Jalil Jabari said in an interview with the IRNA said on Saturday that St. Thaddeus Monastery ceremony will be held today at 10:30 am in the church with the presence of Armenians and other guests.
Qara Kelisa, also known as the St. Thaddeus Church, in Chaldoran County, northwestern Iran is one of the oldest and most notable surviving Christian monuments of Iran that carries great significance for the country's Armenian Orthodox community.
Armenians hold that Qara Kelisa is the world's first church and was constructed in 68 BC by one of the apostles of Jesus, Saint Thaddeus, who traveled to Armenia, then part of the Persian Empire, to preach the teachings of Christ.
The church is composed of two parts: a black structure, the original building of the church from which it takes its name and a white structure, the main church, which was added to the original building's western wing in 1810 CE.
An ancient chapel two kilometers northwest of the church is said to have been the place where the first Christian woman, Sandokh, was martyred. The chapel is believed to be as old as Qara Kelisa.
The structure was inscribed along with two other monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith namely St. Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor.
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