Spitakavor Monastery (), is a 14th-century
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 ...
monastic complex, north of
Vernashen village,
near the town of
Yeghegnadzor of
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 ...
.
Geography
The Spitakavor Monastery is located on the slopes of Teksar mountain of the Vayots Dzor Province. The terrain is difficult, but the monastery can be reached on foot or with an all-terrain vehicle. It is about from the
University of Gladzor
University of Gladzor ( hy, Գլաձորի համալսարան, translit=Gladzori hamalsaran) was a medieval Armenian university, one of the two "great centres of learning" along with the University of Tatev () that were "essentially of a singl ...
's Museum and
Tanahat Monastery and about to the Proshaberd fortress.
Monastery and church
![Spitakavor-tympanon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Spitakavor-tympanon.jpg)
Behind fortified walls lies buildings of white shaved (
felsite
Felsite is a very fine-grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals. Felsite is a field term for a light-colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition. Color i ...
, including the
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 ...
,
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
, a
bell-tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
and
vestibule.
Its main monument is the Spitakavor Church of the Holy Mother of God (Spitakavor Church of Surp Astvatsatsin). Due to the number of springtime flowers that surround the monastery, it is sometimes called ''Tsaghkavank'' (the Monastery of Flowers) by the villagers of Vernashen.
[Spitakavor Church](_blank)
Find Armenia. Retrieved 4 December 2013. An image, described as "a remarkable example of mid-century Armenian sculpture" of
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, is chiseled into the headstone of the church's entrance. Other interesting artistic works included a sculpture of
Jesus
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 ...
with his
disciples and a relief of Eachi and his son.
The
History Museum of Armenia
The History Museum of Armenia (armenian: Հայաստանի պատմության թանգարան) is a museum in Armenia with departments of Archaeology, Numismatics, Ethnography, Modern History and Restoration. It has a national collection of 40 ...
in Yerevan now holds a wall hanging that depicts Prince Hasan. The relief of the prince and his father is at the
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia.
Although the monastery is small and somewhat remote, it has been described as follows:
History
The 14th-century Spitakavor Monastery was built by two princes from the Proshian dynasty
during the
Zakarid Armenia
Zakarid Armenia ( hy, Զաքարյան Հայաստան ''Zakaryan Hayastan'') was an Armenian principality between 1201 and 1360, ruled by the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli dynasty. The city of Ani was the capital of the princedom. The Zakarids were va ...
period. The construction of the church began by Prince Eachi (died in 1318) and completed in 1321 by his son Prince Amir Hasan II.
Between 1321 and 1330, the narthex was built, and in 1330 Hovhannes Proshian and his wife, Tadzna, added a three-story bell-tower to the western wall of narthex.
The monastery became an "important cultural, educational and spiritual center" under the guidance of Father Superior and
Phililogist Vardapet Avagter.
There were two other monasteries in the area, Tanade and St. Khach monasteries, and the three used
fire signals
The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area ...
to communicate in "ancient times".
The monastery was attacked in the 14th century by
Lenk Timur whose armies destroyed its walls and narthex, known in Armenia as
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 ...
.
In the 14th
or 15th century,
after the
fall of the Mongols,
Ak-Koyunlu and
Kara Koyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
tribes attacked and "devastated" the region, including the monastery
church gavit, monastery defense walls, and service building. Without restoration of the destroyed buildings and walls, the church
of the monastery stood until the
Persian-Ottoman War when in 1604 thousands of Armenians were forcibly resettled under
Shah Abbas.
The church and the remains of the monastery remain. Information panels in Armenian, Russian, Italian, French and English were installed for visitors.
Garegin Nzhdeh
The remains of the Armenian military leader and political thinker
Garegin Nzhdeh
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Garegin Nzhdeh ( hy, Գարեգին Նժդեհ, ; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and political thinker. As a member of the Arme ...
were secretly buried in the yard of Spitakavor Monastery on 9 May 1987
Nzhdeh after his death
ArmTimes. Retrieved 4 December 2013. (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 ...
) or in 1983. He had died in a Soviet prison in 1955. Annually on June 17 Armenians across the world conduct a pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to the monastery's graveyard.
Gallery
2014 Prowincja Wajoc Dzor, Klasztor Spitakawor (14).jpg, Portal
2014 Prowincja Wajoc Dzor, Klasztor Spitakawor (06).jpg, Cross by the tomb of Garegin Nzhdeh
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Garegin Nzhdeh ( hy, Գարեգին Նժդեհ, ; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and political thinker. As a member of the Arme ...
File:Spitakavor-raffi kojian-DCP 3983.JPG, Spitakavor Monastery
File:Սպիտակավոր30.JPG, Armenian eternity sign
File:Սպիտակավոր14.JPG, Cross on Spitakavor walls
See also
* Proshaberd
Notes
References
{{Armenian Churches
Christian monasteries in Armenia
Tourist attractions in Vayots Dzor Province
1321 establishments in Europe
Christian monasteries established in the 14th century
Buildings and structures in Vayots Dzor Province