Churches In Armenia
Armenia is a very ancient country with a history of thousands of years.
This magnificent country is like an open-air museum of a great number of churches and monuments. There are plenty of churches, as Armenia is the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD.
If you happen to be there, don’t miss your chance to visit the most interesting churches of Armenia:
Tatev (meaning “give wings”) Monastery, surrounded with the perfect mountainous landscape of Southern Armenia, was built in the 9th century. Once it used to be a cultural center for Armenian philosophers, writers, painters, musicians and thinkers. It was also an important manuscript producing
One of the must-see things in Tatev is the “Gavazan” (“wand” in Armenian). This monument consists of a 26-foot-high octahedral pillar and a cross on top of it.
This extraordinary pillar used to swing whenever an enemy army was close and warned the people in the complex against danger.
Some historians and scientists tried to understand the techniques that the architects used in construction of the “Gavazan” and demolished the column. But when they put it back together, the column lost its “super-power…”
This beautiful monastery is one of the most popular trip destinations not only for tourists, but also for natives. Geghard Monastery dates back to the 10-13th centuries and was once called Ayrivank (meaning “the monastery of the cave” in Armenian).
This monastery is very unique for two reasons. It’s name, “Geghard”
(meaning “spear” in Armenian), comes from the spear that was used by one
of the Roman soldiers during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Geghard is partly built right out of solid rock. There are even passages and corridors leading inside the rock. In one of them, you’ll find a small pond, where you should throw a coin and make a wish.
Outside the monastery, you can see a lot of trees with ribbons tied to branches. Whenever people go there for “matagh” (sacrifice) they tie a ribbon to one of the trees so their wishes come true.
Although this is a pagan tradition, it is still popular in Armenia.
This magnificent country is like an open-air museum of a great number of churches and monuments. There are plenty of churches, as Armenia is the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD.
If you happen to be there, don’t miss your chance to visit the most interesting churches of Armenia:
Tatev (meaning “give wings”) Monastery, surrounded with the perfect mountainous landscape of Southern Armenia, was built in the 9th century. Once it used to be a cultural center for Armenian philosophers, writers, painters, musicians and thinkers. It was also an important manuscript producing
One of the must-see things in Tatev is the “Gavazan” (“wand” in Armenian). This monument consists of a 26-foot-high octahedral pillar and a cross on top of it.
This extraordinary pillar used to swing whenever an enemy army was close and warned the people in the complex against danger.
Some historians and scientists tried to understand the techniques that the architects used in construction of the “Gavazan” and demolished the column. But when they put it back together, the column lost its “super-power…”
This beautiful monastery is one of the most popular trip destinations not only for tourists, but also for natives. Geghard Monastery dates back to the 10-13th centuries and was once called Ayrivank (meaning “the monastery of the cave” in Armenian).
Geghard is partly built right out of solid rock. There are even passages and corridors leading inside the rock. In one of them, you’ll find a small pond, where you should throw a coin and make a wish.
Outside the monastery, you can see a lot of trees with ribbons tied to branches. Whenever people go there for “matagh” (sacrifice) they tie a ribbon to one of the trees so their wishes come true.
Although this is a pagan tradition, it is still popular in Armenia.
