Qara Kelisa

Qara Kelisa, “the black church”, is the Armenian monastery of Saint Thaddeus, set alone in the hills near Chaldoran in north-western Iran. Armenian tradition holds that the apostle Thaddeus was martyred in the region in the first century while spreading Christianity, and the monastery is believed to stand on or near his burial place. It is one of the Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran inscribed by UNESCO in 2008.

The church has two distinct parts. The older eastern section is built of dark stone, which gave the church its Turkic-Persian name. The larger western part, in pale sandstone, was rebuilt in the early nineteenth century and is carved with crosses, saints, angels and bands of vine and animal ornament.

Most of the year the monastery is quiet, looked after as a historic monument. Once a year, in summer, it becomes the scene of a large pilgrimage, when Armenians from across Iran and beyond gather for several days to camp in the surrounding fields, attend liturgy and celebrate the feast of Saint Thaddeus. Outside those days visitors can walk the walls and study the carvings in near silence, with the empty hills stretching on every side.