Skantselorgivank
| Monastery of Miracles Սքանչելագործ վանք |
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|---|---|
| Construction year: | 8/9 century |
| Location: | 38 ° 54 '28.8 " N , 42 ° 42' 10.1" E |
| Location: |
Adilcevaz Bitlis , Turkey |
| Purpose: | monastery |
Skantselorgivank ( Armenian Սքանչելագործ վանք , "Monastery of Miracles") was a monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church on the north bank of Lake Van in the Bitlis province in southeastern Turkey . The monastery, which has existed since the 8th or 9th century, was located on a hill a few kilometers northwest of the city of Adilcevaz , which in the Middle Ages was called Ardzgue in Armenian .
history
According to the text collection Acta Martyrum , Vahan von Goghthen stayed here at the beginning of the 8th century. The son of a local Armenian ruler, he was abducted to Syria by Arabs and raised a Muslim . He was later sent back to Armenia to rule an area under Arab suzerainty . However, immediately after his arrival he broke away from Islam , returned to Christianity , came to Artzque and retired to a nearby hermitage called Erashkhawor. His apostasy from Islam eventually led to his martyrdom in 737 . Eraschkhavor (Yerashkhavor), "Monastery of the Protector", is possibly an earlier name of the monastery and would mean that the monastery was established in the second quarter of the 8th century. It is also possible that Erashkavor was another monastery nearby that has now disappeared.
The monastery’s reputation came from numerous relics that are said to have miraculous powers to cure diseases. There was a relic known as the "Sacred Emblem of War". Another relic was part of a large bronze cauldron found by monks during a plague epidemic. The belief arose that it was the basin in which Jesus Christ was washed after his birth. It was probably part of a Urartian chalice. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries the monastery housed a scriptorium - over 20 manuscripts were made here. At the end of the 19th century the monastery was wealthy and owned many estates. In 1893 an earthquake in the Ottoman Empire hit the city of Artzque and destroyed many houses. It is not known whether the monastery was also affected. In 1895 the monastery was attacked and robbed by Kurds during the massacre of the Armenians , and the outbuildings of the monastery were also burned down. These were rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century. The monastery existed until the Armenian genocide .