30.03.2012 Tender for the selection of a construction company to repair the church of Odzun is annonced

In accordance with the memorandum signed by the Ministry of Culture, the Armenian Apostolic Church and “Hovhannes Imastaser His Holiness Odzneci” Foundation a tender is announced. The winner will be entrusted with the restoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in the village Odzun. Proposals are accepted until April 17.

A joint commission will control the compliance with the schedule and quality, while the supervision will be done by the preparers of the project. Experts for technical supervision will be selected on the basis of open competition.

The reconstruction of the Odzun was originally planned to be financed from the state budget. But people who were committed to the preservation of historical and cultural heritage took responsibility for the problem and “Hovhannes Imastaser His Holiness Odzneci” Foundation was established. According to the Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan, the implementation of the restoration project of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church is the first example of cooperation between state and private business sector to revive one of the masterpieces of the early medieval Armenian architecture.

The project covers only the very structure of the church, but the area around the church and valuable historical objects located on it also need to be restored. Therefore, it is difficult to specify the timing and amounts of funding today. According to preliminary estimates, it will require 3-4 years, but very often unforeseen difficulties arise in such cases. The Church in Odzun exists for about 1500 years and can have all kinds of “hidden surprises” in it for its restorers. The main objective of the project is not only meeting with the deadlines, but the complete and high-quality restoration of the church.

Experts believe that the restoration and rehabilitation works do not involve freedom of creativity. Restorers are obliged to restore the object assigned to them in strict accordance with science-based project.