was stoned and killed for his christian faith in the first century AD. 

There are different opinions about the date of the construction of this Monastery. Some of the Armenian Historians mention that it is established by one of the 12 Apostles of christ, St. Bartholomew, in the first century AD when, after the resurrection of Christ, his disciples went to the world to preach the Gospel. 

The south courtyard of the Monastery Astrophotography with polar movement of stars

Architecture ( Walkthrough and analysis )

The Cathedral has three main parts: The belfry, the main building of the Cathedral and the original Boghos-Bedros chapel, next to the Cathedral that has been mentioned by one of the Armenian Historians, Samuel Anetsi, in 640 A.D. The miniatures from 16th and 17th centuries are still visible inside the central dome of the cathedral. The interior part of the cathedral has the shape of the holy cross. To the East is located the holy Altar. The exterior walls are ornamented by many traditional Armenian stone-crosses and inscriptions in memory of thousands of Armenian benefactors who have supported this monastery during the course of history. There are also stone-pictures of the stoning of St. Stepanos, Annunciation of virgin Mary, Crucifixion of Christ and other valuable art works on the exterior walls on the cathedral.

The Monastery is surrounded by a fortress with 7 towers. The gate is located on the West wall of the fortress. In the courtyard is located the historical Theological Seminary. Thousands of students have been graduated from this place and served the Armenian church as respected clergymen. There are also cells of the monks, the dining room and the cave in the courtyard. 

Each and every year, on the name day of the Monastery the Archbishop of the Diocese with clergy and the Armenian faithful visit the Monastery and preside over the holy Mass, in memory of St. Stepanos, the first martyr of Christianity. 

 1- Main church

2- St. Boghos - Bedros church

3- Bell tower

4- North Courtyard

5- Entrance

6- Barn

7- Tower

8- South Courtyard

9- Refectory

10- Chamber of the monks

11- Kitchen

12- Prelate Armenian Prelacy of Azerbaijan - Iran

13- Gallery

14- Technical office

Original plans of the MonasteryAcquired by UNESCO

  The main entrance of the cathedral with a height of approximately 1.3 meter, was built from huge blocks of rocks. On the upper part you can see a 3d engraved picture of Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. 

The reason that the main door has been built with a low height, is because the fact that as you enter the cathedral in order to get through the door you must bend your back and that will give you a bowing position as you enter in sign of respect to Jesus and Virgin Mary.

 As you go through the entrance a three way appears that leads to the three main parts of the monastery. The main building, the Boghos-Bedros chapel and the Belfry as well as the North and south courtyard. 

The path first leads you towards the South courtyard. As you go under the chamber of the monks, a vault appears which is worth mentioning in terms of architectural design and historical value. 

The floor of the vault is a small cemetery with graves of the first martyrs of christianity. Saints who protected this church in the name of Christianity.

 Many patterns are hidden inside this vault which are very rare and are worth mentioning and observing. The meanings behind these patterns have not yet been understood completely. 

 Moving past the vault you reach the South courtyard. On the wall of the South courtyard many muqarnas like patterns are supporting the small windows. 

The most distinct fact about these muqarnas’ is that they are clearly different as of the ones that were designed and applied in the islamic era. 

The main difference between this type of muqarnas and the ones from the Islamic period is that these ones have been placed vertically and horizontally. 

Moving back towards the entrance through another path you reach the main  church. 

The main church consists of the bell tower, the main chapel and the gallery. 

The bell tower exceeds up to 25 meters in height. The stones and material used in the main church are somewhat different from the other churches. 

The most significant aspect about the materials of this monastery is the various tones of stone that were used in the building process. As seen in the picture, unlike traditional buildings, each brick or stone creating the wall differ from one another giving it a unique aesthetic aspect. Although back in the day this technique was probably used because of the fact that the monastery was on top of a mountain and the material supplies rested on the mountains nearby therefore giving different tones of stone.