Population
- Total (as of 2010)
141,400 Established 1989 Country Nagorno-Karabakh Republic | Rite Armenian Rite Patriarch Karekin II Secular priests 10 | |
 | ||
Churches 17 (functioning)
~5,000 (all) Denomination Armenian Apostolic Church Cathedrals Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, Gandzasar monastery | ||
Holy mass by archbishop parqeve martirosyan the head of the diocese of artsakh
Diocese of Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախի թեմ Artsakhi t'em) is one of the largest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It is named after the historic province of Artsakh; the 10th province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The diocesan headquarters are located on Ghazanchetots street 72, in the town of Shushi. The seat of the bishop is the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral.
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Holy mass by archbishop parqeve martirosyan the head of the diocese of artsakh
History
The diocese was established in 1989. Since its creation, archbishop Pargev Martirosyan (Պարգև արքեպիսկոպոս Մարտիրոսյան) has served as its primate.
All churches in Karabakh were closed in the 1930s by the Soviet government. The totalitarian regime was relatively relaxed by Mikhail Gorbachev. A mass movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia started in February 1988. With Armenian national identity in rise in the Soviet Union, the Diocese of Artsakh was established in 1989. The 13th century Gandzasar monastery was the first one to be reopened. It remains the historic center of the Diocese of Artsakh, while the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral is the administrative center of the diocese.