Bagavan
| St. Hovhannes Mkrtich (St. John the Baptist), Bagavan Monastery Բագավանի Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտչի վանք վանք |
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| Construction year: | 631-639 |
| Style elements : | Armenian architecture |
| Location: | 39 ° 37 '23.2 " N , 43 ° 31' 30.7" E |
| Location: |
Taşteker Ağrı , Turkey |
| Purpose: | Armenian Apostolic Monastery |
Bagavan ( Armenian Բագավան ) was an ancient Armenian monastery town that was located near the village of Taşteker in the province of Ağrı in what is now Turkey . It was known as St. Hovhannes Mkrtich (St. John the Baptist) Monastery of Bagavan (Բագավանի Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտչի վանք).
The monastery was a religious site until the Armenian genocide in 1915. In 1948 the monastery was destroyed and the structural elements were used to build a mosque in Ağrı . The name Bagavan consists of the words Bagi (idol) and avan (city).
history
Bagavan was located in the southeast of Bagravend Province in the Ayrarat region of the Kingdom of Armenia . Founded in pagan Armenia as a religious center, it was the burial place of the pre-Christian rulers of Armenia . Here, on the waters of the Aratsani (Eastern Euphrates), King Trdat III was baptized in 314 . by Gregory the Illuminator (Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ). Trdat III. became the first Christian king of Armenia. The Armenian Apostolic Church as a separate independent Christian denomination later emerged.
After this event, the place was marked by numerous crosses that were engraved in the stones on the river side. On the nearby slopes of Mount Npat there were dozens of chapels, places of prayer of the famous Catholicos Nerses the Great (second half of the 4th century). From here he is said to have observed the Dziraver battle between the Armenians and the Persians . The monastery has three churches and its most famous bishops were Eznik von Kolb and Moses von Choren . Under their leadership, it became the main monastery in the Bagrevand and Arsharunik districts . The last phase of development ended in 639.
It was damaged during the Russo- Persian Wars of 1877–1878, but was used until 1915 after being restored. In the late 1940s the monastery was also known as the " Turkish Üç Kilise " "Three Churches".
architecture
The church was 46 meters long, 27 meters wide and 20 meters high. The external appearance of the church consisted of masonry and ornaments. In the 19th century the monastery was compared to the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople . It had five doors and 51 windows.
Todays situation
The monastery was destroyed in the late 1940s. Some of the stones were used to build houses in the Taşteker village , which was around the monastery. Most of the construction elements of the monastery, however, were brought to Ağrı , where they were used for the lower floor of the main mosque there, which was built in 1950.
Web links
- RH Hewsen: Bagawan (2). Encyclopædia Iranica
- Taşteker Üç Kilise