Religion
Some Muslim researchers have proclaimed that the birth of the prophet Zoroaster was in this area, in the vicinity of Lake Orumieh, Chichesht or Ganzak; recent scholarship, however, indicates that sites in Central Asia are more likely.
In this province, Islam (Sunni and Shiite) is the majority religion. However, there is also a large Assyrians Christian minority, who have historically lived on the west shore of Lake Urmia, as well as Armenians who are scattered throughout the province. Notably, the city of Maku in northern West Azerbaijan was the only city in Iran (before World War II) where Christians comprised the majority.
St. Thaddeus Cathedral is located on the outskirts of Chaldoran, near the village of Qara-Kelissa. Besides being a religious site with a particular significance among Christians, particularly Armenians, this large church (monastery) is also a rare and valuable monument in architectural and artistic terms.
St. Thaddeus, also known as Jude Thaddeus or Jude Labbeus, was one of the apostles of Jesus Christ who traveled to Armenia, where he was later killed and upon whose grave the locals erected a small chapel in AD 301. The cathedral is known as Qara-kelissa ('Black church' in Turkish) to the locals, owing to the appearance of its western section. In 1329, the church was reconstructed in its present form after an earthquake destroyed the structure in 1319.
| The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran * | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Country | Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, vi |
| Reference | 1262 |
| Region ** | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
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Read more about this topic: West Azerbaijan Province
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“We think of religion as the symbolic expression of our highest moral ideals; we think of magic as a crude aggregate of superstitions. Religious belief seems to become mere superstitious credulity if we admit any relationship with magic. On the other hand our anthropological and ethnographical material makes it extremely difficult to separate the two fields.”
—Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945)
“My great religion is a belief in the blood, the flesh, as being wiser than the intellect. We can go wrong in our minds. But what our blood feels and believes and says, is always true. The intellect is only a bit and a bridle.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)