St. George Church, Sverdlov

St. George Church stands at the edge of Sverdlov village, on raised ground at the northeastern part of a medieval cemetery. It dates to the 6th century and belongs to a small group of early medieval vaulted single-nave churches found in Lori.

The building follows a symmetric east-west plan and rises on a stepped stone base. Inside, the prayer hall ends in a wide horseshoe-shaped apse to the east and is covered by a semi-cylindrical vault, reinforced by four supporting arches that rise from T-shaped pilasters; these pilasters are also tied together by wall-arches. On either side of the main apse sit two rectangular side chambers, each covered by its own semi-cylindrical vault and each fitted with a semicircular niche that reaches down to the floor. Rectangular openings connect these chambers to the prayer hall, aligned with the steps leading up to the altar platform.

The church was repaired in the 19th century, then again in 2010.

The church is on the outskirts of Sverdlov village in Lori region, near Stepanavan, roughly 103 km north of Yerevan in a straight line.