The Hovhannes Mkrtich or Kanach Zham (Green Church) Armenian Church of Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was completely destroyed by the Azerbaijanis. Now it is being converted into an Orthodox church under the name of “renovation,” the Artsakh State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment noted in a statement.
Among the monuments of Shoushi, the Church of St. John the Baptist in the Upper District or the Green Church is of particular interest. It is called “Green Church” because the dome of the church used to be green. There is an inscription about the year of construction above the entrance to the bell tower of the church. “Babayan Stepanos Hovhannes. In memory of the deceased brother-Baptist, 1847” Recently, a user of social networks Elnur Allahverdiev returned to the thankless work of Russification of the “Green Church”. It should be noted that the rush of russification of the church is not a new phenomenon for Azerbaijan. At one time, Fuad Akhundov unjustifiably considered the church “Russian Orthodox”. In the mid-1960s, a decision was made in Baku to expand the Armenian part of the city in order to expand the “living space” for Azerbaijani settlers, of course, to remove the Armenian traces of Shushi. During this time, three surviving Armenian churches and one Russian church were destroyed, as well as several Armenian cemeteries with beautiful khachkars [(cross-stones)] and monuments. The Green Church, which Fuad Akhundov considers “Russian Orthodox” without reason, has turned into a gallery.
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