Varagavank

Varagavank
The monastery c. 1913[1]
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
Statusseveral buildings destroyed, continuous deterioration of others
Location
LocationYukarı Bakraçlı,[2][3] Van Province, Turkey
Varagavank is located in Turkey
Varagavank
Shown within Turkey
Geographic coordinates38°26′59″N 43°27′39″E / 38.449636°N 43.460825°E / 38.449636; 43.460825
Architecture
StyleArmenian
FounderSenekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni
Groundbreakingearly 11th century

Varagavank (Armenian: Վարագավանք, 'Monastery of Varag';[A] Turkish: Yedi Kilise, 'Seven Churches') was an Armenian monastery on the slopes of Mount Erek, 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of the city of Van, in eastern Turkey.

The monastery was founded in the early 11th century by Senekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni, the Armenian King of Vaspurakan, on a preexisting religious site. Initially serving as the necropolis of the Artsruni kings, it eventually became the seat of the archbishop of the Armenian Church in Van.[5] The monastery has been described as one of the great monastic centers of the Armenian church by Ara Sarafian and the richest and most celebrated monastery of the Lake Van area by Robert H. Hewsen.

During the Armenian genocide, in April–May 1915, the Turkish army attacked, burned, and destroyed much of the monastery. More of it was destroyed in the 1960s, although some sections are still extant.

  1. ^ Bachmann 1913, p. 133.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference hurriyetdailynews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference radikal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Թուրքերը Կ՛առաջարկեն Քանդել Վարագայ Վանքի Կողքի Մզկիթը". Asbarez (in Armenian). 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014.
  5. ^ Minasian, T. H. "Գրիգոր Սկևռացու գրական ժառանգության հարցի շուրջ [To the Question of Grigor Skevratsi's Literary Heritage]". Lraber Hasarakakan Gitutyunneri (in Armenian) (2). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences: 98. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Վարագա վանքը Վասպուրականի նշանավոր հոգևոր կենտրոններից էր: Այն եղել է եպիսկոպոսանիստ, վանքի վանահայրերը եղել են Վան քաղաքի և շրջակա միջավայրի առաջնորդներ:


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