Gndevank ( hy, Գնդեվանք, meaning ''Round cathedral'') is a 10th-century Armenian monastery in the

Vayots Dzor Province Vayots Dzor ( hy, Վայոց Ձոր, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It cover ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, along the Vayk-Jermuk road.

Location

The monastery is located on the west side of the Vayk-Jermuk road on the bank of the Arpa river. The old road is blocked by landslides and the monastery is approached by walking about from the junction with the old road, after a bridge crossing. About away from the church is the rock known as "

Vartan Mamikonian Vardan Mamikonian ( hy, Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of , ...

." There is a spring water in the vicinity of the church and a few picnic tables.

History

The monastery was built in 936 AD by Princess Sophia of Syunik. She stated the purpose of her building the monastery as: "Vayots Dzor was a ring without a jewel but I built this monastery as the jewel for the ring". Priest Sargis was the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the church. Priest Yeghishe was entrusted the responsibility for its construction. In 999 AD it was expanded with a

gavit A ''gavit'' (Armenian ) or ''zhamatun'' (Armenian: ) is often contiguous to the west of a church in a Medieval Armenian monastery. It served as narthex (entrance to the church), mausoleum and assembly room. History The ''gavit'', the distinctive ...

, a ''narthex'' or entrance to the church. In subsequent years the monastery was fortified with walls around it, under the orders of Abbot Petros (Peter). The monastery, which was damaged during an earthquake, was refurbished during 1965 and 1969. Further renovations were done during 2013. In 1875, several items of religious paraphernalia were found in a secret chamber in the church.

Features

The church, well preserved, is dedicated to St. Stephen. It is built in the form of a cross-dome of four

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s, with a circular tambour (inverted bell of the Corinthian capital) over a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. There are four altars in the church. The

, added in the western part of the church in subsequent years, is in the shape of barrel; it is vaulted and appears like a tunnel approach to the church. Abbot Christopher built the vaulted hall with two chambers. Sargis, who succeeded him, ordered the construction of a canal from the Vararakn River for providing a water supply to the church, which is still functional. On the southern and western side of the compound wall, monks' living quarters have been built. Of the surviving wall paintings, one by Yeghishe of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is on the altar wall. Another notable painting in the church is of Mother Mary on the northern annexed wall, which is said to be a masterpiece of the late Middle Ages in Armenia. The surfaces of the pendentives have carved images of the evangelists. The tombstones surrounding the church have carvings of interest, such as a scene of

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...

hunting next to a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

, and the hunting of a boar. ''Khachkars'' (cross stones) are also seen here.

Gallery

File:Gndevank 3.JPG Image:Gndevank-2.JPG Image:Gndevank.jpg File:Gndevank,Gavit-E.jpg

References

Bibliography

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External links

Armeniapedia.org: Gndevank

A Flickr photo of Gndevank

About Gndevank
{{Armenian churches Christian monasteries in Armenia Buildings and structures in Vayots Dzor Province Tourist attractions in Vayots Dzor Province