The Holy Apostles Church is a 10th century Armenian

Armenian architecture

Armenian architecture is an architectural style developed over the last 4,500 years of human habitation in the Armenian Highland and used principally by the Armenian people.- Common characteristics of Armenian architecture:...

 church built in what was then Bagratid Armenia

Bagratuni Dynasty

The Bagratuni, Bagratid or alternatively Pakradouni royal dynasty of Armenia was a royal family whose branches formerly ruled many regional polities, including the Armenian lands of Sper|presently Ispir in Tayk Province of the Armenian Kingdom, Bagrevand in Ayrarat Province of the Armenian...

, and that is now Kars

Kars

Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. It was completed in the mid-940s under the rule of the Bagratid Armenian King Abas.

In 1579 the Ottoman Turks converted the church into a mosque. After Russian control of Kars, it was converted to a Russian Orthodox church. In 1918, after the fall of Kars to Turks, the cathedral was again turned into a mosque. In 1919, following the retreat of Turks and during the first republic of Armenia

Democratic Republic of Armenia

The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...

, the cathedral functioned as an Armenian church. In 1920, it was again converted to mosque after Turkish control of the area.

External links

• THE CATHEDRAL OF KARS at VirtualAni.org
• 3D model of the Holy Apostles Cathedral