Tatev (Syunik province - Armenia)
N 39° 22.772 E 046° 14.983
38S E 607636 N 4359639
The Tatev Monastery, located near town Goris in South-Armenian province Syunik, is one of the masterpieces of Armenian medieval architecture and one of spiritual centres of the oldest Christian country...
Waymark Code: WMKJNF
Location: Armenia
Date Posted: 04/22/2014
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The Tatev Monastery, located near town Goris in South-Armenian province Syunik, is one of the masterpieces of Armenian medieval architecture and one of spiritual centres of the oldest Christian country.
The Tatev Monastery is a 9th-century monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the Tatev village in Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refers to the monastery. The monastic ensemble stands on the edge of a deep gorge of the Vorotan River. Tatev is known as the bishopric seat of Syunik and played a significant role in the history of the region as a center of economic, political, spiritual and cultural activity.
In the 14th and 15th centuries Tatev Monastery hosted one of the most important Armenian medieval universities, the University of Tatev, which contributed to the advancement of science, religion and philosophy, reproduction of books and development of miniature painting. Scholars of the Tatev University contributed to the preservation of Armenian culture and creed during one of its most turbulent periods in its history.
The monastery was reborn in the 17th and 18th centuries; its structures restored and new ones were added. It was looted again during the incursions of Persian forces led by Aga Mahmet Khan in 1796. In 1836, Czarist Russia put an end to the metropolitan authorities of Tatev through the imposition of Pologenia, and Syunik became part of the Diocese of Yerevan. On 26 April 1921, the 2nd Pan-Zangezurian congress, held in Tatev, announced the independence of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia. The state included the regions of Tatev canyon, Sisian and Gndevaz. The city of Goris became the capital of the unrecognized state with Garegin Nzhdeh as its supreme commander.
The monastery was seriously damaged after an earthquake in 1931, the dome of the Sts. Paul and Peter church and the bell tower were destroyed. In the latter years the Sts. Paul and Peter church was reconstructed, but the bell tower remains destroyed up to today. [wiki]