St. Sarkis Church (Persian: کلیسای مار سرکیس; Imperial Aramaic: ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܡܪܝ ܣܲܪܓܝܼܣ) is an ancient Assyrian church located in Sir close to Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran.[1] Also known as the Maar-Sargiz Historical Church, Marserkis Church, Marsarkis Church, and Sir Church.[1]
| St. Sarkis Church | |
|---|---|
کلیسای مار سرکیس | |
 St. Sarkis Church in Sir | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Assyrian Church of the East |
| Location | |
| Location | Sir, Urmia, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran |
  Shown within Iran | |
| Geographic coordinates | 37°28′11″N 45°02′01″E / 37.46972°N 45.03361°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | 5th century |
Current building of the church seems to have been built between the 3rd and 5th centuries.[2] It is believed that St. Sarkis Church was built by the orders of Shirin (the wife of the Sassanian emperor Khosrow Parviz), who was a Christian.[3]
It is located on the slope of Mount Sir, 3 km southwest of the city of Urmia and is a pilgrim place of local Assyrian Christians.[4] Its architecture relates to Sassanid era. Its ceiling is in barrel vault and its thick walls are made out of irregular stones and sand-lime mortar. Altar lies on the east side and the church entrance in the south wall.[5] St. Sarkis Church consists of two parallel naves interconnected by a narrow passage. The southern nave is called Mar Sarkis (Saint Sergius) and the northern one Mar Bakus (Saint Bacchus). Both sides of the church style of arches are Sassanian and Tavizeh vault with a horseshoe-shaped cradle made.[6]
The gravesite nearby is the burial place of Joseph Gallup Cochran and his son Joseph Plumb Cochran.[7][8]
Gallery
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Interior of the church
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Mar Sarkiz Church – Urmia - Tourism and Touring Organization (NGO)". itto.org. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ "Mar Sarkiz Church and Monastery – Seir Village". andrejkoymasky.com. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ "Mar Sarkis Church – Urmia - Vista News". vista.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "Persia at the beginning of Eastern Christianity". atour.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
- ^ "گردشگری ارومیه". Urmia Tourism (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "مقایسه ای میان کلیساهای ارمنیان و آشوریان در استان آذربایجان غربی". paymanonline.com (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ Afshar, Ahmadreza (December 2017). "Life of Dr. Joseph Plum Cochran, Founder of Iran's First Contemporary Medical College". Archives of Iranian Medicine 20(12). pp. 760–766. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ Yourdshahian, Esmail; Ghavam, Farrokh; Ansari, Mohhamad-Hassan (2017). "The Westminster Medical College and Hospital in Urmia, Iran, 1879-1915" (PDF). researchgate.net. Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
