St. Sarkis Church: A Seventh-Century Armenian Apostolic Church in Bjni
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Armenia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Armenian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page5 sections
History
St. Sarkis Church is a seventh-century Armenian Apostolic church on a hilltop in eastern Bjni, Armenia. It belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenia’s national church, and the Kotayk Diocese, an ecclesiastical administrative district. The church was renovated in 1970.
Remains
Church structure
Plan and dome
Built from dressed tuff, a volcanic stone, the church has a compact, domed cross-shaped plan. It is described as the smallest of its type among comparable monuments in Armenia. The short arms of the cross are spanned by arches supporting the dome. Squinches, corner structures that carry a dome across a square space, rest directly on these arches. The eastern arm is semicircular on the inside. An eight-sided drum, the raised structure beneath a dome, supports the conical dome.
Exterior and setting
A single entrance opens into the western arm, and a window is set on the west side. Strongly projecting cornices, horizontal bands extending from the walls, run along the facades; some contain recessed niches with horseshoe-shaped arches. A cemetery is associated with the church.
