ARMENIAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

The Church of the Holy Mother of God is an Armenian church located in the city of Samarkand and built in 1903 at the expense of the local Armenian population. The first rector of the Church of Surb Astvatsatsin was the priest Father Ruben Bekgulyants.
The first Armenian settlers appeared on the territory of modern Uzbekistan as early as the 15th century during the time of Tamerlane, who brought artisans to Samarkand from the Armenia he conquered. However, for the growth in the number of Armenian settlers, the accession of Central Asia to Russia in the 19th century was more important.

In 1897, when only 149 Armenians lived in Samarkand itself: 123 men and 26 women, representatives of this small colony applied to the military governor of the region with a request to open a prayer house in the city. The request was respected: on October 31, 1898, priest Gevorg Zakharyants received the appropriate permission.

By the end of the same year, 1903, the building was erected, and the parishioners of the Armenian Apostolic Church had the opportunity to pray in their own building, built with their own hands. Naturally, Ruben Bekgulyants, who made the greatest contribution to the project, became the first priest of this prayer house.