RESTORATION SAGA

The history of Christianity in Azerbaijan goes back centuries, as the Caucasian Albanian Church was established here. In our times Christianity is mainly represented by Orthodoxy. In historical terms Orthodoxy appeared relatively recently in Azerbaijan - in the 19th century after Azerbaijan became part of Russia - but it has quite a strong influence on contemporary life in our country. It is one of the three main faiths in Azerbaijan and numbers half a million believers of different ethnic origins.

The Baku and Caspian Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church was founded in 1905. In the early years of Soviet power it was reformed and almost disbanded completely, and was only fully restored in 1998 after the restoration of Azerbaijan's national independence and sovereignty. In the pre-war years many of the eparchy's priests, as in the whole Soviet Union, fell victim to Stalin's repressions. In 1943, a crucial year for the fate of religion in the Soviet Union, the Orthodox churches of Azerbaijan, like many of their brethren in other Union republics, began to operate again. 

The churches of the Baku and Caspian Eparchy were built in Tsarist times, moreover, before the foundation of the eparchy itself. The Alexander Nevsky Church in Ganca was built in 1887 on the site of an ancient cemetery on charitable funds provided by both local Orthodox believers and Muslims. These funds were not just a combination of the traditional unofficial "cultural tax" imposed on merchants in Russia at that time and charitable contributions from the nobility. Money and valuables were also contributed to the construction by those who were not so rich, from whom no-one could have demanded contributions, either officially or unofficially. This voluntary collection of funds from the "whole world" adds another touch of local colour to the atmosphere of tolerance and religious indulgence which has reigned since time immemorial in Azerbaijan.

The Russian Orthodox church in Ganca was built in the pseudo-Byzantine style. But the extravagant word Byzantine does not sit well with the modest, noble simplicity of this small church with its elegant bell tower. On the major Orthodox holidays the bells ring out across the centre of the city. The church is well placed on Haci Ali Huseynzada Street, not far from the executive authorities, though it is not very obvious. It is half obscured by pines and the traditionally shaped cupolas just glint through the fine shade of the branches. The church is built out of red bricks, traditional in this region, and it looks both elegant and very Ganca. 

This beauty needs to be well maintained but the cupola leaks - the tin plate has rotted in places - and buckets have to be put in front of the iconostasis when it rains. The bell tower with its old bells and staircase also needs repairs but not so urgently as the cupola. The building's problems are more noticeable inside than outside, although the interior of Ganca's Alexander Nevsky Church is simply magnificent. The acoustics are ideal - you can see (or rather hear) straightaway that it was properly built. Acoustics are important in the religious regard - the choir really do sound like the voices of angels - and the secular, if only because Ganca television broadcasts the Easter services from this church. Now for the internal decoration of the church - apart from the missing panes of glass in the windows what is most striking is that the colourful paintings in the drum of the cupola and on the walls are canvases stuck to the walls and not frescoes, as they should be. Frescoes are expensive and there is no money even for ordinary refurbishment. Let us hope that patrons will be found in our day, just as in the good old days, and the Ganca church will be restored to its original beauty.