St. George Church

St. George Church (in Armenian: Սուրբ Գեւորգ Եկեղեցի) is a historic building dating to the late Safavid period, that is, the 13th century CE. It is located in Salmas County, in the village of Haftvan, and is registered as a National Monument of Iran; the registration was made on 19 Esfand 1380 under number 4842. Over the centuries the church has been damaged and rebuilt several times. One of its major reconstructions took place in 1652 CE, and it was restored again after the devastating earthquake of 1309 SH (1930 CE) in the Salmas region. These restorations have preserved this culturally and religiously valuable monument.

The church is an outstanding example of Safavid-era architecture. Besides its historical and religious importance, it plays an important role in the culture and identity of the Armenian people of the Salmas region, and it is still used as an active place of worship. Beside the church you can see the remains of the entrance portal of the Haftvan theatre, which was built during the Russian occupation in World War I, after 1914 CE, and was used as a theatre venue. In recent years, Chinese porcelain plates and metal dishes bearing the Tsar's emblem have been found near this site. Today, nothing remains of the building except one portal in the shape of a santur, a few walls and ruined pillars.

The building's plan consists of two adjoining rectangles. The outer dimensions of the larger rectangle are 15 × 13.3 metres, and it contains the main hall of the church. The smaller rectangle, made up of the altar and the spaces around it, measures 9.5 × 9.7 metres. The building has a main east–west axis, its parts and elements are arranged along this axis, and the plan is symmetrical about the altar. This approach is followed in many churches around the world. The entrance is on the western side and consists of two nested niches measuring 4.8 by 4.3 metres. Inside the niches is the entrance door, 1 metre wide and 1.7 metres high, through which you enter the main hall of the church.