Yot Verk

Yot Verk church has been constructed in 1874-1886. Initially the church was called Saint Astvatsatsin, but it is much more known and famous with the name Yot Verk. Yot Verk church is located in Gyumri, in the Shirak province of Armenia. According to the history, the church was a chapel erected by Kamsarakan princes, where was kept the icon of “The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. That is why the church was named “Seven Wounds”, which means Yot Verk in Armenian.

Yot Verk has a very beautiful architectural design: it is a rectangular outside and cross-domed inside the building. To the both sides of the altar there are side-chapels. During the accursed earthquake in 1988 the church affected and several domes of the church were damaged.

Even its beauty and uniqueness, the interior of Yot Verk is not typical for the Armenian churches. The altar of Yot Verk has an iconostasis. But usually the altar of Armenian churches is ascetic. So Yot Verk church is not only Armenian church, it is a great example of the multicultural architecture.

The interior of Yot Verk church is decorated with amazing paintings of Saints and Jesus Christ. Also there is an image of Virgin Mary with the Child in the middle of the altar, which is a unique icon in its type.