Khor Virap
Encyclopedia
The Khor Virap is an Armenian Apostolic Church
monastery located in the Ararat plain
in Armenia
, near the border with Turkey, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Artashat
, Ararat Province. The monastery was host to a theological seminary
and was the residence of Armenian Catholicos
.
Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Grigor Lusavorich, who later became Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia
. Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation. A chapel was initially built in 642 AD at the site of Kirat Virap by Nerses III the Builder
as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular Church service
s are held in this church. It is probably the most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia.
in Pokr Vedi
; the village is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the main highway. Yerevan
, the capital and largest city of Armenia, is 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) to the north. It is situated about 100 metres (328.1 ft) away from the Turkish-Armenian border (sealed by barbed wire fencing) and defended by military establishments that guard the troubled border zone.
The monastery is surrounded by green pasture lands and vineyards within the Ararat plain
and is in view of Mount Ararat
. The Arax (or Arakas) River flows close-by and the monastery is opposite of Aralykh.
, established his Armenian capital at Artashat
(also known as Artaxtisata) around 180 BC. It is believed that Hannibal, the Carthaginian General who was persecuted by Rome
, was also instrumental in establishing Artashat. Artashat remained the capital of the dynasty till the reign of King Khosrov III
(330–339) when it was moved to Dvin
. Subsequently, Artashat was destroyed by the Persian King Shapur II
. Artashat is close to the hillock of Khor Virap. Until its chapel was built, Khor Virap was used as royal prison.
When King Tiridates III ruled over Armenia, his assistant was the Christian
Grigor (Gregory) Lusavorich who preached the Christian religion. However, Tiridates, a pagan was not pleased and he subjected Gregory to severe torture. When news reached the king that Gregory's father Anak
was responsible for the murder of the king's father, the king ordered that Gregory's hand and legs be tied and that he be thrown into the Khor Virap to die in the dark dungeon located in Artashat. In addition, Gregory’s refusal to offer sacrifice to the goddess Anahita
provoked the king to torture him and condemn him to imprisonment in the Khor Virap. He was then forgotten and the King pursued his wars and persecution of Christians. However, Gregory did not die during his 13 years of imprisonment. His survival was attributed to a Christian widow from the local town who, under the influence of strange dream vision, regularly fed Gregory by dropping a loaf of freshly baked bread into the pit.
During this period, the Roman Emperor
Diocletian
wanted to marry a beautiful girl and he sent others to search for the most beautiful woman. They found a girl named Rhipsime
in Rome who was under the tutelage of Abbess
Gaiaine in a Christian nunnery. When Rhipsime heard about the king's marriage proposal, she fled to Armenia to avoid the marriage. After a search was launched to locate the girl and punish the people who had helped her to escape, Tiridates located Rhipsime and brought her forcibly to his palace, trying to woo her. He was not successful against the strong defence put up by Rhipsime. He then ordered that she be dragged into his presence by putting a collar around her neck in hopes to persuade Rhipsime to agree to marry him.
However, what ensued was the persecution and murder of Rhipsime
, Gaiaine and many Christians. Soon, divine punishment was meted out to Tiridates and his people. Tiridates went mad and is "said to have behaved like a wild boar while torments fell on his household and demons possessed the people of the city." It was then that Tiridates's sister, Khosrovidhukt, had a vision in the night, where an angel told her about the prisoner Gregory in the city of Artashat who could end the torments with the words "when he comes he will teach you the remedies for all your ills”. People did not place much reliance on this dream vision as they thought that Gregory had probably died within days of his being cast into the pit. But Khosrovidhukt had the same dream repeatedly with a threatening message that if the dream's instructions were not followed, there would be dire consequences. Prince Awtay was deputed to get Gregory from Kirat Virap. He went to the pit and shouted to Gregory saying "Gregory, if you are somewhere down there, come out. The God whom you worship has commanded that you be brought out". Gregory was brought out in a miserable state. He was taken to the king who had gone mad "foraging among the pigs at Valarshapar", tearing his own skin. Gregory cured the king and brought him back to his senses. Gregory knew of all the atrocities that were committed and saw the bodies of the martyrs who were later cremated. The king, accompanied by his court, approached Gregory seeking forgiveness for all the sins they committed. Henceforth, Gregory started preaching Christianity to the king, his court and army.
