Kurmukhi Church of Saint George (Region of Hereti)
Kurmukhi Church of Saint George (Georg. ქურმუხის წმინდა გიორგის სახელობის ეკლესია) was built on a rocky ridge of a mountain, on the site of the old church named after St. George, whose name has been retained. Christianity on the territory of the historical Georgian district of Kakhi (Georg. კახი) (modern Gakh, Azerbaijan), formerly part of the historical region of Georgia – Hereti (Georg. ჰერეთი), came during the time of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, the Enlightener of Georgia. The Kurmukhi church is mentioned in historical chronicles of the VIII century. According to historical sources, the temple was first named in honor of the Mother of God, and later in honor of St. George. The remains of the mentioned old temple were well preserved until the middle of the XX century. According to scientists and a comparative analysis of the monuments, the current version of the Kurmukhi church can be dated to the end of the XIII and the first half of the XIV century.
In the old Georgian chronicles, the temple is known as a monastery. On the forest-covered terraces around the Kurmukhi church, the remains of the ruins of buildings typical of monastic life have been preserved. It is known from historical sources that the Kurmukhi church was destroyed many times, but also restored many times by the Georgian population. Kurmukhi Church of St. George is of particular importance for the local Georgian population. Unfortunately, today the temple is inactive. In addition to the feast day of St. George, local Georgians are not allowed to worship in the church. The Azerbaijani authorities deny that the Kurmukhi church belongs to the Georgian Orthodox tradition, and consider it a monument of Albanian-Caucasian architecture. According to the division of the Orthodox Church of Georgia, the Church of Kurmukhi is under the jurisdiction of the Nekresi and Hereti diocese.
Comments