Location Digor, Turkey Completed 10th century Affiliation Armenian Apostolic Church | Groundbreaking 5th century Architectural style Armenian Architecture | |
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Status completely destroyed by local Turkish municipality Similar Kotavank, Cathedral of Mren, Pemzashen Church, Krtsanis Tsiranavor Surp Astv, Artavazik Church | ||
The Church of Saint Sarkis in Tekor (also known as the Tekor Basilica) was a 5th-century Armenian church built in historical Armenia. It was located facing the town of Digor in the Kars Province of Turkey, about 16 kilometers west of the Armenian border. Tekor was a three aisled basilica with a dome. It was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1912 and 1936, and later damaged by vandalism. Now only the lower parts of the rubble and concrete core of the walls remain, the facing stone apparently removed to build the town hall (now itself demolished) in the 1960s. The inscription dating the building to the 480s was the oldest known writing in the Armenian language.
Architectural significance
The Basilica of Saint Sarkis is significant in Armenian architectural history because its stone dome was among the earliest to be constructed in Armenia. Until its destruction, Tekor was the oldest extant domed church in Armenia.