Nor Varagavank

Nor Varagavank (Armenian: Նոր Վարագավանք) is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic Church monastic ensemble situated 3.5 km southwest of the village Varagavan in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The monastery is situated upon a high hill and is surrounded by forested mountains and picturesque ravines.

History and Architecture

The monastic complex was established by King David II Kyurikian of northern Armenia in 1193-1198 and expanded by his grandson Vasak II in 1234-1237. The Kyurikians were a junior branch of Armenia’s aristocratic Bagratuni family, whose domain, known as the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, spanned medieval Armenia’s provinces of Gugark, Artsakh and Utik. The monastery was center of a bishopric, and played an important role in the ecclesiastical life of medieval Armenia. The monastery also served as Kyurikian’s family burial vault and mausoleum.

In early sources the monastic ensemble was called Anapat (hermitage). It was renamed Nor Varagavank (meaning “New Varagavank”) when Vaspurakan's famed Varagavank monastery in Western Armenia near the Lake Van was threatened by the Mongols. Varagavank’s Patriarch Ghukas brought to Anapat holy relics from Vaspurakan in 1213, such as a piece of the True Cross brought to Armenia by the holy virgins Rhipsime and Gayane.

Varagavank

Varagavank (Armenian: Վարագավանք, "Monastery of Varag";Turkish: Yedi Kilise, "Seven Churches") is an Armenian monastery on the slopes of Mount Varag (Erek Dağı), nine km (5.6 mi) southeast of the city of Van, in eastern Turkey.

The monastery was founded in the early 11th century by Senekerim-Hovhannes, the Armenian King of Vaspurakan, on a preexisting religious site. Initially serving as the necropolis of the Artsruni kings, it eventually became the seat of the archbishop of the Armenian Church in Van. The monastery has been described as one of the great monastic centers of the Armenian church by Ara Sarafian and the richest and most celebrated monastery of the Lake Van area by Robert H. Hewsen.

During the Armenian Genocide, in April–May 1915, the Turkish army attacked and raided the monastery. Much of it was later destroyed in the 1960s, although good sections are barely extant and is in good condition compared to other Armenian monasteries in Turkey.

History

Origins

According to tradition, in the late 3rd century St. Rhipsime hid the remnant of the True Cross she wore on her neck on the site of the monastery. In 653, when its location became known, Catholicos Nerses III the Builder built the Church of Surb Nshan (Holy Seal), described by Robert H. Hewsen as "a simple hermitage". Catholicos Nerses also established the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varag (Վարագա սուրբ խաչի տոն), celebrated by the Armenian Apostolic Church on the Sunday nearest to September 28, always two weeks after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.