Saint Gevork Monastery or Saint George's Monastery of Mughni (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Սուրբ Գեւորգ Եկեղեցի or Սուրբ Գեւորգ Վանք ; pronounced ''Surp Gevork'') is located just off of the main road that runs through the village of

Mughni Mughni ( hy, Մուղնի) is a village in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It is located just to the north of Ashtarak town and belongs to its municipality. Until the Russian conquest, it was the southernmost town in the district of Aparan. M ...

near

Ashtarak Ashtarak (Armenian language, Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of ...

in the

Aragatsotn Province Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտն, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported ...

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 ...

. It was built to house some of the remains of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

who was known as the "Slayer of Dragons".

Architecture

The church of Saint Gevork stands within a rectangular walled

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. It has a single

cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

notable for the horizontal alternating striped pattern that surrounds it, and a

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

umbrella type

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

above. The striped pattern repeats some within the interior portion of the dome. The front façade is made up of a triple-

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

ed walkway with an arch on either side adjacent that leads underneath a belfry. The belfry consists of sixteen equally spaced columns with an equal amount of smaller arches that support the weight of the

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 ...

above. A main portal leads into the church decorated by an intricately carved arched

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

and door frame. Another smaller doorway is located on the façade to the right of the front of the church. It is almost as intricately carved as the main entry door. Many portions of the stonework on the church of Saint Gevork use two colors of stone; a darker grey

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

and an apricot colored tuff. In particular the doorways, the drum, the peaks of the façades, and the capitals of the rectangular columns of the triple-archway in front are accentuated by the alternating stone colors. In the interior of the church there are numerous religious

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es around the

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 ...

and on the left wall leading to the tomb of S. George of whom the church is named after. They were most likely painted in the 17th century by

Naghash Hovnatan Naghash Hovnatan ( hy, Նաղաշ Հովնաթան; 1661, Shorot, Nakhijevan, Safavid Iran – 1722, Shorot) was an Armenian poet, '' ashugh'', painter, and founder of the Hovnatanian artistic family. He is considered the founder of the new Ar ...

whose other works include decoration of the

Etchmiadzin Cathedral Etchmiadzin Cathedral) or simply Etchmiadzin. Alternatively spelled as Echmiadzin, Ejmiatsin, and Edjmiadsin. ( hy, Էջմիածնի մայր տաճար, Ēǰmiatsni mayr tačar) is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located i ...

and other churches near

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

and Agulis. A single

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

tomb sits in a room adjacent to the apse with semi-circular stone of green marble on top worn down from the many people who have touched it. It is said to come from Jerusalem. A chapel built in the 6th century had at one point served to house the remains of S. George, but was later replaced by the church of Saint Gevork.

Gallery

File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի).jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու ներքին տեսքը File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-1.jpg, Խաչքար Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու ներսում File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-2.jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու արտաքին տեսքը File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-3.jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու արտաքին տեսքը File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-4.jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու արտաքին տեսքը File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-5.jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու մուտքը File:Եկեղեցի Սբ. Գևորգ (Մուղնի)-6.jpg, Մուղնու Սբ. Գևորգ եկեղեցու ներքին տեսքը և խորանը Image:Mughni.jpg, Interior of the dome. Image:Mughni Side Portal.JPG, Side portal of the church Image:Mughni Apse Frescoes.JPG, Interior frescoes at the apse Image:Mughni Frescoes 2.JPG, Interior frescoes Image:Mughni Frescoes 3.JPG, Interior frescoes Image:Mughni Frescoes 4.JPG, Interior frescoes Image:Mughni Frescoes 5.JPG, Interior frescoes Image:S. George Tomb Mughni.jpg, The tomb of Saint George within the church. The stone sitting on top is said to be from Jerusalem Image:Mughni Cemetery.JPG, A tomb/monument at a cemetery directly across the street from Saint Gevork Monastery

References

Bibliography

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External links

Armeniapedia.org: Saint Gevork Monastery of Mughni

About Saint George Monastery in Mughni
{{Armenian Churches Armenian Apostolic churches in Armenia Tourist attractions in Aragatsotn Province Buildings and structures in Aragatsotn Province 14th-century Oriental Orthodox church buildings 14th-century churches in Armenia