Kish Church
Kiş kilsəsi; Albanian-Udi church of Kish
Kish Church in northern Azerbaijan is important because it shows the difference between genuine Caucasian Albanian/Udi heritage and the contested use of that label in Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Located in a Udi-associated region near Sheki, the church was restored with Norwegian support and presented as Albanian Christian heritage. In this local context, the Albanian frame is historically plausible and not simply anti-Armenian. The dispute begins when the same framework is extended to medieval Armenian churches with Armenian inscriptions, Armenian Apostolic use and Armenian patronage. Kish is therefore a control case for the atlas: it shows that Caucasian Albanian heritage is real, while also clarifying why blanket Albanianisation of Armenian monuments is politically suspect.
Kish Church in northern Azerbaijan is important because it shows the difference between genuine Caucasian Albanian/Udi heritage and the contested use of that label in Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Located in a Udi-associated region near Sheki, the church was restored with Norwegian support and presented as Albanian Christian heritage. In this local context, the Albanian frame is historically plausible and not simply anti-Armenian. The dispute begins when the same framework is extended to medieval Armenian churches with Armenian inscriptions, Armenian Apostolic use and Armenian patronage. Kish is therefore a control case for the atlas: it shows that Caucasian Albanian heritage is real, while also clarifying why blanket Albanianisation of Armenian monuments is politically suspect.