St. Mary Church, Urmia

St. Mary Church, Urmia
St. Mary Church in Urmia
Religion
Affiliation	Assyrian Church of the East
Location
Location	Urmia, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran
Shown within Iran
Geographic coordinates	37°32′39.4″N 45°04′04.0″E
Architecture
Type	Church
Groundbreaking	1st/7th century

St. Mary Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܡܪܝܡ ܥܕܬܐ, Persian: کلیسای ننه مریم) is an ancient Assyrian church located in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan province, Iran.[1][2]

Current old building of the church belongs to Sasanian era and its interior design is a combination of Sasanian and Arsacid architecture.

A Chinese princess, who contributed to its reconstruction in 642 AD, has her name engraved on a stone on the church wall. The famous Italian traveller Marco Polo also described the church in his visit.

Briefly prior to the World War I, it was converted by Russians to a Russian Orthodox church.

In early 1960s, the old church was restored and a modern church with a spire was built adjacent to the ancient church.

See also

• Iranian Assyrians

References

1. "St. Mary Church – Urmia – Iran Tourism". travital.com. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
2. sirang.com, Sirang Rasaneh. "Church of Saint Mary (Naneh Maryam) 2022". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help) Sights – ITTO |url=https://www.itto.org/iran/attraction/Church-of-Saint-Mary-naneh-maryam-urmia/ |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=itto.org | Iran Tourism & Touring}}