Tejharuyk () is a 12th-century walled Armenian monastery located upon a wooded hill just southwest of the village of Meghradzor in the

Kotayk Province Kotayk (, ), is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk c ...

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 ...

. It was constructed between 1196–99 and commissioned by

Ivane I Zakarian Ivane I Zakarian (; ka, ივანე I მხარგრძელი, tr) was an Armenian prince, and a Court official of the Kingdom of Georgia holding the offices of '' Msakhurtukhutsesi'' (Majordomo) and ''Atabeg'' (Governor General) fo ...

, a commander of the Armeno-Georgian Zakarian-Mkhargrzeli family, who was a convert to the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

. His vassal, Prince Bubak, and the latter's heirs are buried in the

gavit A ''gavit'' (; gawit’) or ''zhamatun'' (Armenian: ) is a congressional room or mausoleum added to the entrance of a church, and therefore often contiguous to its west side, in a Medieval Armenian monastery. It served as narthex (entrance to the ...

of the church.

Architecture

The monastery of Tejharuyk is enclosed by a low stone wall that currently surrounds only sections of the complex. The basilica is the only relatively intact structure on the grounds and consists of a main hall,

, side

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, and

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

that leads into the church. The gavit is a small

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

chamber, with open rooms adjacent to either side. Steps lead up to a portal that is adorned with decorations of grapes and vines in

high-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

around the frame. The tympanum above the door, which may have once held an

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

, or other form of decoration, is now worn beyond recognition. Although, some of the original white

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

is still preserved around the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

. Beyond the gavit is the main hall of the church; a large vaulted chamber that is relatively unadorned.

Capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the six columns in high-relief are of interest since each contains a unique design. One in particular holds an image of a church with a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

and dome resting above (left), a cross standing on a stepped

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

(middle), and an individual (separated from the church and cross in a separate "scene") wearing a long tunic, with both arms bent and pointed in the upward direction (right). The large

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

has four small niches at the lower level, and a larger niche/chamber to the right. There is another niche to the left of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, and to the left in the main hall of the church is a small attached chapel/prayer room. A second entry leads into the basilica from the exterior through the portico. There is some unique decorative relief around the frame of the portal. The exterior of the portico has a high-relief carving of a bird perched on its surrounding frame. The same imagery is visible again above the window to the apse, where there are two birds perched side-by-side on the rectangular frame that surrounds them. Georgian inscriptions in large script can be seen surrounding the walls of the basilica, especially below the

decorative molding Moulding (British English), or molding (American English), also coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid ...

under the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

of the roof. There are still visible depressions that can be found surrounding the church where other monastic buildings had once stood. A few meters from the church are the lower walls of a small chapel, consisting of a single room with an apse. Excavations are currently underway (as of October 2014), where current soil levels have been removed to reveal the original foundations of the church. Sadly, much of the building's interior and exterior has been defaced by graffiti in recent years.

Gallery

Image:Tejharuyk Chapel 1.jpg, Tejharuyk Monastery, side view Image:Tejharuyk Monastery Decorative Windows.jpg, Decorative windows to the basilica. Image:Tejharuyk Monastery Apse Window Decoration.jpg, High-relief decoration of two birds perched on their surrounding frame (above window to apse). Image:Tejaruyq Monastery (4).jpg Image:Tejharuyk Interior.jpg, Church interior (view towards apse) Image:Tejharuyk Interior Capital 1.jpg, Decorative capital (right of the apse, church interior) Image:Tejharuyk Interior Capital 2.jpg, Decorative capital (right of the apse, middle, church interior) Image:Tejharuyk Portico Decoration.jpg, High-relief decoration of a bird perched on the surrounding frame (above the portico). Image:Tejharuyk Portico Window.jpg, Portico window (left side, exterior) Image:Tejharuyk Monastery Portico Portal.jpg, High-relief decoration surrounding the portal within the portico. Image:Tejharuyk Gavit Exterior.jpg, View of the gavit from the exterior. Image:Tejharuyk Window Above Gavit.jpg, Basilica window resting above the gavit. Image:Tejharuyk Gavit Interior.jpg, Interior portal within the gavit, leading into the main church. Image:Tejharuyk Chapel.jpg, Lower walls of nearby chapel. Image:Tejaruyk Monastery (72).jpg

References

External links

Armeniapedia: Tejharuyk Monastery
{{Georgian Churches Buildings and structures completed in 1199 Churches completed in the 1190s 12th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Buildings and structures in Kotayk Province Christian monasteries established in the 1190s Christian monasteries in Armenia 12th-century churches in Armenia Tourist attractions in Kotayk Province