The Church of Kish

The Church of Kish also known by different sources as Church of Saint Elishe or Holy Mother of God Church is a Caucasian Albanian church located in the village of Kish approximately 5 km north of Shaki, Azerbaijan. According to the 7th century Albanian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi, in the 1st century AD St. Elishe, a disciple of Thaddeus of Edessa, arrived to a place called Gis, where he built a church and recited a liturgy. The church became the "spiritual center and the place of enlightenment of people of the East". Radiocarbon analysis of various objects found on the site showed that the cultic site dates to about 3000 B.C., while the construction of the different parts of church building dates Middle Ages (II-XII centuries). Excavations revealed that the church represented two different periods of use, with two different corresponding floor levels.