UNESCO EXPERTS INSPECT ST. THADDEUS

Press TV, Iran
April 26 2007

UNESCO experts have inspected Iran’s St. Thaddeus Church to see if
it meets the requirements to be registered as a World Heritage Site.

The visit came following Iranian officials attempts to register St.
Thaddeus Church (also known as the Black Church) in UNESCO’s List of
World Heritage Sites,

Making the announcement, a specialist from West Azerbaijan Cultural
Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department Mahdi Shoja’del said
the fate of the historical site would be decided at UNESCO’s 31st
session of its World Heritage Committee.

Iran’s most interesting and notable Armenian monument, the Black Church
is located near one of the districts of Maku, a town in northwest Iran.

One of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, Thaddeus was martyred while
spreading the Gospel to this part of the country in the first century.

Some 300 years after his death, locals constructed the church to
commemorate the apostle.

If registered, the church will be the 9th Iranian site to be included
in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites.

The eight registered site are: Persepolis and Pasargad in Fars, ,
Takht-e Soleiman (Solomon’s Throne) in West Azerbaijan, Ghoghazanbli
in Khuzestan, Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan, Bam Citadel in Kerman,
Soltaniyeh Mosque in Zanjan and Bisotun in Kermanshah.