Храм Святого Саркиса, Armenian church in Kalinovka, Lazarevsky district, Sochi, Russia.
Saint Sarkis Church is an Armenian Apostolic church in the settlement of Kalinovka, Lazarevsky district of Sochi, Russia. It was founded on 5 October 1993 and built in 2011 with funds from local residents, the brothers Armen and Ambartsum Mkhitaryan, in memory of their father Sarkis Ambartsumovich Mkhitaryan and the innocent victims of the Armenian genocide. The church stands next to a cemetery where Sarkis and his grandson Samvel are buried.
The foundation was consecrated on 5 October 1993 by Archbishop Tiran Kuregyan, head of the New Nakhichevan and Russian Diocese. Local residents, brothers Armen and Ambartsum Mkhitaryan, funded the construction, completed in 2011, in memory of their father Sarkis Ambartsumovich Mkhitaryan and of the innocent victims of the Armenian genocide. The church stands beside a cemetery where Sarkis and Ambartsum's son Samvel, killed on 12 August 2000 at the age of 16, are buried.
The church is named after Saint Sarkis and was built by the Mkhitaryan brothers, Armen and Ambartsum, in memory of their father Sarkis Ambartsumovich and all innocent victims of the Armenian genocide. A chapel and monument at the adjacent cemetery, erected in 2001, bear the Armenian inscription «ԱՆՄԵՂ ԶՕՀԵՐԻ ՀԻՇԱՏԱԿԻՆ» (to the memory of innocent victims). The church belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church under the Diocese of Southern Russia.
The church is open during regular services and welcomes visitors interested in learning about Armenian religious practices. It is best to check visiting times in advance and dress respectfully, especially during religious ceremonies.
Beside the church, in the adjacent cemetery, the Mkhitaryan brothers raised a chapel over the graves of their father Sarkis Ambartsumovich and Ambartsum's son Samvel, killed on 12 August 2000 at the age of 16. The 2001 monument bears the Armenian inscription «ԱՆՄԵՂ ԶՕՀԵՐԻ ՀԻՇԱՏԱԿԻՆ» — to the memory of the innocent victims.
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