CHURCH BUILDING
Saint Stephen the Protomartyr Church, New Julfa
Isfahan · New Julfa · Armenian Apostolic
- Locality
- Isfahan · New Julfa
- Tradition
- Armenian Apostolic
- Type of place
- CHURCH BUILDING
- Coordinates
- 32.63583° N, 51.65023° E
Identity checked:
History: Saint Stephen the Protomartyr Church, New Julfa
Saint Stephen stands on Western Nazar Avenue in New Julfa. The diocese dates its community-funded construction to 1614, citing the colophon of a lectionary rather than a foundation inscription. From the 1830s to the 1880s, its courtyard housed the Holy Saviour School, where the Armenian teacher and writer Mesrop Taghiadian briefly taught.
An interesting detail
The altarpiece depicts Saint Stephen’s stoning, surrounded by portraits of the apostles in round frames. The diocese records an inscription dated 1743 on this furnishing; it is evidence for the altarpiece, separate from the church’s earlier foundation.