Chor Wirap Monastery
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Khor Wirap ( Armenian Խոր Վիրապ , "deep dungeon") is an Armenian monastery located between the cities of Artaschat and Ararat in the province of Ararat about 40 km south of Yerevan in sight of the border with Turkey below Mount Ararat .
history
According to legend, King Trdat III blocked . in the year 288 AD on the small hill in the middle of the plain of the ax valley Gregory put the illuminator in a cave and held him there for 13 years in order to dissuade him from the Christian faith . Since the torture could not bend Gregor, and this healed the king from an incurable, disfiguring skin disease, Trdat III. baptized with his family and the court in 301 and decreed that the Armenians - as the first people in history - to adopt Christianity as the state religion . The hill of Chor Wirap is also the place where 180 BC. The old Armenian capital Artaxata was established by Artaxias I , the founder of the Artaxid dynasty . Today there is a small monastery from the 17th century on the hill, consisting of the Church of Our Lady ( Surb Astvatsatsin ) from 1661 and the repeatedly rebuilt, originally by Catholicos Narses III. St. George's Chapel ( Surb Gevork ), donated to the builder in 642 . The first chapel was built similar to the Zvartnots Cathedral, which was destroyed by an earthquake . There are two holes in the floor through which one can descend into the cave cell in which Gregory is said to have been held, as well as into a similar underground cell. For a certain time there was a theological seminary and the residence of the Catholicos in Chor Wirap.
Importance to the Armenians
Because of these legendary events, the monastery has a special meaning for the Armenians . The events at the beginning of the 20th century reinforced this yet, as the final border between Turkey and the Soviet Union (the Armenian SSR ) were drawn close to the monastery. Thus, Khor Wirap became the closest point on Armenian territory to Ararat, the national symbol of the Armenians, after the mountain was slammed into Turkey. If the weather conditions permit, the monastery offers one of the most beautiful views of the mountain.
On June 26, 2016, Pope Francis visited the monastery on his trip to Armenia .
Altar of the Mother of God Church
Entrance to the St. George Chapel
Descent to the dungeon of Gregory the Illuminator
Cave cell Gregory the Illuminator
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Elisabeth Bauer: Armenia: Past and Present . Reich Verlag, Lucerne 1977, ISBN 3-7243-0146-4 .
- ↑ Vatican Radio: The Pope's trip to Armenia , accessed on November 11, 2016.
Coordinates: 39 ° 52 ′ 42 " N , 44 ° 34 ′ 34" E