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U.S. prof. calls to save Mren Cathedral of Western Armenia
February 23, 2013 - 15:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T.
Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts
University in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to save the 7th
century Mren Cathedral of Western Armenia, located in the Kars region
of present-day Turkey, Massis Post reports.
Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include Byzantine art and
architecture, and the art and architecture of the Transcaucasus -
principally Armenia. She is considered one of the world's authorities
on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, `the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art
and a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic¬ -
the True Cross - to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material
evidence for one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented
moments in history. It is also the largest domed basilica surviving
from the region, and a key example of the architectural achievements
of the seventh century.'
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
`Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century
show the progressive collapse of the south façade. Now the entire
south aisle lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the
domed superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its
wall paintings to the elements,' she says. `The prospect of
stabilizing what is left is at present doubtful, however, because of
Mren's position within a military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars
province) next to the closed Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the
site is forbidden.'
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. `Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world
history on its walls,' she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic
loss to human knowledge.'
February 23, 2013 - 15:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Dr. Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T.
Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art and Architecture at Tufts
University in Medford, Mass., has issued a call to save the 7th
century Mren Cathedral of Western Armenia, located in the Kars region
of present-day Turkey, Massis Post reports.
Prof. Maranci's areas of expertise include Byzantine art and
architecture, and the art and architecture of the Transcaucasus -
principally Armenia. She is considered one of the world's authorities
on the Mren Cathedral.
According to Dr. Maranci, `the cathedral of Mren is now in danger of
collapse. Constructed circa 638 AD, Mren is a masterpiece of world art
and a product of the `Golden Age' of Armenian architecture. Bearing an
inscription naming the Roman emperor Heraclius, and a unique sculpted
relief image of Heraclius returning Christendom's greatest relic¬ -
the True Cross - to Jerusalem, Mren preserves precious material
evidence for one of the most dramatic and yet poorly documented
moments in history. It is also the largest domed basilica surviving
from the region, and a key example of the architectural achievements
of the seventh century.'
Dr. Maranci stresses that Mren may not be standing much longer.
`Photographs from the 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century
show the progressive collapse of the south façade. Now the entire
south aisle lies in rubble on the ground, severely compromising the
domed superstructure of the monument and opening the interior and its
wall paintings to the elements,' she says. `The prospect of
stabilizing what is left is at present doubtful, however, because of
Mren's position within a military zone in Eastern Turkey (Kars
province) next to the closed Armenian-Turkish border. Visiting the
site is forbidden.'
Dr. Maranci is campaigning to raise awareness about Mren's precarious
condition. `Mren has stood for over a millennium, bearing world
history on its walls,' she says. Its collapse would represent a tragic
loss to human knowledge.'