Tickets
Hotels
Tours
Insurance
Trains
RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Surb Sarkis translates as the Church of St. Sergius, and it is one of the oldest Armenian churches in Crimea. It was built in 1330 in the traditional Armenian style - the walls of the temple abound with embedded khachkars (stone crosses with complex ornaments). The entrance to the territory of the temple in ancient times was a rich portal, which during the reconstruction of 1888, after a fire, was converted into a bell tower. Decorated walnut doors from the entrance are exhibited in the Hermitage, the second one is in the Feodosiya Museum of Antiquities.
In the XIV — XVI centuries, the Surb Sarkis Church was the center of Armenian culture in the Crimea. There was the largest Armenian scriptorium (workshop for correspondence and reproduction of manuscripts), manuscripts from which were in the collections of the National Library of France (Paris), the library of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem, in the funds of the Matenadaran. In addition, the art of book miniatures and engravings developed here, famous artists, philosophers, poets and historians worked at the temple: Simeon, Baberdetsi, Stepanos, Karnetsi, Avetis, Arakel, Christosatur, Avraments.
Since 1811, a collection of stone slabs with inscriptions has been collected in the church, which served as the basis for the lapidarium of the Feodosiya Museum of Antiquities opened in the XX century. In 1888, the church suffered from a fire. The artist Aivazovsky was baptized in this church in 1817, he was married here, and was buried in 1900. 44 years later, his second wife, Anna, was also buried here. According to Aivazovsky's will, the church and the parish school received 50,000 rubles.
In general, the history of Surb Sarkis is full of events and interesting facts. During her visit, you can go inside to light a candle and inspect the interior. Do not forget to find the graves of the great artist and his wife on the territory of the temple. If possible, we advise you to visit the church with a guided tour, which you can buy from distributors on the streets of the resort.
🕐 Working hours
From 09:00 to 17:00, seven days a week.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge.
🚶 How to get there
The Church of St. Sarkis and the grave of Aivazovsky is located in the old town of Feodosia on Aivazovsky Lane, 1 (church on the map). From the center you can get here in 15-30 minutes of a leisurely walk, or take city buses No. 1, 1a, 1b, 2a, 14 and 15, stop near the Morsad Park. We tell you more about city buses and other transport in Feodosia here.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Crimea with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: