Surb Arakelots (Monastery of the Holy Apostles) is a church in the Sevanavank complex on the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan, Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The complex of buildings is located on the Sevan Peninsula of the same name, which was previously a small island.
This ancient temple is one of the most impressive architectural landmarks in the region and an important part of Armenian cultural heritage.
Location : The church is located on the top of an island hill on a slope, covered with earth by about a third from the east.
Story
The church was built in 874 by Princess Mariam, the daughter of King Ashot I Bagratuni and the widow of the Syunik prince Vasak Gabur. Together with Archimandrite Mashtots Eghivardetsi (the future Catholicos of All Armenians), she supervised the construction.
Legend
According to legend, the monk Mashtots Yeghvardts, who lived as a hermit in Sevanavank for ten years, had a dream in which 12 apostles came to him and ordered him to build churches in their honor. Mashtots told his dream to Mariam, who after the death of her husband made a vow to build 30 churches in his memory.
Architectural features
The building is made in the style typical of Armenian architecture. The temple stands out for its majestic dome and arches decorated with carvings. The tuff used in the construction gives the temple a special atmosphere and harmonizes with the surroundings.
The church is a three-apse cross-domed building . Some features:
- On either side of the main apse there are two sacristies, with the entrance to the right (south-eastern) one being from inside the church, and to the left (south-western) one from outside.
- Type of masonry : smoothly hewn and perfectly fitted stones, without mortar.
- An octagonal drum supported by arches resting on a rectangular base.
The ruins of a gavit (narthex) have been preserved – one of the earliest examples of such structures in Armenia
Note
Gavit (from Armenian գավիթ — “yard”) is a non-residential building of semi-ecclesiastical and semi-civil purpose in Armenian architecture . It was added to churches in the Middle Ages, mainly from the west. Sometimes it is used as a separate building.
The gavits served as additional premises for worshipers , a burial vault, a meeting place, and sometimes church services were held in them.
Interior
Note
The altar in an Armenian church is one of the common elements of the interior of a church built for the Armenian rite. It rises above the nave and is usually located closer to the eastern wall.
The altar is located on a platform called a hem. The altar is separated from the rest of the church by a curtain, which opens and closes according to the rite of the service. Unlike the Byzantine rite, where the altar is closed by an iconostasis, the Armenian liturgy is open. Only during Lent is the liturgy served with the curtain closed.
Inside the church, in the northern apse , there is an ancient khachkar , the Savior of All, probably from the 9th–10th centuries. In the center of it, a figure of the crucified Jesus Christ is carved in stone, and around it are carved scenes from biblical stories and ornamental patterns.
Note
An apse (from the ancient Greek ἁψίς, ἁψῖδος – vault) is a lowered projection of a building adjacent to the main volume , semicircular, faceted, rectangular or complex in plan, covered with a semi-dome (concha) or a closed semi-vault.
As a rule, this term refers to altar volumes in church architecture . In Christian churches, the apse is usually an altar projection oriented to the east.
Of note is the wooden carved door from 1486, which once stood on the southern side of the church. The door, with a drawing depicting the biblical character Abraham – “The Descent of the Holy Spirit”, is currently kept in the Armenian State Historical Museum.
Current state
The Surb Arakelots Church is the visiting card of the Sevanavank complex . It offers a view of Lake Sevan.
Sevanavank is recognized as part of the cultural heritage of Armenia under the protection of UNESCO, and the Surb Arakelots Church is one of the surviving buildings in the complex.
