On the eve of April 18, the International Day for Monuments and Sites, Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, announced the names of those fourteen European sites that are shortlisted for “The 7 Most Endangered” programme. 

The St. Paul and Peter Church in Armenia’s Aragatsotn Region likewise is included in this list from among twenty-one participating countries and forty submitted applications. The site was nominated for “The 7 Most Endangered” programme by the Ministry of Culture of Armenia.

The names of the final seven sites will be announced on June 16 in Athens, Greece, Europa Nostra official website informs. 

Once the final seven are selected, a Europa Nostra team of experts will visit all seven sites where, together with local specialists, studies will be conducted and options will be developed to save these sites.  

The preliminary results of this “rescue mission” will be announced on December 5.   

To note, the church of St. Paul and Peter is a single-nave structure of the 5th century which was changed into a domed hall in the first quarter of the 6th century. It is the oldest example of this type in Armenia and one of the first in religious architecture in general. The church was repaired and extended in the 1890s, but lost its roof and southern wall in the course of the 20th century. What now stands is a partial ruin, but an important one, originally forming one part of a group of three monuments, including the church of Tookh Manuk (4-5th centuries) and the mortuary chapel of St. Vardan.

The two other monuments in the group were moved to higher ground with the flooding of the village during the construction of the Aparan reservoir in the 1960s. The church of St. Paul and Peter was carefully researched but left in situ. The waters of the reservoir rise and fall with the season, partially inundating the church. This is leading to increased instability in the remaining walls, and encourages the growth of vegetation, threatening to dislodge further stones.

To learn more about all the sites that are shortlisted for “The 7 Most Endangered” programme, please visit the Europa Nostra official website.