The Monastery of Sourb Nshan of Sebastia () is a former Armenian monastic complex near the city of

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Name

"Sourb Nshan" is Armenian for Holy Sign. Sebastia was the historical name of the city of

. The Monastery of Sourb Nshan of Sebastia is a former Armenian monastic complex near the city of Sivas in Turkey.

History

Sourb Nshan monastery was established by prince Atom-Ashot, the son of King Senekerim. The monastery was named after a celebrated relic that Senekerim had brought from

Varagavank Varagavank ( hy, Վարագավանք, "Monastery of Varag"; tr, Yedi Kilise, "Seven Churches") was an Armenian monastery on the slopes of Mount Erek, southeast of the city of Van, in eastern Turkey. The monastery was founded in the early 11 ...

monastery, and which was returned there after his death. This was one of notable center of enlightenment and scholarship of

Lesser Armenia Lesser Armenia ( hy, Փոքր Հայք, ''Pokr Hayk''; la, Armenia Minor, Greek: Mikre Armenia, Μικρή Αρμενία), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian–populated regions primarily to the west and n ...

during

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

and Ottoman reigns until the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

in 1915. In 1915 Sourb Nshan monastery was the main repository of medieval Armenian manuscripts in the Sebastia region and at least 283 manuscripts are recorded. The library was not destroyed during the Armenian Genocide and most of the manuscripts survived. In 1918 about 100 of them were transferred to the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

Current condition

The monastery today is entirely destroyed and a sprawling military base occupies the site. The date of the destruction is uncertain. The monastery stood on a low hill overlooking Sivas and was surrounded by a plain and undefended outer wall. On one side of that enclosure wall, encircled by a wall of mud brick, was a large garden containing fruit trees and vegetable plots. Several farms were also attached to the monastery.

Appearance

The monastery had three churches – their names were Sourb Astvatsatsin () (Holy Mother of God), Sourb Khatch () (Holy Cross), and Sourb Hovhannes Karapet () (Saint John the Precursor).

References

{{Armenian Churches, state=expanded Armenian churches in Turkey Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Destroyed churches Demolished buildings and structures in Turkey Buildings and structures demolished in the 20th century Armenian buildings in Turkey