Tekor Church

The village of Tekor (Digor) had a population of 360 in 1886, with Armenians making up 70% and Kurds 25%. Over 500 Armenians lived in the village by 1913. At the time it was part of the Kagizman okrug of the Kars Oblast of the Russian Empire. The Armenian presence came to a permanent end during the Turkish–Armenian War of 1920. == Architectural significance ==

by Arshak Fetvadjian from the early 20th century The Basilica of Saint Sarkis is significant in Armenian architectural history because its stone dome was among the earliest to be constructed in Armenia. Until its destruction, Tekor was the oldest extant domed church in Armenia. == Hellenistic and Syrian influences ==

Armenian church architecture of this era has Hellenistic and Syrian influences. Some churches like Tekor and Arucha show pediments of Syrian type and some churches like the palace church at Ani show distinct Syrian features in their layout and construction while Odzun retain Hellenistic features. The plan of the church at Bagaran is an example of Syrian influence. In Syria the plan occurs in the second century AD in the building known as the Praetorium of Mismiyah, later converted to a Byzantine church. The whole style of the Praetorium is akin to the characteristic of Syrian building, which influenced early Armenian church architecture. The Yererouk Church, Avan Cathedral, Zvartnots Cathedral, and the Mastara Church contain Greek inscriptions as well, the Zvartnots Cathedral and the Aruch Cathedral also contain Arabic inscriptions of the second-half of the 8th century. Armenian historians dispute the Syrian influences of Armenian church architecture. == Armenian inscription in Tekor (478–490) ==

"Sahak Kamsarakan built this martyrium of Saint Sargis for his intercession and of his whole family and wife and children and loved ones and [–] And this site was founded by means of Yohan of the office of katʿołikos of Armenia and Yohan bishop of Arsharunik and Tayron elder of the community of Tekor and Manan hazarapet of Uran Horom [–]" ==Destruction and current state==

The church survived largely intact until the early 20th century. It wad abandoned in 1906. He wrote that the collapsed church "presents a pitiful picture" and that the "image is so disturbing that at first one needs some time to recover from the shock." The facing stones of what remained of the church were removed by the 1960s. Nicole and Jean-Michel Thierry, who visited in 1964, reported that the church was "almost entirely leveled" and it had lost all its facing stones. In 1964 the Thierrys did not notice "traces of reuse in modern houses" during their self-described "superficial" field work, A Turkish researcher wrote in 2020 that villagers store poultry and other belongings in the church's remnants. An Armenian art historian, who visited in 2022 noted that the site is filled with litter. A Turkish survey in 2014 noted that the church has "reached our time in a dilapidated state, with some of its eastern and northern walls standing without facing stones". The survey drew its plan and section sketches, took measurements and photographs. == Gallery ==

File:Tekor Alishan 1881.jpg|Picture of Tekor Basilica in 1881 File:Texier Tekor 1842 front view.jpg|front view File:Texier Tekor 1842 side view.jpg|side view File:Tekor church before 1912.jpg|Photo by Aram Vruyr before the 1912 earthquake File:Tekor before 1912.jpg|from the northwest before the 1912 earthquake File:Tekor after 1912 earthquake.jpg|from the southwest after the 1912 earthquake File:Tekor.jpg|Tekor Basilica before earthquake in 1912 == See also ==