Khoranashat Monastery

The Khoranashat Monastery ( Armenian Խորանաշատ Khoranashat ) is a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church . It is located northeast of the village of Chinari in the province of Tavush in northeastern Armenia . The monastery is considered one of the most important scientific, cultural and religious centers of medieval Armenia. Famous scholars such as the historian Grigor Aknertsi and the philosophers Vardan Areveltsi and Catholicos Grigor Akhtamartsi taught there. Also for the manuscripts created therethe monastery was known. Some of these have been preserved. They are now kept in the Mesrop Mashtots Institute for Ancient Manuscripts in the capital, Yerevan . Today it is a ruin. Access is prohibited due to its proximity to the Azerbaijan border. Once a year the monastery is open on May 2nd. On this day the residents of the neighboring villages gather in the church to commemorate the deceased in a service.

history

The clergyman and historian Vanakan Vardapet, born in Albania in 1181 , founded the monastery in the first half of the 13th century after a donation from the noble Vahramyan family. The main church (the Mother of God Church) was built from 1211 to 1222. In the 1230s, Mongols looted the monastery. Vanakan's (who was also buried there) death in 1251 heralded the decline of the monastery. Today it is a dilapidated ruin.

Building description

The monastery complex includes the churches of Surb Astvatsatsin (Church of Our Lady) and Surb Kiraki (Holy Sunday), chapels, monks cells and two cemeteries. The monastery was surrounded by fortress walls. The Mother of God Church was built in the years 1211 to 1222. In its construction, the cross-domed church differs from churches from the same period. The altar apse is very wide, semicircular and divided into twelve niches. There is a two-story side chapel on either side of the altar. To the west of the Mother of God Church is a gavit built between 1222 and 1240 . Like the altar apse of the main church, it is decorated on its east side with twelve niches, one of which serves as an entrance. The roof of the vestibule is supported by 3 pairs of arches that intersect in the middle and form a six-pointed star.

The small church Surb Kiraki (Holy Sunday) was also built in the 13th century in the southern area of the monastery. The ruins of a chapel and a medieval cemetery have been preserved in the eastern area of the monastery. On top of it is a khachkar , which is said to be the tombstone of Vanakan Vardapet (the founder of the monastery) and a number of other tombstones.

Web links

Commons : Khoranashat Monastery - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Dédéyan, Gérard .: Histoire du peuple arménien . [Nouv. éd. remaniée et enrichie]. Private, Toulouse 2007, ISBN 978-2-7089-6874-5 , pp. 991 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Khoranashat Monastery, Chinari, Armenia | World Building Directory | Buildings. Retrieved November 2, 2017 .
↑ Hacikyan, AJ (Agop Jack), 1931-, Basmajian, Gabriel., Franchuk, Edward S., Ouzounian, Nourhan .: The heritage of Armenian literature . Wayne State University Press, Detroit 2002, ISBN 978-0-8143-3023-4 , pp. 493 (© 2000-2005).

40.858 45.6276Coordinates: 40 ° 51 '28.8 " N , 45 ° 37' 39.4" E

[1] Dédéyan, Gérard .: Histoire du peuple arménien . [Nouv. éd. remaniée et enrichie]. Private, Toulouse 2007, ISBN 978-2-7089-6874-5 , pp. 991 .

[:0-2] Khoranashat Monastery, Chinari, Armenia | World Building Directory | Buildings. Retrieved November 2, 2017 .

[3] Hacikyan, AJ (Agop Jack), 1931-, Basmajian, Gabriel., Franchuk, Edward S., Ouzounian, Nourhan .: The heritage of Armenian literature . Wayne State University Press, Detroit 2002, ISBN 978-0-8143-3023-4 , pp. 493 (© 2000-2005).