Qazvin is a city with many historical monuments and if you travel to this city for tourism, a list of tourist attractions will be in front of you. One of the sights of Qazvin that you may not have heard of is a very beautiful church. This church is known as the “Contour Church” or “Bell Tower”
Contour Church – Qazvin Bell Tower
In terms of dimensions, it is a small church which has a quadrangular plan and has two domes, one large in the center of the prayer hall and the other smaller at the top of the altar. The materials used are bricks and mortar, the bricks are very artistically laid and as a result, a very beautiful building is obtained.
The contour church known as the “Bell Tower” was built in the city of Qazvin during World War II during the Russian occupation of Iran.
The Cantor Church has an entrance door with Russian crosses engraved on the walls on both sides. Above the entrance is a three-story bell tower that leads to a small dome.
The entrance of the Contour Church is located on its western side and includes an entrance space with a sloping roof and an entrance door. There are two tombstones in the courtyard of this church. One of the tombstones belongs to a Russian pilot and the other to a Russian engineer who lost his life in Iran.
This small church, like other churches, has a cruciform design and its altar faces east. The entrance to the church is on the west side and includes an entrance area with a sloping roof and an entrance door.
After the entrance, there is a space in front of the hall, above that the church bell tower is about eleven meters high. The hall consists of a prayer hall and an altar, and on either side of it are two rectangular spaces. The space of the altar is semicircular and there is a dome on top of it.
Tomb of a Russian pilot whose plane crashed around Qazvin and his body is buried here.
The space of the prayer hall has a dome and its side spaces have a flat cover. In the exterior of this church, decorative columns can be seen.
Contour in Russian means headquarters or center. There are two rooms on either side of the church, one of that was used to change the priest’s clothes. The cross placed under the dome of this church is a symbol of Orthodox Christians and there is a diagonal line on it. The reason for this diagonal line is that the Ardeteks believe that in addition to tying the arms of Jesus (pbuh), they also crucified his legs diagonally to make him suffer more. Others believe that this line is the line of human evolution and a symbol of heaven and hell.
The cross is an orthodox symbol
The church was emptied after the Russians left Iran. There are no Orthodox Christians living in Iran, and for this reason, this building is now preserved as a historical monument, and of course, inside this beautiful church, there are several showcases selling handmade jewelry.
There are two other active churches in Qazvin that Christians and Armenians use for their services.
