Azerbaijan's Udins Held a Service at Dadivank: The Udins are Christians

Azerbaijan's Udins have held a service at Dadivank. This information comes from a video circulating on the internet.

It is noteworthy that the Udins, or Udin people, are one of the ancient peoples of the historical Caucasian Albania (the original Albania, an ancient historical-geographical region extending from the Kura River to the Caucasus mountain range). They are unique in that they have not only preserved their existence over the centuries and reached the present day, but they have also remained followers of the Christian faith. However, part of the Udin community has not escaped Islamization and Turkification. The Udin language belongs to the language group of the Caucasian languages.

The Udins are a very small people, totaling up to 10,000 individuals. Some live in their historical homeland, in the villages of Nizh and Oghuz in Azerbaijan's Gabala region (formerly Vardashen until 1991). The rest reside in Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and a small community (up to 200 people) also exists in Armenia, primarily in the Tavush region.

It should be noted that on November 25, the northwestern region of Artsakh, including Karvachar and surrounding settlements, came under Azerbaijan's control. According to the statement made by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 9 regarding the ceasefire in Artsakh, the Kelbajar region—and therefore the road connecting Artsakh to Armenia from the north—was supposed to be handed over to Azerbaijan on November 15. However, the deadline was extended by 10 days to November 25.

Hours before the transfer to Azerbaijan, Dadivank, the most famous Armenian church in Karvachar, was crowded. Many Armenians had gone there, as they said, to bid farewell to Dadivank. Along the road leading to the monastery, there are three Russian military checkpoints, the last of which is located within the complex itself.