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Christoph Baumer, in page 81 of his book "The Church of the East, An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity" writes:
"The Church of Mar Givargis in Khosrow Abad near Delemon (Salmas), Azerbaijan, Iran, whose bishop, according to tradition,
participated in the council of Nicea in 325. The inscription in the stone above the portal reports that the first structure
was erected in 520. The church, which dates from the eleventh century and was restored by Catholic missionaries in 1845, was
destroyed by an earthquake in 1930."
Mr. Albert Sheakalee, an Assyrian now living in California, whose parents are from the village of Khosrow Abad (Khusrava),
has taken a recent picture (in 2009) from the inscription, which is reproduced below. As can be seen, the inscription, in
Syriac, written right to left, is made up of seven lines. I have tried to read the inscription, but, due to the deterioration
of the stone, some words cannot be read. However, I was able to read part of the inscription, which is translated below. Illegible
words are shown as (?).
Anyone volunteering to read the inscription should contact me at GYANA515@VERIZON.NET, and I shall provide them with
a digital copy, which they can enlarge at will. The following is my reading of the text.
Line 1- (?) The foundation of this church
Line 2- Of Saint George in the day of (?)
Line 3- (?) Mar Gregorius the Pope + the sixteenth (or sixth)
Line 4- and of Mar Nikalius I Patriarch
Line 5- of Babylon and of Ishohav, Metropolitan
Line 6- Cannot read. However, near the end of the line there is a Cross which follows the word "in the year" and is followed
by an alphabetic number for the year, which, although uncertain, seems to be "APYNH"
Line 7- Cannot be read.
Comments
In line 2, St. George is the translation of Mar Givargis
In line 3, Gregorius Papa is Pope Gregory (XVI or VI). The ambiguity in number is due to whether the letter, after Papa, is
Yut-Wav, which means 16, or only Wav, which is six. Between "Pope" and "16" there is a cross, used, maybe, as a sign of respect
or as a separator, which I show with a plus sign.
In line 4, Mar Nikalius I is Nicholas I, Patriarch. The following is a transcription of the inscription.
Line 1- (?) Benora (or Beniana) d'oumra hana
Line 2- d'Mar Givargis bioum (?)
Line 3- (?) Mar Grigorius Papa + yut-wav (or wav).
Line 4- Va d'Mar Nikalius (allap) Patriarca
Line 5- Babel va d'Mar Ishohav Mitrapol.
Relevant Information
* Pope Gregory XVI (1831-46); Pope Gregory VI (1045-46)
* Patriarch Nicholas I (1840-1847). This patriarch is from the line of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (see Christoph Baumer's "The
Church of the East" page 319).
* Metropolitan Ishohav remains to be identified.
* As stated by Baumer, in the beginning of this page, the church was reconstructed in 1845 AD. According to Rubens Duval,
the foremost French authority on Syriac literature of his day, in page 42-43 of the section on "Inscriptions Syriaques" of
the book "Les Dialectes Neo-Arameens de Salamas" confirms the use of stone from the cemetery of Khosrow Abad (Khusrava) for
the reconstruction, in 1845, of the cathedral. Read more about what the book has about Khusrava in the page titled "Who
are Modern Assyrians?"
(the book can be ordered at Orders@Gorgiaspress.com or by calling 1-732-699-0343).
Below, is Mr. Nicholas Al-Jiloo's translation of the Assyrian inscription on the wall of the St. George (Mar Givargis)
Church in the Khusrava village:
"Thanks for the picture from Mar Givargis church in Khosrava. Its an inscription from 1845 when they
built the present structure (which was ruined in the 1930 earthquake). It mentions the name of the Pope of the time and Chaldean
patriarch Mar Nicholas Zaya of Khosrava."
"It says: the building of this church of st. george was built in the days of the great pontiff mar
gregory, the pope... and of mar nicholas zaya patriarch of babylon and of mar ishoyahw metropolitan of salamas in the
year 1845 of our lord. Pray for those who took charge of this act!
Best regards,
Nicholas"
I would like to thank Mr. Daniel Benjamin and Dr. Robert Paulissian for their efforts in contacting Mr. Nicholas Al-Jiloo
and sending him the digital copy of the inscription. George Yana (Bebla).
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