Aghperig monastery (variously Aghperga, St. Aghprig Monastery (Աղբերկայ or Ս. Աղբերիկ Վանք)), also known as Beyaz Kilise, is a medieval

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n monastic complex in the Sasun Mountains of eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, in the historic Sasun region. It is located 56 kilometres West of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

in the north of the Sassun mountains in the

Sason Sason is a town in the Batman Province of Turkey. It is the seat of the Sason District.İl ...

district in the province of

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.natural spring A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important fo ...

from where it gets its name Sourp Aghperig (Holy Spring).

History

According to the 1902 Eprigian (or Eprikian) encyclopaedia, its origins are in early Armenian Christianity, from around the 4th century.

"According to tradition the main church of this monastery was built by the Apostle
St. Thaddeus Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...
. The adjacent second church was built by
Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator ( – ) was the founder and first official Catholicos of All Armenians, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He Christianization of Armenia, converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism in Armenia, Zoroastrianism to Chris ...
ir. 300 There is a spring beneath the church which appears a short distance away from the monastery, hence the name of the monastery, Sourp Aghprig oly Spring We saw this spring as we approached the monastery."

During the

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide a ...

of 1895, the monastery took in refugees and wounded people. The American physician John G. Wishard recorded the testimony of an Armenian woman in his book ‘Twenty Years in Persia’:

"A woman by the name of Rahan, formerly of Dalorig, now staying at Havodoric, said, 'Our family numbered twelve, of whom five were killed. My husband, brother, and his son were hacked in pieces, my husband received a terrible wound and is now at St. Aghperig monastery."’

The monastic community left the site around the time of the 1915

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

and the buildings have since been unoccupied and slowly becoming ruins. Many local people believed that Armenians were wealthy and hid gold beneath the ground when they left. For this reason, there are many pits dug around the site. The

Gomidas Institute The Gomidas Institute (GI; ) is an independent academic institution "dedicated to modern Armenian and regional studies." Its activities include research, publications and educational programmes. It publishes documents, monographs, memoirs and oth ...

paid a visit to the monastery in 2015 with academics and journalists. The

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based academic institute has been working with local

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

civil society and the municipality of

Mutki Mutki (, ) is a town in Bitlis Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Mutki District.İlçe Bele ...

to campaign for the protection of the monastery, which is on land owned by the state. The 2016 documentary film ''

100 Years Later ''100 Years Later'' is a 2016 British documentary film directed, written, and produced by John Lubbock. The film follows the work of historian Ara Sarafian, executive director of the Gomidas Institute in London, in his efforts to create dialog ...

'', about the work of Gomidas Institute founder and historian

Ara Sarafian Ara Sarafian (Armenian: ) is a British historian of Armenian origin. He is the founding director of the Gomidas Institute in London, which sponsors and carries out research and publishes books on modern Armenian and regional studies. Early li ...

, records this trip to the monastery.

Gallery

File:Aghperig Monastery in the Sasun Mountains, East Anatolia 15.jpg File:Aghperig Monastery in the Sasun Mountains, East Anatolia 16.jpg File:Aghperig Monastery in the Sasun Mountains, East Anatolia 29.jpg File:Aghperig Monastery in the Sasun Mountains, East Anatolia 19.jpg File:Aghperig Monastery in the Sasun Mountains, East Anatolia 26.jpg

External links

References

{{Armenian Churches Armenian Apostolic monasteries in Turkey Armenian Apostolic churches in Turkey Christian monasteries established in the 4th century Bitlis Province Places of the Hamidian massacres Armenian buildings in Turkey