The church of Saint Stephen stands in Patara Arakali village in Ninotsminda Municipality. The hall building is laid of undressed stone of varying size. An Armenian inscription on the west wall gives the year of construction, 1862, and the name of the builder, while a second inscription on the same wall records a restoration carried out in the late two thousands.
Two wide rectangular windows sit in the south wall and one arched window in the east. A medieval relief lunette is set into the west wall: a circle passing through a four leaf rosette. A later two line Armenian inscription is carved on this relief, so the old stone gained a second signature centuries on.
A bell tower once stood above the gable of the west facade and a new gable has now been raised in its place. During the restoration the ceiling was given a slope and the walls, apart from the west facade, were plastered with cement. The apse is semicircular with no side chambers and a single arched niche on the north side.
💡 Tip
- A medieval lunette with a four leaf rosette in the west wall
- A later Armenian inscription carved on the old relief itself
- A new gable raised where the bell tower once stood
🚗 Getting there
- Patara Arakali village, Ninotsminda Municipality, Samtskhe Javakheti
- The Build Route button will take you to the spot
✍️ Know this place? Leave a review on Madloba, so other travellers find it sooner.
