Photos: Shushi's Green Hour Church Destroyed by Azerbaijanis

Shushi's St. John the Baptist or the Green Hour Armenian church has been completely destroyed by Azerbaijanis. Currently, under the pretext of renovation, it is being transformed into an Orthodox church. This was announced by the State Service for the Preservation of Historical Environment of the Republic of Artsakh.

"The St. John the Baptist or the Green Hour Church in Upper Quarter of Shushi is of particular interest among the monuments of Shushi. It is called Green Hour (Green Church) because in the past, the dome of the church was colored green. There is an inscription about the date of construction at the top of the entrance to the church's belfry: 'Babayan Stepanos John: In memory of my late brother Mkrtich, 1847.'

Recently, a social media user named Elnur Allahverdiyev has returned to the ungracious task of Russifying the Green Hour Church. It should be noted that the trend of Russianization of churches in Azerbaijan is not a new phenomenon. Previously, Fuad Akhundov unjustly referred to it as 'Russian Orthodox.' In the mid-1960s, a decision was made in Baku to demolish the Armenian part of the city to expand 'living space' for Azerbaijani settlers and, of course, to erase traces of Armenians from Shushi. During this time, three Armenian churches and one preserved Russian church were demolished, and several Armenian cemeteries with beautiful khachkars and monuments were destroyed.

The 'Green Hour' church, which Fuad Akhundov unjustly considers to be 'Russian Orthodox,' has been turned into an exhibition gallery. But what is the history of St. John the Baptist Church? There is evidence that in 1840, by a special order of the authorities, all Armenians living in the Muslim environment of the Inner Quarter were moved to the Upper Quarter – 56 families (HAA Arm. F. 56. c. 1.. g 2199. p. 1-2), who had a stone and wooden-roofed St. Mother of God Church in the Inner Quarter, which speaks to the significant number of Armenians in the neighborhood.

The document states that the Armenians were subjected to pressures by Muslims, which led to their resettlement (HAA Arm. F. 56. c. 1.. g 2199. p. 1-2). It also becomes clear from the same document that after moving to the Upper Quarter, a wooden chapel was built in the new location, which remained until 1848, when the St. John the Baptist stone church was built in its place. Interestingly, for a long time, this church was called the Upper Quarter's Church of the Mother of God. In the lower part of the city, approximately at the location of the current covered market, there was a Byzantine-style Orthodox church built with classical Russian architectural motifs for Russian officials and the garrison, which unfortunately has not survived. We will discuss that separately.

As for Elnur's rant regarding the dome suitable for the Orthodox Church, this was merely a consequence of the architectural style of the time, which, however, was not preserved when the church, destroyed during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, was later restored. Perhaps tomorrow Elnur will present another attempt to Russify Dadivank; who knows?"