Chapel of Dzordzor

There is a historic church near the town of Maku and next to a village called Barun. Chapel of Dzordzor is one of the churches in Iran that registered on the World Heritage List.

The Chapel of Dzordzor was made by the Archbishop of the Saint Thaddeus Church. The name of this bishop was Zechariah. This church became one of the centers for religious, cultural and literary education. This church is located between two valleys and in West Azerbaijan. This church is the only building in Iran that is not in its place and displaced.

• The reason for building this church

Pope, the Catholic leader, decided to accept Armenian Catholic religion and accepts the leadership of the pope on the Armenian Church. Of course, this subject had a bet. The pope was betting that Europeans to help the Armenians to dominate the Armenian Church and convince everyone to follow the Catholic Church. At that time, the headquarters of the Armenian Church located in the city of Sis, the capital of Cilicia (southern Turkey). The Second Hetum (the King of Cilicia), a group of his courtiers and the leader of the Armenian Church, accepted it in the hope of receiving help from Europeans. Their decision sparked a wave of opposition from the Armenian religious centers, especially inside Armenia. Due to these tensions, Zechariah began the construction of the Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku in 1298 in the name of Mary and buildings as a scientific and religious center. The building of Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku ended in 1314 and during the duration of its activity, early 12 clerics with world renown educated in Catholic churches. One of these bishops is Havanese who, after his death, the church did not prosper like before. From that time, the Dzordzor became a religious center and continued its activity until the early 17th century and the peak of the Iran-Ottoman wars. But after that time, it has been abandoned and is currently considered the only attraction for tourism in the city of Maku.

• The Chapel of Dzordzor architecture

The architecture of the Dzordzor church is in the form of a cross. Like all other Armenian churches, this church built in various size rocks. This building has regular stones decorated in its interior and exterior facing. To enter this church, you can only enter the western side of it. On this door, there are Armenian writings and a cross pattern. Inside the building, there are four vaults with oval arches. There are also four small light wells on the four sides. Although the church has a simple appearance, it has attractive decorations. One of them is the cross on the rocks and pillars around the windows and the light wells.

• What is the best time to go?

The city of Maku has a cold and dry climate. The weather of this city is hot and dry in the summer. The weather is cold and snowy in winter. The best time to travel to Maku is from late March to mid-April.

• Getting there?

To reach the Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku, you must move towards the Barun dam. From the city of Maku to the church is approximately 40 km by car, which you will be about an hour away.