The St. Thaddeus Church best known as Qara Kelisa which literally means Black church is an ancient monument perched on a mountain ridge in the northern Iranian province of West Azarbaijan.
As one of the oldest and most notable surviving Christian monuments of Iran, Qara Kelisa carries great significance for the country's Armenian Orthodox community.
Armenians hold that Qara Kelisa is the world's first church and was constructed in 68 CE 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.
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