Head of the Iran Post Ramezan-Ali Sobhanifar, Armenian Ambassador in Iran Artashes Toumanian, Armenian parliamentarian of Majlis, and some other Iranian and Armenian officials attended the ceremony.
Iranian commemorative stamps of Nowrouz and a selection of Armenian stamps were put on display in the online event.
Qara Kelisa (meaning the Black Church), also known as the St. Thaddeus Church, in Chaldoran County, northwestern Iran is one of the most ancient and most notable surviving Christian monuments of Iran that carries great significance for the country's Armenian Orthodox community.
Armenians regard Qara Kelisa as the world's first church and were 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.
The church was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list on July 7, 2008.
Iran and Armenia had already unveiled and published a commemorative stamp of the Blue Mosque in Yerevan.
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