Deputy Culture Minister Arev Samvelyan tells Hetq that the government just doesn't have the resources to start renovations on Ptghavank, a domed single-nave basilica church completed in the 6th to 7th centuries.

Blueprints drafted in 2008 for its restoration remain on the drawing board.

The church was constructed by Prince Manuel Amatouni or one of his descendants depending upon the interpretation of the carved hunting scene on the south elevation in which Manuel is defined by name only.

Known for its relief sculptures, the church is located in the village of Ptghni, in Armenia’s Kotayk Province.

Although some restoration work was undertaken in 1940, the structure is in very poor condition.

Most of the north wall, part of the south wall and a connecting arch, and some traces of the vaulting still exist but the cupola and the ceiling vaults have collapsed.

Ptghni is one of the oldest surviving examples of the domed hall church seen in Armenia during the early period.