Marmashen

The monastery of Marmashen above the Akhurian River is one of the finest examples of the Ani school of architecture and bears many similarities to the Main Cathedral of Ani. Some believe that the main church of the monastic complex, St. Katoghiké, was designed by the architect Trdat. The monastery was commissioned by Prince and General Vahram Pahlavuni at the turn of the 11th century. Originally composed of four churches (St. Katoghiké, St. Astvatsatsin, St. Petros, and another whose name is unknown), much of the complex has suffered ruin due to earthquakes and invasions. The remains of the fourth church were excavated only recently in the mid-1950s.

The Seljuks destroyed much of the monastery in the late 11th century. In 1225, the Zakarian princes restored to the Pahlavouni family their ancestral lands, and helped the grandsons of Lord Vahram (bishop Grigor and his brother Lord Gharib) rebuild and restore Marmashen. Together they revitalized the villages around the monastery and restored the monastic order. Unfortunately, during the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, the monastery was again ransacked and abandoned.

Marmashen Monastery remained deserted until the early 19th century, when the Akhurian River became the border between Russia and Turkey. Armenians from the city of Kars immigrated to the area, and through their efforts St. Katoghiké became a parish church. In 1870 Mkrtich Jalalian renovated the church and founded a school next to it. Again, misfortune struck: in 1883 an earthquake destroyed the monastery’s northern church. Nearly a century later, the 1988 earthquake damaged St. Katoghiké.

After the 1988 earthquake, the monastery of Marmashen was selected for renovation by a team of Armenian and Italian restoration experts under the auspices of the Italian Embassy. The monastery was re-consecrated by His Holiness Karekin II in the summer of 2003.