Description of the attraction
The Armenian Church of Surb-Nikoghayos is located on International Street, 44. It is located on the territory that belongs to the Home for the Elderly and Disabled, not far from the monastery of the dervishes. An Armenian quarter was once located in this place. It was considered a suburb of Gezlev, since its location was outside the city wall. The Armenian quarter and their church were located behind the fortress, then the Tatars burned it down, a wooden one was built on the burnt place, and a stone church was laid in its place in 1817.
This church has survived to this day. It has three entrances - north, south and west. Above all the entrances there were small porticos with cross vaults. The western one served as a belfry, since it differed from others in its height. The construction of this building took too long due to lack of money. The analogue of this church is the Feodosia temple. In this temple, the well-known artist Aivazovsky was baptized and funeral. Here he got married.
During the Crimean War, Evpatoria was under the strict control of the enemy - the Anglo-French-Turkish troops. The French garrison was stationed in the church. Some of the soldiers scribbled their names with bayonets on the front of the temple. When the war ended, the Armenians plastered the walls of their church and all traces of the enemy's presence were destroyed.
After a century and a half, the plaster began to crumble little by little. A heavy downpour passed and after it, unexpectedly for everyone, French inscriptions appeared again. The date -1855 stood out clearly and under it several names such as: Richard, Charles and Philippe and many others. These inscriptions have survived to this day.
In guidebooks, the Armenian temple is often called Orthodox. This is wrong, since the Armenian Church existed already in the fourth century, before the schism. The church is called Armenian-Gregorian in honor of its founder - Saint Gregory the Illuminator. When Soviet power came to Yevpatoria, the church was taken away from the believers and began to be used for their own purposes. The city authorities have planned the restoration of this church.
The Armenian Church in Evpatoria is a wonderful architectural monument of the 19th century.
