HY RU EN
Asset 3

Loading

End of content No more pages to load

Your search did not match any articles

The Churches and Monasteries of Hayots Tsor

The Monasteries of Hayots Tsor (Nahiye)

By Robert Tatoyan

According to the figures of A. Menag, a reporter for the Ashkhadank weekly newspaper published in Van, there were 12 monasteries in the area of Hayots Tsor in 1911, of which five were standing, and seven were in ruins.

The monasteries that were still standing were the Holy Virgin of Ankgh, the Holy Cross or Saint Marinos of Srkhou, the Saint Kevork of Khek, the Saint Abraham Monastery, and the Holy Virgin or Dzidzaghaper. The monasteries that were in ruins or semi-dilapidated were the Saint Vartan (which was submerged under the waters of Lake Van), the Vart Badrig Chapel, the Khntragadar Monastery, the Chapel of Adom, the Saint Vartan of Aregh, the Holy Virgin of Khosb, and the twin monasteries of Saint Sarkis and Saint Kevork (submerged under the waters of Lake Van) [1].

The Holy Virgin Monastery of Ankgh (Kapenits Saint Kevork)

The Holy Virgin Monastery of Ankgh was located 1.5 kilometers southeast of the village of Ankgh. It consisted of one small, unimpressive church, housed in an old, ordinary building. The main altar was dedicated to the Holy Virgin, and the altars to the right and left of the main altar were dedicated to Saint Kevork and Saint Sdepanos, respectively [2]. According to another source, Saint Kevork was a separate church [3]. There was also a smaller altar near Saint Kevork, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, with a “yughadzoran” window. From this window dripped an oily liquid, which the locals had dubbed “the tears of the Holy Virgin” and to which they ascribed miraculous healing powers [4].

According to legend, the Holy Virgin was founded by Thaddeus the Apostle, who had also stored the Holy Lance, as well as the Holy Virgin’s veil and a bottle of oil used by her, inside the monastery [5].

In 1882, the United Society opened a school at the Holy Virgin. The school operated until 1896, and was plundered and burned, alongside the rest of the compound, during the Hamidian massacres [6].

The monastery is mentioned in records as the largest and preeminent pilgrimage site in Hayots Tsor. Its pilgrimage day was the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. On that day, the site would host large crowds consisting not only of Armenians, but also of Kurds and Turks [7].

The monastery was considered to be functioning but had no serving monks. Y. Devgants, who visited it in the summer of 1873, found it in a relatively prosperous state. It had a serving abbot, Father Kevork, as well as three ploughmen, a cowherd, and a shepherd. The caretaker was the abbot’s mother [8]. The monastery continued to be administered by Father Kevork’s family in subsequent years [9].

But already by 1911, records indicate that the church was in a dilapidated and unimpressive state, and the monastery compound uninhabited. The records note that that monastery’s estates (large tracts of land, tree orchards, pastures, water mills and other structures) had previously been appropriated by a single priest and his family (presumably a refence to the Der Kevorkian family), who had paid a paltry sum (moukata) to the Aghtamar Catholicosate. The Catholicosate had, in recent years, taken to the practice of renting out the monastery’s lands in exchange for 40 units of wheat (around 17 Ottoman pounds) per year [10].

The Holy Virgin Monastery of Eremer (Dzidzaghaper Holy Virgin)

The Dzidzaghaper Holy Virgin Monastery was located approximately half a kilometer east of the Armenian-populated village of Eremer, at the tip of a cluster of hills that rose in a cyme-like pattern from the valley [11].

The Holy Virgin, among other monasteries, was under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Aghtamar Catholicosate. It was renowned for the beautiful views it offered, its orchards, and the fertile soil of its fields [12].

According to legend, the monastery was built by Thaddeus the Apostle at the very site where the smiling Holy Virgin had appeared to him. This was the origin of the monastery’s moniker of “dzidzaghaper” [“that which brings a smile”] [13].

The monastery consisted of one church, an adjacent narthex, and the wall surrounding the compound [14]. The structures were built of ordinary, unpolished stones. The church had a height of eight meters and a width of six meters. It had no columns, and was an ordinary, domed building. The narthex was built in the same shape, and also lacked columns [15].

On the eve of the Genocide, the monastery did not have an active order. The priests of Eremer served as its abbots. In late 1895, the monastery was plundered by Kurdish bandits. The abbot, Father Mardiros, escaped to Van, but then fell victim to the massacres that struck the city in June 1896 [16].

The Armenians of Eremer had great reverence for the Holy Virgin. K. Sherents writes that all of them, women and men, would visit the monastery as soon as it opened its doors in the morning, would kneel before it and its kiss its stones and cross, and only then head to their village church for service [17].

According to figures from 1903, the monastery housed the Eremer village school, with its one teacher and 40 pupils [18].

According to an account from 1911, a priest and his family lived on the premises of the monastery, and supervised its extensive properties (fields, orchards, etc.) The priest’s salary was paid by the Aghtamar Catholicosate, and consisted only of 25 units of wheat per year, equivalent to 10 Ottoman pounds [19].