King Tiridates, who had embraced Christianity as his religion following the miraculous cure effected by Gregory's divine intervention, proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia in 301 AD. Gregory became the Bishop of Caesarea and remained in service of the King till about 314 AD. Another version attributed to Tiridates’s conversion to Christianity is that it was a strategic move to create national unity to checkmate the hegemony of Zoroastrian Persians and pagan Rome, and since then, the Christian Church has acted as a strong influence in Armenia.
The Nerses chapel, built in the 5th century around the famous pit, was of white limestone. Though plain in appearance, a monastery was built around a large enclosure that surrounds the ruins of the old chapel. This church has a twelve sided tholobate
and dome
and is dedicated to S. Astvatsatsin. The altar pulpit is well decorated. Though most Armenian churches have an east-west orientation, placing the altar at the east end, St. Gevorg Chapel is oriented northwest-southeast.
Pit
The pit where Gregory was imprisoned is southwest of the main church, underneath St. Gevorg Chapel which is a small basilica
replete with a semicircular apse
. Of the two pits inside the chapel, Grigor's is the farther one, 6 metres (19.7 ft) deep and 4.4 metres (14.4 ft) wide. The pit is approached through two unmarked holes. A small chamber, winding stairway, and a ladder lead to a small enclosure in the pit. To the right of the altar in the dungeon is the main room. A long ladder from here descends to a large cell of fairly good size, which was Grigor Lusavorich's prison cell. The climb down the well is to a depth of 60 metres (196.9 ft). The pit is well lit but the climb down the metal ladder requires sturdy shoes.
Archaeological sites were excavated starting in 1970 in the thirteen hills (maximum height 70 metres (229.7 ft)) around Khor Virap and up to the valley of the river. Excavations in the hills 1 and 4, and sections of hills 5, 7 and 8 and of the neck of the land between Hills 1 and 2 are in progress. Some archaeological excavations have also been carried out outside the walls of the church at the site of Artashat, the capital of the Tiridat dynasty. In addition to ancient coins and potsherds, excavations have unearthed well preserved mud-brick fortifications on the north slope of the third hill from the northeast.
The anniversary of the deliverance of Gregory is also celebrated in the Illuminator’s cathedral built in Erivan. On New Year's Day, light is brought from Khor Virap as a religious celebration. In a recent event, Catholicos Garegin II
climbed down the same deep prison pit where the first Catholicos Grigor had passed many agonizing years, and came out of the pit by holding a lighted candle as symbol of the light that illuminated Armenians several centuries ago. As a pilgrimage centre, people visit Khor Virap for baptism or subsequent to a wedding to perform a matagh
animal sacrifice.
Tourism
The monastery attracts a very large number of tourists and there are a number of souvenir kiosks here. Of interest for visitors is the releasing of doves from Khor Virap with the hope they will fly to Mount Ararat.
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
monastery located in the Ararat plain
Ararat plain
The Ararat plain is one of the largest of the Armenian Plateau, stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Gegham mountains. In the north the plain borders on Mount Aragats, and in the south, on Mount Ararat...
in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, near the border with Turkey, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Artashat
Artashat
Artashat , is a city on Araks River in the Ararat valley, 30 km southeast of Yerevan. Being one of the oldest cities of Armenia, Artashat is the capital of Ararat Province. Modern Artashat is situated on the Yerevan-Nakhichevan-Baku and Nakhichevan-Tabriz railway and on...
, Ararat Province. The monastery was host to a theological seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and was the residence of Armenian Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
.
Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Grigor Lusavorich, who later became Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia
Tiridates III of Armenia
Tiridates III or Diritades III was the king of Arsacid Armenia , and is also known as Tiridates the Great ; some scholars incorrectly refer to him as Tiridates IV as a result of the fact that Tiridates I of Armenia reigned twice)...
. Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation. A chapel was initially built in 642 AD at the site of Kirat Virap by Nerses III the Builder
Nerses III the Builder
Nerses III the Builder was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 641 and 661. He was originally from the village of Ishkhan in Tayk...
as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular Church service
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
s are held in this church. It is probably the most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia.
Etymology
The place of imprisonment "virap nerk’in" came to be known as the Virap or khor (deep), 'virap' meaning the "Bottom most pit".Geography
Khor Virap is located on a hillockHillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
in Pokr Vedi
Pokr Vedi
Pokr Vedi is a town in the Ararat Province of Armenia.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
; the village is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the main highway. Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, the capital and largest city of Armenia, is 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) to the north. It is situated about 100 metres (328.1 ft) away from the Turkish-Armenian border (sealed by barbed wire fencing) and defended by military establishments that guard the troubled border zone.
