Holy Saviour Church

Askeran Province, c. Patara

3 km north of the village Patara (Ptretsik), in the forest, there is Surb Amenaprkich mentioned in the literature or, as the locals say, Prkcha Vank. A church, traces of a settlement, a vast cemetery with hundreds of tombstones and khachkars hidden under lush vegetation have been preserved.

The church is a three-aisled rectangular building (11.3 x 9.7 m), the side-altars occupy almost half of the prayer hall. Such a decision is the only one among the monuments of Artsakh. This does not exhaust his originality. We are talking about two triangular niches in the eastern wall, which stretch along its entire height. Such a formation has no analogue in the monuments of Artsakh that we have encountered.Judging by the volumetric-spatial solution, the old processed stones inserted into the walls, we can conclude that the church was erected on the site of an ancient temple crowned with a dome.

The white building of the temple among the solid greenery is a very spectacular sight. The building inscription of the church is so distorted that it is impossible to find out the date of its construction. Its first line is completely erased, and the date, as you know, is usually indicated at the beginning of the inscription. However, the words "darpas", "vachar" (market), the names Smpat ishkhan, Atanas Catholicos mentioned in the inscriptions clearly indicate that we are dealing with a large religious and administrative center.