The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus in Iran

The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus (Kara Kilise) is an inactive Armenian monastery in Iran, in the Chaldoran district, 20 km from the town of Maku, in a mountainous area. Its name is linked with the Apostle Thaddeus, whose presumed grave lies within the monastery. According to tradition, the first church by the saint’s grave was built in AD 68. The earliest records of the monastery date from the 7th century.

The present building of the main church was erected in 1329 on the site of an earlier one destroyed by an earthquake, while most of the other buildings date from the early 19th century, when the monastery was rebuilt with the support of the Iranian prince Abbas Mirza. In 2008 the “Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran” were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Once a year, in early July on the feast of Saint Thaddeus, Armenian pilgrims come here from all over Iran.

The photograph shows the monastery’s two conical domes, one of them built in bands of light and dark stone. The monastery is surrounded by a stone wall.