SISIAN St. Hovhannes, St. John

Type: Tetraconch with angular niches.
Location: Area of Goris, in the village of Sisian.
Date: 7th century, 691 A.D.
Evidence For Date: The inner organization and the volume are the same as those of Saint Hrip'sime (same period). Inscription of the masters constructors on the exterior stones.
Important Details: Called the black church because of the color of the basalt. The drum is of the pre-Lombardian type of Rivoira.
State of Preservation:
Reconstruction: Recently restored. The exterior volumetry has been perfectly reconstituted.
Summary: The church of St. John (formerly St. Gregory) was also called the "Black Church", Kara kilise during the Turkisk occupation because of the dark color of the basalt of which it was built. It is a tetraconch structure altogether similar in its interior space and exterior volumes to the church of St. Hrip'sime at Vagharshapat. (A tetraconch ground plan flanked by semi-circular niches). Some local archaeologists tend to push back the building data of Sisian, but it seems more likely that it is a copy of the famous church of St. Hrip'sime.

We should note the dodecagonal drum subdivided by large flattened arches resting on small double engaged columns with cubic capitals having blunted edges (Rivoira's pre-Lombard type). The insertion of sculptured elements in the frieze of the drum and the corner niches is also noteworthy.

The triangular tympana of the east and west facades have dissimilar pitches as well as cornices of different thickness.

Bibliography:
Alichan 1893, 214-216.
Eprikian 1900, 452-455.
Eremian 1955, 52,102.
Sahinian 1955, 52.
Barkhoudarian 1960, 85-93.
Tokarski 1968, 101.
Utudjian 1968, 36, fig. 36-37.
Der Nersessean 1969, 107.
Fratadocchi 1971, 73n, 76-79, 80-81, pl. 61, 78-80.
AMSRA 1971, 52, pl. 28.
Khatchatrian 1971, VII.
Cuneo 1973, 123.
Kouymjian 1973, 16.
Cone 1974, 54.
Kouymjian 1978, 21.
Architettura Armena 1981, 32.
Armenian Architecture 1981, 10-11, 32, 66.
Cuneo 1988, 30, 408-409, 722, 756, 762, 764, 766, 784, 789, 802, 823, 843.
http://www.Armgate.com/churches/sisavan.htm 1997-1999, photo.