Long Description
The Geghard complex is an exceptionally complete and
well-preserved example of a medieval Armenian monastic foundation in a
remote area of great natural beauty at the head of the Azat valley,
surrounded by towering cliffs. It contains a number of churches and
tombs, most of them cut into the rock, which illustrate the very peak of
Armenian medieval architecture and decorative art, with many innovatory
features that had a profound influence on subsequent developments in
the region. It was founded in the 4th century, according to tradition by
St Gregory the Illuminator. The first monastery was destroyed by Arabs
in the 9th century, but it was flourishing again by the 13th century.
The monastery was famous because of the relics that it housed, the most
celebrated the spear that wounded Christ on the Cross. Relics of the
Apostles Andrew and John were donated in the 12th century and pious
visitors made numerous grants of land, money, manuscripts and so on over
the succeeding centuries.
The most ancient part of the monastery complex of Haghpat is the
small Chapel of St Gregory, lying to the east of and outside the main
group. It is excavated directly into the rock of the mountainside and is
uncompleted. The earliest of the inscriptions on the external wall is
from 1177. The ornate decoration of crosses on the facade extends from
the built wall on to the rock-face below.
Built according to an inscription in 1215, the Kathoghikè (main
church) is in the classic Armenian form, an equal-armed cross inscribed
in a square in plan and covered with a dome on a square base. It is
linked with the base by vaulting. The east arm of the cross terminates
in an apse, the remainder being square. In the corners there are small
barrel-vaulted two-storey chapels. On the internal walls there are many
inscriptions recording donations. The masonry of the external walls is
particularly finely finished and fitted. A gavit (entrance hall) links
it with the first rock-cut church.
As is customary in medieval Armenian architecture, the structure of
this building reproduces that of the peasant hut, in which four massive
free-standing columns in the centre support a roof of wooden beams with a
hole in the centre to admit light. The ecclesiastical version, in
stone, is an imposing structure. The peripheral spaces resulting from
the location of the columns are variously roofed, while the central
space is crowned by a dome with stalactites, the most perfect example of
this technique anywhere in Armenia. The gavit was used for teaching and
meetings, and for receiving pilgrims and visitors.
The first rock-cut church was built before 1250, entirely dug into
the rock and on an equal-armed cruciform plan. To the east a roughly
square chamber cut into the rock was one of the princely tombs (zamatoun ) of the Proshyan dynasty. This gives access to the second rock-cut church built in 1283. The second zamatoun
, reached by an external staircase, contains the tombs of the princes
Merik and Grigor. The monastery complex was encircled by a defensive
wall in the 12th to 13th centuries. Most of the monks lived in cells
excavated into the rock-face outside the main enceinte, which have been
preserved, along with some simple oratories.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
The monastery is situated at the head of the Azat valley,
surrounded by towering cliffs. It was founded in the 4th century,
according to tradition by St Gregory the Illuminator. The site is that
of a spring arising in a cave which had been sacred in pre-Christian
times, hence one of the names by which it was known, Ayvirank (the Monastery of the Cave).
The first monastery was destroyed by Arabs in the 9th century, but it
was re-established and was flourishing again by the 13th century under
the patronage of the Proshyan princes, who are buried there. They
provided it with an irrigation system in 1200, as well as paying for the
erection and reconstruction of most of the churches in the complex. At
this time it was also known as the Monastery of the Seven Churches and
the Monastery of the Forty Altars.
The monastery was more famous because of the relics that it housed.
The most celebrated of these was the spear which had wounded Christ on
the Cross, allegedly brought there by the Apostle Thaddeus, from which
comes its present name, Geghardavank (the Monastery of the Spear), first
recorded in a document of 1250. This made it a popular place of
pilgrimage for Armenian Christians over many centuries. Relics of the
Apostles Andrew and John were donated in the 12th century, and pious
visitors made numerous grants of land, money, manuscripts, etc over the
succeeding centuries.
Source: Advisory Body Evaluation
