St. Gregory the Illuminator's Church, Baku

For other uses, see St. Gregory the Illuminator's Church (disambiguation).

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral Bakı Erməni Kilsəsi Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ Եկեղեցի
The former cathedral in July 2008
Shown within Azerbaijan
Basic information
Location	Corner of Mirza Ibrahimov and Nizami Streets Downtown Baku Azerbaijan
Geographic coordinates	40°22′18″N 49°50′11″E / 40.371623°N 49.836466°E / 40.371623; 49.836466Coordinates: 40°22′18″N 49°50′11″E / 40.371623°N 49.836466°E / 40.371623; 49.836466
Affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral (1887–1990)
Status	Now a government building since 2002; formerly serving as an Armenian Apostolic Church between 1887–1990, then abandoned between 1990–2002, and is no longer open to the public since 1990.
Heritage designation	None

St. Gregory the Illuminator's Church (Azerbaijani: Bakı Erməni Kilsəsi, Armenian: Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչի Եկեղեցի – Surb Grigor Lusavorichi Yekeghetsi) is a former Armenian Apostolic church in downtown Baku, Azerbaijan. It was built in 1887^[1] and survived through the radical atheist age of Sovietization, and the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unlike many places of worship that were subject to demolition throughout the Soviet Union in the 1920s and the 1930s, St. Gregory the Illuminator's Church was the only Armenian church that was not demolished. In 1990, during the exodus and deportation of the entire Armenian population from Azerbaijan (as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict), the church was closed down and damaged, and is no longer open to the public.^[2]

From 1990 until 2002, its future status remained undetermined. In 2002, the church building underwent renovation and the final decision was made, that its cease of existence as a church is permanent, and the building was taken over by the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan to be used as one of its libraries. According to the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan which now owns the building, the former Armenian Church is not intended to be a place of worship again and the cross was removed from the dome of the church. The repair works were carried out for this purpose. And the library of the former church consisting of 5,000 books and manuscripts which has been preserved, was transformed into the the archive department of the Department of Administration Affairs of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan.^[3][4]

Gallery

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References

1. ^ Baku and Germans by Tamara Humbatova. Ch. 8. 2004
2. ^ Implementation of the Helsinki Accords: "Human Rights and Democratization in the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union" (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, January 1993), p. 116
3. ^ Yeni Müsavat: "Prezident Kitabxanasının balansında olan məbəddə hələ də təmir gedir; müvafiq qurumlar isə “bu kilsə bərpa olunmayacaq” deyir...". by Günay Musayeva. 5 August 2011 (Azerbaijani)
4. ^ Армянская церковь в Баку, возможно, станет библиотекой (Russian)