Sanahin

In the Middle Ages, Sanahin was a cultural and spiritual center of great renown. Over a 400-year period, Sanahin grew into a formidable monastic complex comprising the St. Astvatsatsin and St. All-Savior Churches with their respective gavits, the St. Gregory and St. Resurrection chapels, a seminary, and a bell-tower. The complex includes the Kyurikian family mausoleum and the Zakarian and Arghutian-Yerkaynabazuk family mausoleum.

While St. Astvatsatsin Church is the oldest structure, the main and dominant church, St. All-Savior, was built in 996 by King Ashot III the Merciful Bagratuni and his wife Khosrovanuysh.

At the time of the scholar Dioskoros Sanahnetsi (979), the monastery library and St. Gregory chapel were added and the seminary began to grow. The seminary was home to such great teachers as Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni, Anania Sanahnetsi, and Hakobos Karapnetsi. In the 14-15th centuries, the monastery experienced another period of religious and scholarly renewal during which the Sanahin Kotuk manuscript was prepared, containing the monastery’s Book of Hours and other invaluable historical information about the monastery and the brotherhood at Sanahin. This manuscript is now kept in the Madenataran.

As with many other monasteries, Sanahin’s grounds are adorned with numerous khatchkars. Especially noteworthy for its lace-work carving is the Grigor Tutevorti (a former monk of Sanahin) khatchkar carved by sculptor Mkhitar Kazmich (1184).

In 2000, Sanahin Monastery was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Reflection

In our silent prayers, let us give thanks to God for protecting this monastery from invasions and natural disasters through the centuries. Let us remember this monastery’s first abbot Polycarpos (10th cent.), its benefactors King Ashot III the Merciful and Queen Khosrovanuysh (10th cent.), as well as its many teachers and students, especially the renowned scholar Grigor Magistros (10-11th cent.).