Holy Savior Cathedral (, Surb Amenap′rkich mayr tachar), commonly referred to as Ghazanchetsots (), is an Armenian Apostolic cathedral in Shusha (also known as Shushi) in Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is the cathedra of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Standing high, Ghazanchetsots is one of the largest Armenian churches in the world. A landmark of Shusha and the Karabakh region, and of Armenian cultural and religious identity, it is listed as cultural and historical monument of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Built between 1868 and 1887, the cathedral was consecrated in 1888. It was damaged during the March 1920 massacre of the city's Armenians—and the destruction of their half of the city—by Azerbaijanis and experienced a decades-long decline well into the Soviet period. During the first Nagorno-Karabakh War Azerbaijan used the cathedral as an armoury to store hundreds of missiles. The cathedral was extensively restored in the aftermath of the first war and reconsecrated in 1998. During the 2020 war, it was damaged by Azerbaijani attacks, viewed as a “possible war crime” by Human Rights Watch. In Azerbaijan, the cathedral is called Gazanchy (); the state denies its Armenian Apostolic heritage, instead vaguely referring to it as "Christian". Azerbaijan's announcement of the church "renovation" after it came under Azerbaijani control in 2020 has been met with criticism and concern by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and various Armenian groups alike. History Foundation According to historical records, a small basilica church stood on the present premises as early as 1722. In the 19th century, following the conquest of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire, Shusha was one of the largest cities in the region. The journalist Thomas de Waal notes that it was larger and more prosperous than either Baku or Yerevan, the current capitals of Azerbaijan and Armenia, respectively. Alongside Tiflis, the city was a major center for Armenian cultural activity in the region. According to Russian imperial sources, in 1886 the city had a mixed Armenian (57%) and Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani; 43%) population of almost 27,000. The oldest section of the current cathedral, the bell tower, was built in 1858, and was financed by the Khandamiriants family. The construction of the church began in 1868 and was completed in 1887. Its name comes from Ghazanchi (present-day Qazançı), a village in Nakhchivan, where the Khandamiriants family originated.