PLACES OF WORSHIP

Noragavit is rich in historical monuments. At one time, there where more than ten churches, today only the Tsiranavor Saint Gevorg Church is standing.

17th century

State index: 1.11.9.1

The Tsiranavor Saint Gevorg Church of Noragavit was supposedly built in 1679 on the site of an old church destroyed by the devastating earthquake in the Ararat Valley. It was restored in 1855-1856.

The church is located on 7th street in the Noragavit district of the Shengavit administrative district. It is a three-nave basilica church with a rectangular plan, which has two pairs of cross-cut columns, arched and two-story sacristies and a gable roof. Externally, it has a three-tiered stylobate around the entire perimeter. There are two entrances: from the west (narthex) and from the south. Enlightenment is provided by arched windows in the upper part (three on each facade). The western facade of the church is adjoined by a three-arched open hall, which was built at the same time as the main part of the monument. Its central part is higher and ends in a columned octagonal dome, which dominates the complex. Such narthex-bell towers are typical of many monuments of the 17th century (Mughni, Shoghakat, Zoravor church in Yerevan, etc.). A small columned rotunda of the belfry rises above the central part of the prayer hall. The decorative facade of the church is restrained. The west porch stands out with its stalactite and ornamented carvings. There are donation inscriptions on the walls, and embedded khachkars (Avetis’s khachkar of 1642, Hovhannes’s, Vardan’s and Karapet’s khachkar of 1642, Avag’s khachkar of the 17th century, etc.). Inside, the walls and columns are covered with frescoes (18th-19th centuries): “Saint Gevorg”, “Saint Minas”, “Saint Theodore”, “Angel”, “Garden of Eden”, etc. In the 1930s, the interior walls of the church were plastered, as a result of which the church’s frescoes were significantly damaged or completely erased.

The church is built of apricot-colored Yerevan tuff stone. Around the church is a cemetery with partially preserved cross-stones (17th-century cross-stones: Geghetsik, Bishop Emmanuel, Father Hovhannes, etc.).

In 1981-1984, the church was restored by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the area was improved and fenced off. A stone altar was installed in the main altar (designed by Artsrun Galikyan).