Saint Stepanos Church Tabriz - Jolfa

Saint Stepanos Church, or the Holy Stephanos Church, is the second most important Armenian church in Iran, ranking in importance after the Qara Church. The Holy Stepanos Church is located 6 kilometers from the village of Darreh Sham, 15 kilometers west of the city of Jolfa, in East Azerbaijan Province. Saint Stepanos or Saint Stephanos was the first martyr of Christianity, who was stoned by Jews in Jerusalem on December 26, 36 AD. This church is situated in a beautiful and pleasant area surrounded by trees and a lush valley, and the stone wall enclosing the building, like the fortresses of the Sassanid era and early Islamic centuries, is a high wall with seven watchtowers and five cylindrical stone battlements. The gate of this wall is located in the middle of the western wall and has a wooden door reinforced with iron. On the bases of the sides and its pointed arch, finely carved stonework is used, and a relief of Mary and the infant Jesus can be seen on the front of the arch.