The Church of the Holy Redeemer (also called Surp Amenap’rkitch) is one of the few structures still standing at Ani, the capital of medieval Bagratid Armenia, in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Located on the Silk Roads, it is now in modern-day eastern Turkey on the border with Armenia. The architectural models of the Church of Holy Redeemer have been provided by the World Monuments Fund (wmf.org) and the following thesis:
Maryam Jodeirierajaie, 2014, Virtual Presentation of Cultural Heritage Case Study: Ani [Master Thesis], Middle East Technical University, Turkey

The Church of the Holy Redeemer was built to be a reliquary for a piece of the True Cross. It is often cited as a noteworthy example of ecclesiastical architecture in Armenia. Through its history, the Church suffered from earthquakes and storms. Ani was gradually abandoned, and so was the church, especially after 1955, when the entire eastern half collapsed during a storm. The church enjoys a unique design with geometric and decorative exterior panels with a huge central dome. Its surviving sections contain Armenian script that reveals details of the history of the church and the Ani settlement.

The need to conserve the Church of the Holy Redeemer gained international attention in 1996 when World Monuments Fund placed the archaeological zone of Ani on the list of World Monuments Watch. In 2016, after two decades of continuous efforts, the Archaeological Site of Ani was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1518). To visit the conservation project page at WMF’s website here (https://www.wmf.org/project/church-holy-redeemer) for more information.

Disclaimer: The images and architectural modelling shown here are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the property. Silk Cities is not liable for subsequent updates, errors, or omissions of data or any update on the conservation on the property afterwards.