Buried church plate

The buried church plate of Irad consists of the chalices, crosses, censers, icons and bells that priests, sacristans and families buried or hid before the church closures of 1937. The rarest manuscripts of the cathedral library were carried to caves in the Kara-Suu Canyon at the same time. Most of the hidden objects were recovered after 1992, but shepherds and road crews still find pieces.^[1] The hiding of the bells is the theme of Kemel Ishakov's The Silent Bell.

Treasure hunting and the law

Metal-detector hunters (izdöochülör, "searchers") work the sites of old chapels, which the church calls grave-robbing. A 2010 amendment to the heritage ordinance makes any find of church property made before 1992 state property until it is claimed, and requires the finder to declare it to the Heritage Protection Service within ten days; the finder receives a quarter of its valuation.^[2]

The best-known case is that of the Tegirmen chalice, found by a herder in 2025 and now before the Talas District Court. Rumors of a bishop's crozier buried in 1937 "where the Rider points" draw hunters every summer.^[2]

References

1. ^ Archeparchy of Iyık Janyl (2023). Annuario: Clergy, Parishes and Institutions. Iyık Janyl.
2. ^ Talas Herald (2025). 'Finders, keepers, the archeparchy and the state.' Talas.