For millennia, Crimea has been a home for representatives of many nations. According to historical documents, already in the 7th century AD, Armenians began to settle on its territory. Particularly active resettlement of representatives of this people on the peninsula began to occur under the Genoese, who encouraged people involved in trade and artisans.
For various reasons, their large and compactly living community was deported several times to other regions. At the moment, a little more than 11,000 people live on the peninsula - as many as the Armenians were forcibly sent from Crimea to Kazakhstan, the Perm Region in 1944.
Over 14 centuries, the community has built in Kaffa (Feodosiya), Orabazar (Armyansk), Yalta and other cities many remarkable architectural structures. In addition, she gave the world the great marine painter Ivan (Hovhannes) Aivazovsky. Among the most significant Armenian monuments of Crimea is also the church of St. Hripsime (Yalta).
Background
In 1905, the rich oil industrialist Pogos Ter-Ghukasyan arrived in Yalta from Baku, who changed his name to the Russian style and was better known as Pavel Osipovich Gukasov.
He turned to the authorities of Yalta, asking for permission to build an Armenian apostolic church on Darsan Hill. It was impossible to refuse a person with such a huge fortune, and soon the architect G. Ter-Mikaelov arrived in the city at his invitation. It was decided to take as an example the appearance of an ancient Christian church in the Armenian city of Vagharshapat (a UNESCO site, founded in 618).
Holy hripsime
The purpose of building the church was to perpetuate the memory of the daughter of Ter-Ghukasyan, who died at a young age from consumption. Apparently, therefore, the father decided to devote the church to the virgin Venerable Martyr Hripsime (in the Russian Orthodox tradition of Hripsyma). The saint lived under the emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century and belonged to the royal family. She was a Christian and was about to devote herself to the Lord. The pagan emperor embraced her, but was refused. Virgo fled to a cave near Mount Ararat, where Saint Gayane (in Orthodoxy of Gaiania) and 40 virgins lived. In Armenia, Hripsime found no peace, since King Trdat wanted to see her as his second wife. Having been refused, he ordered the maiden and her friends to be tortured and killed, for which the Lord turned him into a boar. St. Gregory cured the king, after which in 301 he was baptized with all the people, and Armenia became the first Christian state in the world.
Construction
The Armenian Church of St. Hripsime (Yalta) was built for a long time and was consecrated only in 1917. However, the result exceeded all expectations, as the result of the work of Gabriel Ter-Mikaelov turned out to be a real masterpiece. He spent 4 years creating the project. At the same time, the architect did not create an exact copy, but used the features of the ancient St. Hripsime church as the basis for the appearance of a completely new structure.
Interior
The church also received magnificent interior decoration. To create a painting on the walls of the temple, an artist Vardges Surenyants was invited - the author of the most famous Armenian fresco of Our Lady, copies of which are today in many apostolic churches around the world. Since 1910, he was a member of the organization of Russian Wanderers and designed several performances of the Mariinsky Theater.
The frescoes, which, thanks to his efforts, adorned the church of St. Hripsime (Yalta), were made according to the models of saints that he studied in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin and ancient miniatures.
After the death of Surenyants buried in the courtyard of the temple, and in the Soviet period, his grave was decorated with a marble slab.
Description of the facility
The Armenian Church of St. Hripsime has the shape of an equilateral cross. In the center rises a pointed dome, characteristic of the Christian churches of Transcaucasia and the Middle East. For the construction of the church and its decoration, Faros tuff of volcanic origin was used. It is this stone, due to its easy workability, that allowed creating volumetric finishing of the building.
The temple has 2 entrances, but only one of them - the western one - is real and is decorated with carved wooden doors. In addition, on this side of the building there is a memorial niche and the apse of the tomb with bas-reliefs of two ravens. The appearance of the present entrance to the church is also decorated with a colonnade of 6 columns.
The second entrance is decorative (false) and is located south of the temple. It is located on a pedestal to which exactly 100 stone steps lead. The sides of the entrance are decorated with slender, high yews. The second floor of the building is crowned with an arched gallery with a balcony in the center, and the third is crowned with a cross, resting on 2 large arched windows.
Legend
Those who knew Pogos Ter-Ghukasyan called the church of St. Hripsime (Yalta) his tear (in Armenian - Artasuk). The early death of her beloved daughter was not the only tragedy in the life of the oil magnate. Even before the construction was completed, under mysterious circumstances, the eldest son of Ter-Ghukasyan died, and almost immediately after that, the youngest committed suicide, who lost a large amount in cards and did not dare to turn to his father for help. In 1917, the oilman was forced to flee to Europe, and his further fate remained unknown.
Church of St. Hripsime (Yalta): how to get there?
The address of this interesting sight of Crimea: Yalta, st. Zagorodnaya 3. It can be reached on foot or by public transport. In particular, buses 16 and 21 go to the neighboring Leningradskaya street.
You can drive to the temple by car, turning off Karl Marx Street to Sadovaya, and then to Zagorodnaya.
Church of St. Hripsime (Yalta): reviews
The temple makes an indelible impression on those who see it for the first time. It is especially beautiful in the summer when it is surrounded by lush vegetation. Strict ancient Christian architecture, unusual for the eye of an Orthodox person, leaves no one indifferent. Judging by the reviews of tourists, those who visited there believe that the church of St. Hripsime (Yalta), of course, is one of the main decorations of the city and it is definitely worth a visit. In addition, many travelers recommend the staircase leading to the temple as a great place for a romantic photo shoot, including a wedding.
Now you know what history has and where the church of St. Hripsime is located. Crimea is a place where there is no shortage of attractions. Moreover, it is interesting precisely because of its multiculturalism and the fact that there you can see historical and cultural monuments of dozens of peoples: Scythians, Greeks, Romans, Italians, Armenians, Crimean Tatars, Russians, Turks, Ukrainians, Jews, Karaites, etc.