In Azerbaijan, the Armenian Church Was First 'Crowned' Albanian, Then Turned into 'Russian'

In northern Azerbaijan, in the city of Zaqatala, the local authorities initially presented the Armenian Saint George Church as 'Albanian', but they have since 'regretted' this and decided to reframe it as Russian.

Azerbaijani blogger Javid has published photographs on Twitter showing the Saint George Church with a new sign stating: '19th Century Russian Church'. Previously, there was an entirely different sign reading '4th-5th Century Albanian Church'.

Javid wrote: 'The '4th-5th Century Albanian Church' in Zaqatala, already registered under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the number '5210', has now become the '19th Century Russian Church'. This shows how crucial state involvement is in the discourse of cultural heritage.'

He referenced an article from the 'Caucasus' newspaper dated July 1, 1851, which is available on the website of the National Library of Georgia's Parliament. The article notes: 'The ceremony of the foundation of the Armenian Church, in honor of St. Gregory, took place on June 3 in Zaqatala. At 10 in the morning, the regional governor Orbelian, all military officials, and the residents of Zaqatala gathered at the old Armenian church at the invitation of the Armenian community.'

Interestingly, the absurdity of the church's 'Albanian' origin and the founding date was already pointed out in 2019 by Steinar Gil, the then former ambassador of Norway to Azerbaijan. 'On the wall of the church, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has placed a plaque that reads: “Albanian temple, 4-5 centuries.” Even a non-specialist can understand that this claim is absurd,' wrote Gil.