There is a historic church near the town of Maku and next to a village called Barun. Chapel of Dzordzor is one of the churches in Iran that registered on the World Heritage List.
The Chapel of Dzordzor was made by the Archbishop of the Saint Thaddeus Church. The name of this bishop was Zechariah. This church became one of the centers for religious, cultural, and literary education. This church is located between two valleys in West Azerbaijan. This church is the only building in Iran that is not in its place and is displaced.
Pope, the Catholic leader, decided to accept the Armenian Catholic religion and accept the leadership of the pope over the Armenian Church. Of course, this subject had a bet. The pope was betting that Europeans to help the Armenians dominate the Armenian Church and convince everyone to follow the Catholic Church. At that time, the headquarters of the Armenian Church was located in the city of Sis, the capital of Cilicia (southern Turkey). The Second Hetum (the King of Cilicia), a group of his courtiers, and the leader of the Armenian Church, accepted it in the hope of receiving help from Europeans. Their decision sparked a wave of opposition from the Armenian religious centers, especially inside Armenia. Due to these tensions, Zechariah began the construction of the Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku in 1298 in the name of Mary and built it as a scientific and religious center. The building of the Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku ended in 1314, and during the duration of its activity, early 12 clerics with world renown were educated in Catholic churches. One of these bishops is Havanes, who, after his death, the church did not prosper like before. From that time, the Dzordzor became a religious center and continued its activity until the early 17th century and the peak of the Iran-Ottoman wars. But after that time, it was abandoned and is currently considered the only attraction for tourism in the city of Maku.
The architecture of the Dzordzor church is in the form of a cross. Like all other Armenian churches, this church was built with various-sized rocks. This building has regular stones decorated in its interior and exterior. To enter this church, you can only enter the western side of it. On this door, there are Armenian writings and a cross pattern. Inside the building, there are four vaults with oval arches. There are also four small light wells on the four sides. Although the church has a simple appearance, it has attractive decorations. One of them is the cross on the rocks and pillars around the windows and the light wells.
The city of Maku has a cold and dry climate. The weather in this city is hot and dry in the summer. The weather is cold and snowy in winter. The best time to travel to Maku is from late March to mid-April.
To reach the Chapel of Dzordzor in Maku, you must move towards the Barun dam. From the city of Maku to the church is approximately 40 km by car, which you will take about an hour away.
“Oh! Squander not this breath that Heaven hath lent thee, Nor make too sure another breath to borrow!’” Khayam