Sentinsky Church

The Sentinsky Church (Synty Klisa in Karachay-Balkar) is a 10th-century Alanian Christian church in the Karachayevsky District of Karachay-Cherkessia. It stands on a cliff of the Burush-Syrt massif on the left bank of the Teberda River, near the village of Nizhnyaya Teberda, about 18 kilometres south of Karachayevsk. Next to it are a stone mausoleum of the same age and the buildings of the Saviour-Transfiguration Convent.

History

The church was built at the height of the Alanian state, when the Alanian Metropolitanate existed in the region. Its date is known from a building inscription on the north wall of the eastern arm, painted in black on white plaster; the letters are 1.3 to 2.8 cm high and the numerals 2 to 6.8 cm. According to the inscription, the church was consecrated to the Most Holy Mother of God in April 965 (the year 6473 from the creation of the world), and it names Emperor Nikephoros and David, the exousiokrator of Alania. One branch of the Great Silk Road ran through the Teberda gorge, and the church was placed beside that route.

In the 19th century an Orthodox convent of the Saviour's Transfiguration was founded nearby. The nuns altered part of the church: the present porches were built in 1897 on the old foundations. In Soviet times the convent buildings housed a children's boarding home; the convent is now being restored.

Architecture and what to see

The church has a single dome and a cross-shaped plan with an apse on the east. The walls are of well-dressed sandstone laid in lime mortar, while the transverse arches and windows are made of plinthos brick, typical of Alanian churches. There are three doorways, on the west, north and south, each topped by a semicircular lunette. Shallow carved stones reused in the masonry can be seen on the facades, including blocks with snakes and geometric patterns.

Fragments of old wall paintings survive inside. Beside the church stands a 10th-century stone mausoleum, probably built for the burial of senior clergy, a structure unique in the North Caucasus. The cliff gives a wide view over the Teberda valley, which is why photos of the church usually include the gorge.

Legends

Local tradition holds that the Senty mountain was a sacred place long before Christianity and that the church was built on the site of an ancient pagan sanctuary.

Getting there

From Karachayevsk, drive south on the A155 towards Teberda and at Nizhnyaya Teberda turn onto the bridge across the river. There is a parking area at the foot of the cliff, and a path of about 300 to 350 metres climbs gently to the church.