Azerbaijan’s Udi Christians held a service in their native Udi language at Karabakh’s Gandzasar monastery. Azerbaijan identifies the site with Caucasian Albanian Christianity, while Armenia identifies it with Armenian Apostolic tradition.
Gandzasar’s main church was built by Prince Hasan-Jalal Dawla between 1216 and 1238. The Udi community also makes pilgrimages to Khudavang, Ağoğlan and Amaras, which Azerbaijan identifies as historic Christian sites in its preservation programme.
A diplomatic delegation visited Gandzasar and Khudavang on 12 September. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Magdalena Grono said views on the origins of some sites remain “deeply divergent” and stressed the importance of addressing unresolved historical disputes in the broader reconciliation process.
