Saint Sargis Monastery in Uschi
The Sankt Sargis Monastery of Uschi ( Armenian Սուրբ Սարգիս Վանք Surp Sarkis Wank or Ուշի Վանք Uschi Wank ) is a former monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the western Armenian province of Aragazotn . It was founded in the 5th century. Today the monastery is abandoned. The buildings have been largely destroyed and the area is overgrown.
location
The Chorakert monastery complex is located about 500 meters west of the village of Uschi and five kilometers north of Ashtarak , the capital of the western Armenian province of Aragazotn. There it is at an altitude of 1410 meters above sea level at the end of a sharply sloping ridge on the canyon of the Kassagh River . Nearby are the remains of a settlement from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BC. Chr.
Building description
The monastery complex covers an area of around 45 × 54 meters. It is surrounded by a square defensive wall with three towers in the south and two towers in the north. Within the walled area are the ruins of the chapel of St. Sargis, the church Surb Astwazazin (( Armenian Սուրբ Աստվածածին , "Holy Mother of God "), western Armenian Surp Asdwadsadsin , other transcriptions Surp Astvatsatsin, Surb Astuacacin ), a gawit , a bell tower, the refectory , a formerly vaulted dining room and several residential and farm buildings.
All buildings are largely destroyed. Only the chapel above the grave of St. Sargis remained in a noteworthy condition. It is a one-nave chapel about 5.8 meters wide and eight meters long, which is closed at the top with a vault and a gable roof. On its south facade, the chapel was connected to the main church Surb Astwazazin. This was a cross-domed church , on the south side of which a Gawit was built.
history
In the local tradition, the foundation of the monastery is connected with the soldier St. Sargis ( Armenian Սուրբ Սարգիս Զորավար , * 4th century ,; † 362–363). The Christian first served in the army of the Roman Empire before he fled the persecution to the Persian Sassanid Empire , where Great King Shapur II appointed him commander of his troops. Under Sargis, the Sassanid Empire was able to repel a campaign by the Roman emperor Julian . He attributed his military success to his faith and urged his soldiers to convert to Christianity. When Shapur II found out about this, he had Sargis executed. He was first buried in the village of Namyan (now in the Iranian province of Māzandarān ) on the south coast of the Caspian Sea . A group around Mesrop Mashtots finally transferred his remains to Armenia in the first decade of the 5th century and had them buried in the chapel on a hill not far from the village of Ushi.
However, most of the buildings are younger. They are dated to the 10th to 13th centuries. The surrounding walls go back to 1654.
The monastery was largely destroyed in the earthquakes of 1679 and 1827. Only the St. Sargis chapel remained largely intact. It is still an important place of pilgrimage. Therefore, the reconstruction work began in December 2003, during which the chapel was largely restored. At the same time, excavations took place on the area.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Ushi. Retrieved November 20, 2017 .
- ↑ St. Sarkis Armenian Church ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ St. Sarkis the Warrior and His son, St. Mardiros ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ p4b38. Retrieved November 20, 2017 .
Coordinates: 40 ° 20 ′ 51.3 " N , 44 ° 21 ′ 36.3" E