The Saint Nshan or Saint Marinos Monastery of Srkhou

The monastery was located in the south of Hayots Tsor, at a distance of approximately two kilometers (30 minutes’ walk) from the Kurdish-populated village of Galbalasan. It stood beside a boulder, in a rocky valley. The year of its founding is unknown, but judging from a khachkar located on the premises, it must have been built by the 13th century at the latest [20]. According to records, the monastery had previously served as a large convent, and was home to 300 nuns under the leadership of Saint Marianos, after whom the site was later named [21]. The locals pointed to an unimpressive and dilapidated chapel nearby as the final resting place of Saint Marianos. This chapel was a pilgrimage destination for infertile women, as well as women who were unable to lactate [22].

The monastery consisted of a church with a central dome and related structures, all built in a row behind a wall that rose on the western side of the compound [23].

M. Mirakhorian, who visited the monastery in 1883, mentioned that the compound was still partially standing. Two year prior to his visit (in 1881), it had still had an abbot, who later abandoned the monastery. The Aghtamar Catholicosate, which had spiritual jurisdiction over Saint Nshan, had let out its approximately 400 plots of farmland to the local villagers [24].

The monastery was plundered during the 1896 Hamidian massacres [25].

According to an account from 1911, the monastery was abandoned and uninhabited, although only “years earlier” it had had proper facilities and many monks. The monastery’s farmlands, about 300 plots, were still being let out to local villagers in exchange for 35 units of wheat (15 Ottoman pounds) per year [26].

The Saint Kevork Monastery of Khek

The monastery was located to the southwest of the Armenian-populated Khek (Hayg) village of Hayots Tsor, at a distance of about 20 minutes’ walk from it.

The date of Saint Kevork’s founding is unknown. M. Mirakhorian, who visited it in 1883, described it as an old monastery that lacked a cathedral. He also mentioned the abbot, Sdepan Der-Sarksian, thanks to whose efforts a few new rooms had been built in the monastic compound. The monastery also had a functioning school [27].

Saint Kevork shared the fate of other monasteries in Hayots Tsor, and was plundered and burned in 1895 [28]. It was apparently abandoned after this catastrophe.

An account from 1911 describes Saint Kevork as “a monastery built in the old and tasteless fashion.” It was reported that the compound’s structures had once been quite luxurious, but had fallen into disrepair and dilapidation due to years of neglect [29].

The monastery owned large tracts of arable lands, which the Aghtamar Catholicosate had let out in exchange for 40 units of wheat (approximately 17 Ottoman pounds) per year [30].

The Saint Abraham Monastery of Khek

The monastery was located approximately two kilometers southeast of the Khek village of Hayots Tsor – a distance of about an hour from the Saint Kevork Monastery. It stood at the feet of a mountain rising above a valley [31]. The monastery was dedicated to Abraham, a student of Saint Ghevont’s, who is mentioned by Armenian historian Yeghishe. The locals believed that the spring that flowed near the compound, and which had appeared in response to Abraham’s prayers, had miraculous healing properties [32].

In 1873, the monastery still had an abbot, by the name of Father Bedros, who also served as the abbot of the Saint Kevork Monastery of Khek [33].

M. Mirakhorian, who visited the monastery in 1883, described the compound’s cathedral as a robust, beautiful structure. He also stated that the monastery had been abandoned, and the monks’ quarters were semi-dilapidated [34].

The monastery owned land, which was let out to locals.

Saint Abraham’s pilgrimage day was on the Feast of the Ascension. On that day, large crowds of pilgrims converged on the monastery from Armenian villages all over Hayots Tsor, as well as from elsewhere. The monastery’s abbot would celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the presence of these pilgrims [35].

The Churches of Hayots Tsor (nahiye)

Below, we present a list of the churches in the villages of Hayots Tsor on the eve of the Armenian Genocide. The villages are listed in alphabetical order (Armenian alphabet). We have only included villages in which the presence of a church could be confirmed.

Ankgh/Deonemech (Dönemeç)

108 households, 678 Armenians.

The Saint Kevork Church (functioning), and the Saint Sarkis and Saint Dziranavor churches (in ruins). In the mid-1850s, the community had one serving priest. Prior to the Armenian Genocide, a handwritten manuscript of the Bible was preserved at the Saint Kevork Church [36].

Angshdants/Parmakkape (Parmakkapı)

67 households, 411 Armenians.

The Saint Sdepanos Church (built of stone and mortar) [37].

Aregh/Bozyighit (Bozyiğit)

26 households, 175 Armenians.

The Saint Kevork Church [38].

The Saint Vartan Monastery stood approximately two kilometers east of the village. According to legend, Vartan Mamigonian’s head was preserved at this monastery, and for that reason it was called Saint Vartan [39].

M. Mirakhorian, who visited the monastery in 1883, described it as deserted. Out of the entire monastic compound, only a small church still stood. Mirakhorian also noted that once every year, on the Holiday of Saint Vartan, the village priest of Aregh would celebrate the Divine Liturgy at this church, in the presence of large crowds of pilgrims [40].

According to an account from 1911, the villagers had taken over the farmlands belonging to the monastery, without paying any rent to Varakavank, which had spiritual jurisdiction over Saint Vartan [41].

Read more in Houshamadyan

Write a comment

If you found a typo you can notify us by selecting the text area and pressing CTRL+Enter