International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ekaterina Smirnova
State Institute for Art Studies, Moscow, Russian Federation; 
[e-mail]
Uchayak Double Church. Questions of Dating
 
Uchayak Church is located in the central part of the Anatolian uplands. The temple consists 
of two churches which are united by a single wall and with narthex. The church was thought of 
as double one. Double churches are known in the territory of Cappadocia, Mesopotamia, Greece 
and Armenia in the Early and the Middle Byzantine era. Usually, their size is small and the nave 
stretches on east-west axis.
The dating of the church given by scholars is very wide. For example, S. Eyice dates Uchayak 
from the 10
th
to beginning of the 12
th
centuries. M. Mihaljevic, based on stylistic features, suggests 
that the church was built in the second half of the 11
th
century. Our attention will be focused on the 
revision of dating of the church, based on a typological and stylistic features of its architecture, as 
well as on the written sources.
Uchayak consists from two cross-domed church of square atrophied cross type. This fact could 
be testified an orientation to the Constantinople type of monuments, such as Gul Jami of the late 
11
th
or early 12
th 
century and the katholikon of Monastery Choir of the 12
th
century. The presence 
of 
bema
in Uchayak is also typical metropolitan cross-domed churches. However, the absence of 
cornices, which disarticulated inner walls on three levels, distinguished Uchayak from the churches 
of Constantinople. Together with the features of metropolitan architecture, the monument combines 
features of the Armenian and Georgian architecture. One of them is the construction of 
three times 
ledged
under-dome arches, typical for this region. For example, in the late 9
th
and the first half of 
the 10
th
century this form of arches was created in the Armenian Church of Sts. Paul and Peter in 
Tatev, Sts. Apostles in Kars and Astvatsatsin in Sanahin Monastery. A similar example of Georgian 
architecture is in the church Alaverdi, dates from the 11
th
century. The same feature is occurred in 
the Byzantine church of Panagia Hrisokefalos in Trabzon and in Abkhazian churches in Mokvi and
Lykhny, both from the 10
th
century. All this took possible to suggest the architecture of Uchayak as 
a result of the relations between the metropolitan and local (Cappadocian) traditions.
Of special interest is the episode of the rebellion of Bardas Skleros against the imperial power 
in 976-979. The crucial battle took place in 979, when the imperial army won. It happened in a place 
called «Saravanea» identical «Sarvenis» in a neighborhoods of Uchayak. It is pointed out by the 
lapidary inscription of the Georgian monastery Zarzma, written in
Asomtavruli
(979-980). Due to 
this fact, we suppose that church was built in honor of the victory of Imperial Army over the rebels.
The latest dating of the construction of the church seems before 1071, the date of the battle 
of the Byzantine army of Romanus IV Diogenes against Alp Arslan, after which Asia Minor falling 
under sway of Seljuks.
Thus, Uchayak is a memorial monument. Taking into account its architectural features, as well 
as the written sources and the historical events, I believe that Uchayak Church was built between 
the period of the revolt of Bardas Skleros and 1060s, and most probably in the turn of the 10
th
and 
the 11
th
centuries.

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