Khor Virap Monastery (Խոր Վիրապ)
Location: Lusarat, Ararat Province Map
Found: 642
History of Khor Virap Monastery
Khor Virap Monastery was originally found in 642 near Lusarat in the Armenian Ararat Province. It offers a great view of the mountain Ararat. According to Old Testament this was the mountain where Noah's Ark have landed after the Great Flood. The hill of Khor Virap where the monastery stands today is located on the site of the ancient Armenian capital of Artashat that was found here circa 180 BC by king Artashes I, the founder of the Artashesid dynasty. Armenian king Tiridates III arrested Saint Gregory, Christian missionary that preached Christianity in the region. Famous saint spent 13 years in the underground dungeon. This prison cell is still preserved in its original condition. Khor Vrap Monastery dungeon is basically a stone blackened vault with small slit windows. It is opened to tourists and pilgrims. In 301 Tiridates III accepted Christianity as an official religion of the state and gave Gregory the Educator his freedom, but the prison was preserved for generations. In fact monastery complex of "Khor Virap" in Armenian means "deep hole".
Khor Virap Monastery is dominated by an ensemble of two churches. The first church is dedicated to Saint Gevorg or Saint Gregory. It was built by Catholicos Nerses III in 642 on a former ancient prison where Saint Gregory was held as a prisoner. The second church is dedicated to Saint Astvatsatsin that was constructed in the late 17th century. It is crowned by a coned dome with a bell tower adjacent to it.
The monastery is located above an underground
prison, in which, according to legend, the Armenian king Trdat III
kept in prison for about 14 years. Gregory the Illuminator before he
was converted to Christianity, according to the traditional date,
about 301 years. All of Armenia was converted to Christianity in
301, thus becoming the first country to adopt Christianity as the
state religion.
The monastery served as the spiritual center of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, where the residence of the Catholicos of all
Armenians was located.
Khor Virap Hill is located on the site of the ancient capital of
Armenia, Artashat, built about 180 BC. e. King Artashes I, founder
of the Artashesid dynasty. Initially, in 642, Nerses III the Builder
built a chapel above the dungeon, where Gregory the Illuminator was
imprisoned. She was rebuilt several times. The entrance to the
underground prison, preserved to this day, is located in the chapel
of St. Gregory, built in 1661. The depth of the underground prison
is from 3 to 6 meters.
On the territory of the monastery, in its central part, there is
also a large church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Blessed Virgin Mary),
built in the middle of the XVII century. At the same time, the cells
of the monks and the monastery itself were built. Now it is one of
the most famous pilgrimage sites of Armenians from around the world.
The church holds regular worship services.
Architecture
Chapel
The chapel was built in the V century around the cave of St. Gregory
the Illuminator of white limestone. Then a monastery was built
around the ruins of the chapel. At the top of the church is a
twelve-sided drum on which the dome rests. The altar apse is richly
decorated. Although in many Armenian churches the altar is in the
east, and the churches themselves are orientated from east to west,
the chapel is oriented from northwest to southeast.
Dungeon
The dungeon where Gregory the Illuminator languished is located in
the southwest of the main church, under the chapel of St. Gregory.
The chapel is a small basilica with a semicircular apse. Of the two
dungeons, the dungeon where Gregory the Illuminator was kept is
distant. Depth - 6 meters, width - 4.4 meters. A small room and a
spiral staircase lead to the dungeon.