Tkhaba-Yerdy Church
Encyclopedia
Tkhaba-Yerdy is the ruins of the largest medieval
Christian
church in Ingushetia
, Russian Federation
. It is located deep in the Assin Gorge between the aul
s of Khairakh and Puy, Dzheyrakhsky District, near the border with Georgia. The monument is protected by the State as part of the Dzheirakh-Assin historical and architectural museum and nature reserve.
officer Städer known for the accounts of his North Caucasian travels. From the 1880s on, the monument became a subject of study by several Russian, Georgian and Ingush scholars. From 1969 to 1971, a team of Georgian and Ingush specialists led by the architect L. Khimshiashvili and archaeologist G. Ghambashidze carried out a substantial research in the area and reconstructed the church for further conservation. The expedition also offered a novel interpretation of the church’s name. Instead of the hitherto commonly accepted translation as "a church of the Holy Two Thousands", the scholars now suggested that the name might have been derived from the name of St. Thomas
.
According to the evidence the earliest structures of Tkhaba-Yerdy dates back before 8th-9th centuries when it was remodeledhttp://www.pravoslavie.ru/news/27785.htm. The temple seems to have been completely remodeled during the reign of Queen Tamar of Georgia
(r. 1184-1213), and restructured for the last time in the 15th-16th centuries. Originally, the church was a three-nave basilica typical to medieval Georgian architecture , but several elements of the native tradition of mountainous Ingushetia were later introduced by its rebuilders. Although eventual Islamization
of the region made the church defunct, it remained a place where the Ingush clansmen gathered to discuss common matters such as raids against enemies, peace-making, and to hold various celebrations.
The extant edifice is not oriented strictly to the east, but is considerably deviated to the north. The interior is divided by three tall arcades into four unequal sectors. The church retains the fragments of relief sculpture of the façades and ornate details of cornices and arches. A piece of the inscription in Georgian
has also survived.
The Tkhaba-Yerdy Church is one of the four monuments of Ingushetia classified as having a federal importance. The other three are: Albi-Yerdy Church, and the Islamic mausoleums of Borga-Kash and Myatsel.
stationed nearby. In 2001, the president of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev
, accused the military personnel of profaning the monuments of the Dzheirakh district by "setting up a latrine" near the Tkhaba-Yerdy Church. He also said a military helicopter had destroyed an adjacent burial site. In 2007, concerns about the damage to the historical monuments due to the military exercises in the area was again raised by the director of the Dzheirakh-Assin reserve, M. Kodzoyev, who brought the case to the court, but without achieving any results.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church in Ingushetia
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
, Russian Federation
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is located deep in the Assin Gorge between the aul
Aul
An aul is a type of fortified village found throughout the Caucasus mountains, especially in Dagestan.The word itself is of Turkic origine and means simply village in many Turkic languages....
s of Khairakh and Puy, Dzheyrakhsky District, near the border with Georgia. The monument is protected by the State as part of the Dzheirakh-Assin historical and architectural museum and nature reserve.
History and architecture
The ruins of the Tkhaba-Yerdy Church were first described in 1781 by a Russian armyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
officer Städer known for the accounts of his North Caucasian travels. From the 1880s on, the monument became a subject of study by several Russian, Georgian and Ingush scholars. From 1969 to 1971, a team of Georgian and Ingush specialists led by the architect L. Khimshiashvili and archaeologist G. Ghambashidze carried out a substantial research in the area and reconstructed the church for further conservation. The expedition also offered a novel interpretation of the church’s name. Instead of the hitherto commonly accepted translation as "a church of the Holy Two Thousands", the scholars now suggested that the name might have been derived from the name of St. Thomas
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
.
According to the evidence the earliest structures of Tkhaba-Yerdy dates back before 8th-9th centuries when it was remodeledhttp://www.pravoslavie.ru/news/27785.htm. The temple seems to have been completely remodeled during the reign of Queen Tamar of Georgia
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
(r. 1184-1213), and restructured for the last time in the 15th-16th centuries. Originally, the church was a three-nave basilica typical to medieval Georgian architecture , but several elements of the native tradition of mountainous Ingushetia were later introduced by its rebuilders. Although eventual Islamization
Islamization
Islamization or Islamification has been used to describe the process of a society's conversion to the religion of Islam...
of the region made the church defunct, it remained a place where the Ingush clansmen gathered to discuss common matters such as raids against enemies, peace-making, and to hold various celebrations.
The extant edifice is not oriented strictly to the east, but is considerably deviated to the north. The interior is divided by three tall arcades into four unequal sectors. The church retains the fragments of relief sculpture of the façades and ornate details of cornices and arches. A piece of the inscription in Georgian
Georgian alphabet
The Georgian alphabet is the writing system used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages , and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus such as Ossetic and Abkhaz during the 1940s...
has also survived.
The Tkhaba-Yerdy Church is one of the four monuments of Ingushetia classified as having a federal importance. The other three are: Albi-Yerdy Church, and the Islamic mausoleums of Borga-Kash and Myatsel.
Army controversy
The area around the church became a training ground of a unit of the Russian 58th armyRussian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
stationed nearby. In 2001, the president of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev
Ruslan Aushev
Ruslan Sultanovich Aushev was the president of Ingushetia from March 1993 to December 2001. He was reportedly the youngest officer in the Soviet army to reach the rank of Lieutenant General. He received the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union on May 7, 1982...
, accused the military personnel of profaning the monuments of the Dzheirakh district by "setting up a latrine" near the Tkhaba-Yerdy Church. He also said a military helicopter had destroyed an adjacent burial site. In 2007, concerns about the damage to the historical monuments due to the military exercises in the area was again raised by the director of the Dzheirakh-Assin reserve, M. Kodzoyev, who brought the case to the court, but without achieving any results.