Spitakavor Church ( hy, Սպիտակավոր եկեղեցի); literally meaning ''white-colored church'', is a 13th-century partly ruined Armenia church located at the edge of a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

in the town of

Ashtarak Ashtarak (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 the Aragatsotn pr ...

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 i ...

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 ''O ...

Confusion about the name

Some confusion about the name of the churches of Spitakavor and Tsiranavor has seemed to have occurred due to the misplacement of the Russian markers located inside the two structures. New EU-sponsored information plaques with building descriptions adopted the wrong designations of the older plates thus amplifying the confusion. Anyone that lives in the city around the area will tell you that Spitakavor ("Whitish") is the white church from the 5th Century, and Tsiranavor ("Apricotish") is the apricot colored church from the 13th Century.Aragatsotn Province
stoneland-travel.com The name plaques at the churches however will tell you the opposite. Nearby is also the church of Karmravor ("Reddish"), formally known as the Church of Holy Mother of God (''Surb Astvatsatsin''). It is a 7th Century Armenian Apostolic church. Furthermore, there are the churches of S. Mariane and S. Sarkis. In the gorge is a unique bridge built in 1664.

Location

It may be seen across the gorge from the church of Surp Sarkis, but is easiest reached via the streets of the neighborhood that it sits within. Very close (down the street 3 houses) and also sitting along the gorge is the church of Spitakavor (literally meaning ''whitish'' because of its color), built between the 5th-6th centuries.

Architecture

Spitakavor is a small

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

type church constructed during the 13th century. It is apricot-orange in color, because of the

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

stone used for the construction of the building. Presently, only the walls remain since the roof,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

have collapsed. There is a main portal to the structure at the front façade, and another at the side of the church. Interior walls are flat except for the semi-circular

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''. ...

located directly across from the main portal. Very little decoration adorns the church other than some cruciform relief found on the exterior walls.

Legend

According to a legend, three sisters lived in Ashtarak, all of whom fell in love with the same man, prince Sargis. The elder two sisters decided to commit suicide in favor of the youngest one. One wearing an

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...

-orange dress and the other wearing a red dress, they threw themselves into the gorge. When the youngest sister found out, she put on a white dress and also threw herself into the gorge. Sargis then became a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

and three small churches appeared at the edge of the gorge, named after the sisters' dress colors.

Gallery

^ Սպիտակավոր եկեղեցի 01.JPG, Eastern and northern side of Tsiranavor Church from the distance Spitakavor church, Ashtarak.jpg, Main entrance at the western side with southern entry in the background Աշտարակի Սպիտակավոր եկեղեցին 10.jpg, Main entrance at the western side Tsiranavor Cross.JPG, Cross carvings on the front exterior wall to the right of the main portal. Tsiranavor_Roof.JPG, Reconstructed sections of the upper walls. Spitakavor church Ashtarak 09.JPG, Spitakavor_church_Ashtarak_03.JPG, Northern side Սպիտակավոր.JPG, Tsiranavor Church in winter

References

Bibliography

External links

Armenian Architectural Studies
{{Armenian Churches Armenian Apostolic churches in Ashtarak Tourist attractions in Aragatsotn Province Buildings and structures in Aragatsotn Province