St. Thaddeus Monastery
The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (Armenian Սուրբ Թադէոս վանք ) is a former Armenian monastery in the province ( Ostan ) West Azerbaijan (Persian آذربايجان غربى, DMG Azarbayjan -e Gharbī; Azerbaijani Qərbi Azərbaycan ) of Iran, 20 km south of Maku in near Chaldiran. It is known for the " Black Church " ( Azerbaijani Qara Kelisa ), an abbey church. The area was once part of the ancient kingdom of Armenia.
In the opinion of the Armenian Christians, the monastery and the church were founded by Jude Thaddeus as the first church in the world in 66. He suffered a martyr's death and was buried in his own church.
An earthquake in 1319 destroyed the monastery almost completely. The buildings were constructed 1319-1329 again. Obtained from this phase are the church, the altar and the main room, and the Baptistery in the eastern part. The falling in these construction and renovation section period gave the church the name, as it got darker stone processed. In 1490 the church was renovated again. Beginning of the 19th century, the Kadschare Abbas Mirza renovate the monastery again. The older blocks of the monastery are black and white while the new ones are of yellowish sandstone. The church is surrounded by high walls. The residential and utility rooms were built along the wall. A farmyard, several kitchens, a mill and an oil press are available.
How many Armenian churches, also has the Qara Kelisa on bas-reliefs, which decorated the exterior walls. Make various saints represents a particularly lively frieze coincides with vines and animals on the newer building. Various houses ruins inside the fortification wall, which connects to the Western Wall, bear witness to the monastic life in the past.
The grave of St. Thaddeus is right next to the altar in a niche of Thaddeus Church. A hermit is said to have found his bones and have transferred to the church. Once a year, on the day of St. Thaddeus, a fair is held, which is attended by Armenians from all parts of Iran. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, it is only allowed Christians to visit this fair.
In 2008 the monastery was named along with other Armenian monasteries such as the Monastery of St. Stephanos in Iran by the UNESCO World Heritage Site.