PLACES OF WORSHIP
HOLY VIRGIN CHURCH COMPLEX OF AVAN
The Holy Virgin Church is one of the early medieval monuments of Armenia. 4th-7th, 10th-14th centuries
State index: 1.2.11
Located in the Avan district, in the area
adjacent to N. Safaryan Street, a little far from the Saint Hovhannes Church.
The monument group includes the Holy Virgin Church, the
vestibule and the cemetery.
The Holy Virgin Church (also called a chapel due to its small size) is
one of the early medieval monuments of Armenia. It is semi-detached. It was
built in the 4th-7th centuries, rebuilt in the 10th-14th centuries. It is a
single-nave hall with a single-level basement, vaulted. The gable roof and
floor are tiled. The building material is reddish and gray polished tuff. It
was destroyed in the great earthquake of the Ararat Valley in 1679. The narthex (gavit) (13-14th
centuries) adjacent to the west is in ruins.
In 1968, the eastern and northern facades
were partially restored.
In the cemetery near the church (5-6th,
13-17th centuries), cross-stones and fragments of the early and late medieval
period have been preserved, tombstones, some of which are inscribed or
decorated with sculptures (cross-stone of Hovsep and his parents, 1323,
tombstone of Melik and Gharaslan, 1282, illustrated tombstone, 14-15th
centuries, etc.).
One of the Armenian early medieval
memorial monuments is the 2.2 m high, tufa-built, octagonal monument (currently
lying) erected on a multi-tiered pedestal, adjacent to the southern wall of the
church.
It was renovated in 1968.
