Kurdshop - Thaddeus Church or Kara Church, or Black Church, is located in a village called Karaklesa (Black Church), 20 kilometers northeast of Chaldoran district and south of Maku in East Kurdistan.

This historic church is one of the oldest churches of Christianity, built on the tomb of one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, named Tataeus or Thaddeus; That is why it is called Thaddeus Church. Karaklesa, which means black church in Turkish, is the new name of this historic church because of the presence of black stone inside the church.

In 1955 and 2002, the Black Church was registered as the ninth historical monument of Iran and East Kurdistan at a meeting of UNESCO, along with Saint Stepanos Church and ZorZor Church.

The history of this ancient church dates back to the early Christian era. According to a famous Armenian historian, Musa Khurni, the church's name is mentioned as "Holy Tataus" in various books since 1243, especially in the book of Armenian religious structures.

According to inscriptions found throughout history, the Thaddeus or Black Church has been destroyed many times. In 1230, with the invasion of Genghis Khan, most parts of the church were damaged and then Khawaja Nasiruddin Tusi rebuilt it again during the reign of Holako Khan. It was destroyed again in the 14th century by a strong earthquake and rebuilt within 10 years by Bishop Zacharias (Zakaria) and his brothers Peter and Serkis.

In previous renovations of the church, black stones were replaced with white stones. That is why we see a mixture of old black stone and new white stone in the church's structure.

For the decorative architecture of the Karaklesa, inspiration was drawn from the Etchmiadzin Church in Armenia, the first and most important church in Armenia.