The Church of Saint Stephanos is one of a handful of magnificent churches in Iran’s Azarbaijan Province that displays the entire architectural history of the region. The church is a combination of Urartan, Parthian, Greek, Sassanid and Roman styles that merged and eventually became known as the Armenian style. Some historians claim that this structure originates in the first century AD and that subsequent modifications and decorations ware later additions. It is rumored that Saint Stephanos was the first Christian Martyr and as such has a special place in the Christianity. The entrance to the church has a stone edict from Abbas Mirza Ghajar (1890-1935) that endows the church with an income in perpetuity and curses anyone who deprives the church of its income. The Church of Saint Stphanos is located in the abandoned village of Dareh Sham and is about 15 KM from Julfa along the Aras River. The road is excellent and along the way there are ruins of bridges and caravansaries that date to the Safavid period. 1234 next › last » 
