Early Christian Architecture in Caucasia: Churches, Myths and Theories, lecture by Annegret Lüning, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Central European University, Budapest, January 22, 2015, 5:30–7:00 pm

Armenia and Georgia count among the oldest Christian countries in the world. Their medieval architecture is particularly fascinating. Lesser known, however, is the fact that Caucasian Albania, which was located within the territory of present-day Azerbaijan, was a Christian country from the fifth until the tenth century AD.

The paper presents some contextual considerations of the relationship of Early Christian architecture in Armenia, Georgia and Caucasian Albania to the Mediterranean world of the Late Antique and Early Christian periods, and also to the Iranian East. It deals with early narratives about churches in the Caucasian Christian countries, and it gives attention to theories about origin and development of Christian architecture in Caucasia.