The monastery is surrounded by green pasture lands and vineyards within the Ararat plain
Ararat plain
The Ararat plain is one of the largest of the Armenian Plateau, stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Gegham mountains. In the north the plain borders on Mount Aragats, and in the south, on Mount Ararat...
and is in view of Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
. The Arax (or Arakas) River flows close-by and the monastery is opposite of Aralykh.
History
King Artashes I, founder of the Artashesid dynastyKingdom of Armenia
The ancient Kingdom of Armenia was an independent monarchy from 331 BC to AD 428. The peak of the kingdom's power and its integration in Hellenistic culture under Tigranes and his son Artavasdes is also referred to as Armenian Empire. After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, the former Satrapy of...
, established his Armenian capital at Artashat
Artashat
Artashat , is a city on Araks River in the Ararat valley, 30 km southeast of Yerevan. Being one of the oldest cities of Armenia, Artashat is the capital of Ararat Province. Modern Artashat is situated on the Yerevan-Nakhichevan-Baku and Nakhichevan-Tabriz railway and on...
(also known as Artaxtisata) around 180 BC. It is believed that Hannibal, the Carthaginian General who was persecuted by Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, was also instrumental in establishing Artashat. Artashat remained the capital of the dynasty till the reign of King Khosrov III
Khosrov III the Small
Khosrov III the Small was the Arshakuni king Armenia. He was the son and successor of King Tiridates III and a member of the Arshakuni Dynasty. He was a man of short stature, thus his name...
(330–339) when it was moved to Dvin
Dvin
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan...
. Subsequently, Artashat was destroyed by the Persian King Shapur II
Shapur II
Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 and son of Hormizd II. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I...
. Artashat is close to the hillock of Khor Virap. Until its chapel was built, Khor Virap was used as royal prison.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Grigor (Gregory) Lusavorich who preached the Christian religion. However, Tiridates, a pagan was not pleased and he subjected Gregory to severe torture. When news reached the king that Gregory's father Anak
Anak
According to the Book of Numbers, during the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, Anak was a well known figure, and a forefather of the Anakites who have been considered "strong and tall," they were also said to have been a mixed race of giant people, descendants of the Nephilim...
was responsible for the murder of the king's father, the king ordered that Gregory's hand and legs be tied and that he be thrown into the Khor Virap to die in the dark dungeon located in Artashat. In addition, Gregory’s refusal to offer sacrifice to the goddess Anahita
Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ' ; the Avestan language name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of 'the Waters' and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom...
provoked the king to torture him and condemn him to imprisonment in the Khor Virap. He was then forgotten and the King pursued his wars and persecution of Christians. However, Gregory did not die during his 13 years of imprisonment. His survival was attributed to a Christian widow from the local town who, under the influence of strange dream vision, regularly fed Gregory by dropping a loaf of freshly baked bread into the pit.
During this period, the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
wanted to marry a beautiful girl and he sent others to search for the most beautiful woman. They found a girl named Rhipsime
Rhipsime
Rhipsime, sometimes called Hripsime , Ripsime, Ripsima or Arsema was an Armenian virgin and martyr of Roman origin. She and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as the first Christian martyrs of Armenia....
in Rome who was under the tutelage of Abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
Gaiaine in a Christian nunnery. When Rhipsime heard about the king's marriage proposal, she fled to Armenia to avoid the marriage. After a search was launched to locate the girl and punish the people who had helped her to escape, Tiridates located Rhipsime and brought her forcibly to his palace, trying to woo her. He was not successful against the strong defence put up by Rhipsime. He then ordered that she be dragged into his presence by putting a collar around her neck in hopes to persuade Rhipsime to agree to marry him.
However, what ensued was the persecution and murder of Rhipsime
Rhipsime
Rhipsime, sometimes called Hripsime , Ripsime, Ripsima or Arsema was an Armenian virgin and martyr of Roman origin. She and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as the first Christian martyrs of Armenia....
