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March 2, 2026, 8:56 a.m.
In Feodosia, the bell tower of the 15th-century church where Aivazovsky was married is destroyed
This article also available in English1
The Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael. PHOTO: armk.info
On February 26, it became known in Crimea that the bell tower of the medieval Armenian church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael had finally collapsed. The architectural monument, built back in 1408, was actually destroyed due to the long-term negligence of the occupation authorities.
This was reported by the Voice of Crimea resource.
Local residents noticed the first signs of the destruction of the inactive building in mid-January, when they recorded a partial collapse of the structures. Despite the fact that the entrance to the facility was officially banned, and Russia granted it the status of a monument of federal significance, no real steps have been taken to save the church during the years of occupation.
The Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael is also notable for the fact that in 1848 it hosted the wedding ceremony according to the canons of the Armenian Church of the 31-year-old artist Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Aivazian) with the daughter of a St. Petersburg doctor, an Englishwoman named Julia Graves, who became his first wife.
Nowadays, the Armenian community of Crimea notes that the problems in the church building arose long ago and are not limited to the decay of the bell tower: the cultural heritage site was recognized as an emergency, among other things, because of a large crack in one of the walls that goes up to the arches.
According to the 'deputy of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea' Georgi Hakobyan, who is also the 'head of the regional Armenian national-cultural autonomy' and 'deputy head of the Crimean Committee on Interethnic Relations', the collapse of the bell tower of the Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael was expected, as the structure had long been in a state of disrepair. At the same time, the collaborator assured that the church will not be destroyed in the future, and the main task now is to preserve it.
"Today (February 26 - ed.) we had a conversation with the 'Department of Cultural Heritage Protection'. They went to the site and inspected everything. Emergency work will begin in the next few days," Hakobyan said.
