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The Harichavank (; transliterated as ''Harijavank'' or ''Harichavank'') is a 7th century Armenian monastery located near the village of Harich (Armenian: Հառիճ) in the
Shirak Province Shirak (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province () of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering the provinces of Lori Province, Lori to the east and Aragatsotn Province, Aragatsotn to the south and southeast, and the cou ...
of
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 ...
. The village is 3 km southeast of the town of Artik.


History

Harichavank is known as one of the most famous monastic centers in Armenia, and it was especially renowned for its school and scriptorium. Archaeological excavations of 1966 indicate that Harich was in existence during the 2nd century BC, and was one of the more well-known fortress towns in Armenia. The oldest part of this Armenian monastery is the Church of St. Gregory the Enlightener (Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ); it is a domed structure that is usually placed in the category of so-called "Mastara-style" churches (named after the fifth century church of St. Hovhannes in the village of Mastara, in the southern part of Shirak). The founding date of the monastery is unknown, but it was probably built no later than the 7th century, when St. Gregory was erected. Harichavank was occupied and modified by the Kipchak Turks from 1120 to 1191, but the Zakarides restored the traditional decoration when they restored sovereignty after 1191. The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God (Սբ. Աստվածածին) that dominates the monastic complex was built by the orders of Zakare Zakarian, Amirspasalar (commander-in-chief) and Prince who ruled Eastern Armenia in the 13th century together with his brother Ivane Zakarian, and completed in 1201. Prince Zakare started the Cathedral after he bought Harich from a family representing the Pahlavuni dynasty. The narthex or '' zhamatun'' was built soon after, before 1219, by a vassal of the Zakarids, Vahram. 250px, left, Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God, Harichavank Monastery (1201) The Cathedral is a cruciform church with two-story sacristies in each of the four extensions of the building. The tall 20-hedral drum of the cupola is of original style. Initially tent-roofed, it acquired triple columns on its facets and large rosettes in the piers, which, together with platbands, form an unusual decorative girder around the middle of the drum height. Later, the cupola drum of the Gandzasar Monastery (1216–1238) was decorated in the same way. The eastern facade of the Cathedral features a relief carving depicting the Zakarian brothers holding a model of the Cathedral in their hands. This theme can be found in many other Armenian churches of the time e.g. on the Memorial Cathedral of the Dadivank Monastery in
Nagorno Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...
, as well as on the main churches of the Sanahin and Haghartsin monasteries in Armenia. This relief was covered in 1895 with a marble plaque featuring
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
; when the plaque was removed, the original carving showed beneath. Haritchavank’s Cathedral belongs to the category of " Gandzasar-style" ecclesiastical edifices that were built approximately at the same time in different parts of Armenia, and were endowed with similar compositional and decorative characteristics (another example—Cathedral of the Hovhannavank Monastery). Those include an umbrella-shaped dome, a cruciform floor plan,
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
(often with stalactite-ornamented ceiling), and a high-relief of a large cross on one of the church's walls. The privileges granted by the princes to the monastery contributed to its becoming a large cultural and enlightenment center of medieval Armenia. At the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century, two monumental (
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
es) were built of big stones, some measuring 3.5 meters. The larger
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
() is adjacent to the western facade of the cathedral and is linked to the northern apse of the Church of St. Gregory. It is a rectangular building supported by four pillars, with a stalactite carving in the central part of the ceiling. Over 800 years, the monastery was repeatedly reconstructed. Damages inflicted on it were repaired, and small annexes and chapels were added to it at various times. The largest of these dates back to the second half of the 19th century, when Harich was made the summer audience of the Katholikos of Echmiadzin in 1850. The monastery grounds expanded northwards and were encircled with walls and towers. New one- and two-storey structures were erected: Katholikos’ offices, a refectory with a kitchen and a bakery, a school, a hostel for monks and disciples, an inn, stores, and cattlesheds. Greenery was planted in the yards. South of the monastery, on a cliff, stands the Hermitage Chapel. In the cemetery, there are ruins of a small single-nave basilica of the fifth century with annexes on the sides of the altar apse and interesting tombstones with ornamented slabs dating from the 5th–6th centuries (now at Armenia's State History Museum in Yerevan).


Gallery

Image:Harich big.jpg, View of the monastery from the side of the '' zhamatun'' Image:Harichavank D A 38.jpg, The ''zhamatun'' Image:Harichavank Tympanum.JPG, Intricately detailed tympanum above the portal of the ''zhamatun'', an adaptation of Seljukid '' ablaq'' stonework. Image:Harichavank-Harich - Copy.JPG, Church of the Holy Mother of God (1201) Image:Harichavank Monastery 020.jpg Image:Harichavank Monastery 07.jpg Image:Harichavank-Harich1 - Copy.JPG, Dome of church of the Holy Mother of God (1201) Image:Harichavank-Harich2 - Copy.JPG, Harichavank, general view File:-Հառիճի վանական համալիր 3.jpg, ''
Muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...
''-type of roof in Harichavank.


References


Bibliography

* Armenia: 1700 years of Christian Architecture. Moughni Publishers, Yerevan, 2001 * Tom Masters and Richard Plunkett. Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan, Lonely Planet Publications; 2nd edition (July 2004) * Nicholas Holding. Armenia with Nagorno Karabagh, Bradt Travel Guides; 2th edition (October 2006)


External links


Armeniapedia.org: Harichavank Monastery

Armenica.org: Haritchavank Monastery

About Harichavank Monastery
{{Armenian Churches Christian monasteries in Armenia Tourist attractions in Shirak Province Christian monasteries established in the 7th century Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 7th century Buildings and structures in Shirak Province 7th-century churches in Armenia 13th-century churches in Armenia