St. Hovhannes Armenian Church

Overview

The Armenian Apostolic Church "Surp Hovhannes Avedaranich" (St. John the Evangelist) is one of the thirteen Armenian churches in Bulgaria listed on the website of the Armenian Diocese (including the unfinished "Holy Mother of God" in Sofia) and one of the cultural landmarks of Dobrich region. An Armenian church has existed on the site of the present church since 1830. After it was burnt down twice during the Russo-Turkish wars of 1854-1856 and 1877-1878, in 1894 a modern church was built, the project of which was the work of Italian architects. It is single-nave, with stone foundations and walls, and two rectangular apses.

Original images of Armenian saints painted in the 19th century can be seen in the temple. The acoustics of both balconies are impressive. The story of the name of the church built in 1830 is interesting. Legend has it that the night before the consecration of the foundations of the church, in the dream of two of the church trustees appeared the image of St. John the Theologian - the beloved disciple of Christ, the only Apostle who survived old age and died not of martyrdom but of natural death; the ideologue of divine love and the author of the last book of the New Testament, Revelation of John (Apocalypse).

Believing that the same dreams are a miracle, the trustees chose St. John, the Armenian Surp Hovhannes Avedaranich, as the patron saint of the church. Of interest is the determination of the day of the temple holiday, which is the Mother of God - Surp Asvadzadzin, and not the day of St. Hovhannes. This is because during the First World War, bloody battles were fought around Dobrich and in the whole of Dobrudja. There was an epidemic of typhus and malaria during the same period. More than 15,000 soldiers died, including 31 of Armenian origin. Then the church trustees decided to slaughter the sacrificial rams on this day and to pray to the Mother of God for the souls of the dead and for the health of the living. This tradition is still observed by the Armenian community and the Church Board.