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Sona Avagyan

Bardzrakash St. Grigor Monastery: Architectural Jewel of Dsegh Village in Lori

The road sign pointing the way to the St. Grigor Monastery leads visitors along the edge of a deep canyon.

We are in the forested mountains of Armenia’s Lori Marz, near the village of Dsegh.

Walking down the path, we come across broken stone crosses covered in moss and the occasional undamaged ones.

 

According to the sign posted on the tree, this small structure is the St. Haroutyun Chapel. However, Armenian architect specialist Samvel Karapetyan believes it’s more likely that the crumbling edifice is a burial vault.

Another interesting site along the way is the spring colloquially named Gikor’s Spring. In his novel Gikor, the writer Hovhannes Toumanyan refers to this spring as where Hambo stops for as drink.

A few minutes later we approach the monastery. The church to the north was built in the 10th century. Next to it Martzpan, the son of Prince Mamigonian Sargis, built the St. Astvatsatzin Church in 1221. Karapetyan says that the entire complex is rich in historical inscriptions and that the architect really poured his heart and soul into the job.

The name of the architect isn’t known, but there is the possibility that it is inscribed somewhere on one of the stones.

The accompanying photos reveal the decrepit state of the monastery today. What remains of the standing structures leans this way and that. Karapetyan assumes that the monastery was in such a sad state as far back as the 18th century.

Here we see the dynastic emblem of the Mamigonian family – a two headed eagle clutching a lamb in its talons.

This sign, on the wall of the church, cautions visitors not to light candles on the stone crosses. Elsewhere there are signs requesting that people do not deface the holy site with graffiti. It seems that the message hasn’t gotten across to many.

Within the confines of the monastery is the cemetery of the Mamigonian dynasty. Perhaps these grave stones mark the resting place of some of them.

Back in 2009, the RA Ministry of Culture included the site in its list of 26 severely endangered regional monuments to be monitored.

Deputy Minister of Culture Arev Samuelyan told Hetq that plans to research and restore the monastery have been included in the 2013-2015 budget. Samvel Karapetyan said that such a project, given the nearly inaccessible conditions, would take at least 10 years and cost $80 to $100 million. The architectural specialist says that what remains standing would have to be pulled down and the project started from scratch.

Narineh Toukhikyan, director of the Hovhannes Toumanyan House-Museum, says that the monastery appears in ten glass negatives taken by the writer. Toumanyan took the photos in the early 1900s. What follows are the photos he took.

In the last one we see Toumanyan and his friends.

Comments (4)

Hamlet
ekexecin zbaxvac e hasarak mardkanc miak sepakan tanic texahanelov, hanun hor ev vordu ev surb hogu, zbaxveq naev ajd harcov oriord Sona: bacahajteq te inchpes e ekexecin xlum Hrach Vardapetyani (093513594) sepakan tuny Echmiadzinum, tan arjeqi 20 % gumarov:
Abraham Bedevian
and where is the 80 to 100 million dollars coming it is better to be spend the money to the betterment of the people by providing work,. our ancestors should have spent more on military fortifications against the invaders than building these edifices
TAREGIR
ՈՒՂՂԱԿԻ ՀՐԱՇՔ
Լուսինե
Աղմկում ենք, երբ օտար աշխարհում քանդում են հայկական եկեղեցիները, իսկ մեր երկրում ինչքա՜ն հրաշք կառույցներ են կործանվում: Սիրտս ցավում է, ինչպես կարող է մեր եկեղեցին այսքան անտարբեր լինել այս հարցի նկատմամբ, չէ՞ որ ամեն քարի ու խաչքարի մեջ մեր պատմությունն է և առաջին հերթին հայ եկեղեցու պատմությունը:

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