, Gaiaine and many Christians. Soon, divine punishment was meted out to Tiridates and his people. Tiridates went mad and is "said to have behaved like a wild boar while torments fell on his household and demons possessed the people of the city." It was then that Tiridates's sister, Khosrovidhukt, had a vision in the night, where an angel told her about the prisoner Gregory in the city of Artashat who could end the torments with the words "when he comes he will teach you the remedies for all your ills”. People did not place much reliance on this dream vision as they thought that Gregory had probably died within days of his being cast into the pit. But Khosrovidhukt had the same dream repeatedly with a threatening message that if the dream's instructions were not followed, there would be dire consequences. Prince Awtay was deputed to get Gregory from Kirat Virap. He went to the pit and shouted to Gregory saying "Gregory, if you are somewhere down there, come out. The God whom you worship has commanded that you be brought out". Gregory was brought out in a miserable state. He was taken to the king who had gone mad "foraging among the pigs at Valarshapar", tearing his own skin. Gregory cured the king and brought him back to his senses. Gregory knew of all the atrocities that were committed and saw the bodies of the martyrs who were later cremated. The king, accompanied by his court, approached Gregory seeking forgiveness for all the sins they committed. Henceforth, Gregory started preaching Christianity to the king, his court and army.
King Tiridates, who had embraced Christianity as his religion following the miraculous cure effected by Gregory's divine intervention, proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia in 301 AD. Gregory became the Bishop of Caesarea and remained in service of the King till about 314 AD. Another version attributed to Tiridates’s conversion to Christianity is that it was a strategic move to create national unity to checkmate the hegemony of Zoroastrian Persians and pagan Rome, and since then, the Christian Church has acted as a strong influence in Armenia.
Architecture
ChurchThe Nerses chapel, built in the 5th century around the famous pit, was of white limestone. Though plain in appearance, a monastery was built around a large enclosure that surrounds the ruins of the old chapel. This church has a twelve sided tholobate
Tholobate
A tholobate or drum, in architecture, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism....
and dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
and is dedicated to S. Astvatsatsin. The altar pulpit is well decorated. Though most Armenian churches have an east-west orientation, placing the altar at the east end, St. Gevorg Chapel is oriented northwest-southeast.
Pit
The pit where Gregory was imprisoned is southwest of the main church, underneath St. Gevorg Chapel which is a small basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
replete with a semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. Of the two pits inside the chapel, Grigor's is the farther one, 6 metres (19.7 ft) deep and 4.4 metres (14.4 ft) wide. The pit is approached through two unmarked holes. A small chamber, winding stairway, and a ladder lead to a small enclosure in the pit. To the right of the altar in the dungeon is the main room. A long ladder from here descends to a large cell of fairly good size, which was Grigor Lusavorich's prison cell. The climb down the well is to a depth of 60 metres (196.9 ft). The pit is well lit but the climb down the metal ladder requires sturdy shoes.
Grounds and surroundings
The 17th century church built around the pit is a simple structure surrounding a large courtyard which looks like a fort complex.Archaeological sites were excavated starting in 1970 in the thirteen hills (maximum height 70 metres (229.7 ft)) around Khor Virap and up to the valley of the river. Excavations in the hills 1 and 4, and sections of hills 5, 7 and 8 and of the neck of the land between Hills 1 and 2 are in progress. Some archaeological excavations have also been carried out outside the walls of the church at the site of Artashat, the capital of the Tiridat dynasty. In addition to ancient coins and potsherds, excavations have unearthed well preserved mud-brick fortifications on the north slope of the third hill from the northeast.
Culture
CelebrationThe anniversary of the deliverance of Gregory is also celebrated in the Illuminator’s cathedral built in Erivan. On New Year's Day, light is brought from Khor Virap as a religious celebration. In a recent event, Catholicos Garegin II
Karekin II
Catholicos Karekin II is the current head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church.He was born as Ktrij Nersessian in Voskehat, Armenia, on August 21, 1951. He entered the Gevorkian Theological Seminary at Echmiadzin in 1965 and graduated with honors in 1971. He was ordained to the diaconate deacon...
climbed down the same deep prison pit where the first Catholicos Grigor had passed many agonizing years, and came out of the pit by holding a lighted candle as symbol of the light that illuminated Armenians several centuries ago. As a pilgrimage centre, people visit Khor Virap for baptism or subsequent to a wedding to perform a matagh
Matagh
In Armenian Christian tradition, matagh is a lamb or a rooster slated for sacrifice to God, a ritual which has continued from the pagan past. In many regions of Armenia today, this pagan-Christian synthesis is very much alive in the regular slaughter of chosen animals in front of churches....
animal sacrifice.
Tourism
The monastery attracts a very large number of tourists and there are a number of souvenir kiosks here. Of interest for visitors is the releasing of doves from Khor Virap with the hope they will fly to Mount Ararat.