Tatev Monastery

According to tradition, Tatev Monastery is named after Eustateus, a disciple of St. Thaddeus the Apostle, who preached and was martyred in this region. His name has evolved to Tatev.[6]

Popular etymology includes a legend telling of an event that is tied to the construction of the main church, where an apprentice secretly climbs to the top of its steeple intending to place a cross of his own design. However, the apprentice is spotted by his master during his descent. Shocked by his discovery, the apprentice loses his foothold and falls into the abyss as he calls upon God to grant him wings, which, in Armenian is: “Ta Tev”.[7]

Tatev Monastery is located in South-East Armenia, in the area of ancient Armenian Syunik, not far from the city of Goris and 280 km away from Yerevan. The Tatev plateau has been in use since pre-Christian times, hosting a pagan temple. The temple was replaced with a modest church following the Christianization of Armenia in the 4th century.[7]

Development of the Tatev Monastery began in the 9th century when it became the seat of the bishop of Syunik. In his History of the Province of Syunik, historian Stepanos Orbelian describes the construction of a new church near the old one in 848 through the financial assistance of Prince Philip of Syunik. With the growth of economic and political importance of the centre, the aging buildings no longer suited its requirements, and thus Bishop Hovhannes (John) obtained the financial assistance of Prince Ashot of Syunik to construct the new monastery.[6]

In the beginning of the 11th century, Tatev hosted around 1,000 monks and a large number of artisans. In 1044, armed forces of neighbouring emirates destroyed the St. Gregory Church and its surrounding buildings, which were reconstructed soon after that. In 1087, the church of St. Mary was built to the north of the complex. The monastery suffered significant damage during Seljuk invasions in the 12th century and the earthquake in 1136. In 1170, Seljuk Turks plundered the Monastery and burnt some 10,000 manuscripts. The Monastery was rebuilt through the efforts of Bishop Stepanos near the end of the 13th century.[8]

The monastery's image from 1881.

The Monastery was granted an exemption from taxes during Mongol rule. It regained its economic strength with the assistance of the Orbelian family. Its influence grew further when, in 1286, the Orbelians assumed control of the monastery, Stepanos Orbelian was consecrated metropolitan and succeeded in reuniting a number of surrounding dioceses within its realm. With the establishment of the university in the 14th century Tatev became a principal centre of Armenian culture.[8]

During Timur lane's campaigns into Syunik (1381–1387), Tatev was looted, burnt, and dispossessed of a significant portion of its territories. The Monastery received an additional blow during Shah Rukh's invasion in 1434.[8]

The monastery c. 1920

The monastery was reborn in the 17th and 18th centuries; its structures restored and new ones were added. It was looted again during the incursions of Persian forces led by Aga Mahmet Khan in 1796.[8] In 1836, Czarist Russia put an end to the metropolitan authorities of Tatev through the imposition of Pologenia, and Syunik became part of the Diocese of Yerevan.[9]

On 26 April 1921, the 2nd Pan-Zangezurian congress, held in Tatev, announced the independence of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia. The state included the regions of Tatev canyon, Sisian and Gndevaz. The city of Goris became the capital of the unrecognized state with Garegin Nzhdeh as its supreme commander.

The monastery was seriously damaged after an earthquake in 1931, the dome of the Sts. Paul and Peter church and the bell tower were destroyed. In the latter years the Sts. Paul and Peter church was reconstructed, but the bell tower remains destroyed up to today.

View of the monastery and surroundings, 2016

The fortified Tatev monastery consists of three churches -Saints Paul and Peter, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, and Holy Mother of God-, a library, refectory, bell tower, mausoleum, as well as other administrative and auxiliary buildings.[8]

The church of Saints Paul and Peter was built between 895 and 906. An arched hall was added adjacent to the southern wall of the church in 1043. Soon after in 1087, the church of the Holy Mother of God was added along the northern fortifications. In 1295, the church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, which had been destroyed during an earthquake, was replaced with a new one through the initiative of then bishop Stepanos Orbelian. In 1787, the mausoleum of the Armenian theologian Gregory of Tatev was built adjacent to the western wall of the Church of Saint Gregory and by the end of 19th century a vestibule and a belfry were added at the western entrance of the church of Saints Paul and Peter.[8]

Aside from the buildings, the monastery boasts an upright pendulum, known as the Gavazan (staff). This column was built in the 10th century following the completion of the Paul and Peter church and has survived numerous invasions and earthquakes relatively unscathed.[8]

In the 14th century, fortifications were built to the south, west and north of the monastery with buildings for habitation, administration and other purposes. In the 18th century, additions were made to house the bishop's residence, cells for the monks, storage, dining hall, kitchen, bakery and winery. Sixteen rectangular classrooms, covered with arched ceilings, were built along the main fortifications.[8]

To the northeast of the monastery, outside of the fortifications is the olive press. It has four production rooms including two domed storage rooms and pressing chambers with arched ceilings. This mill is one of the best preserved in Armenia and is an excellent illustration of olive presses built in the region during the Middle Ages.[8]

The school buildings of the Tatev Monastery characterize the architectural style of monastic educational architecture used in the late medieval period.[8]

Tatev Monastery was a feudal organization.[12] It became a prominent and influential monastic centre soon after its foundation, possessing expansive areas of land and a large number of villages. The earliest references to its foundation are described in Stepanos Orbelian's History of the Province of Syunik, where Orbelian describes the accord through which Prince Ashot, son of Prince Philipé of Syunik delineated its borders.[6]

Soon after the transfer of the lands, peasants of Tsouraberd (present day Svarants), Tamalek, Aveladasht and other villages, rejected the authority of the Monastery and began a prolonged struggle against it. Twice the protests transformed into open uprisings[12] and continued, with some interruptions, until 990 when King Vasak of Syunik razed Tsouraberd and dispersed its population . Historians link the uprisings to the Tondrakian Heresy, which appeared in Armenian history at roughly the same time as the peasant uprisings (9th–11th centuries) and which was also suppressed around the same time.[13]

The Tatev bishopric owned 47 villages and received tithes from 677 other villages.[14] It gained such economic power that in 940–950 Bishop Hakob attempted to secede from the Mother See of Etchmiadzin. His separatist dreams were dashed when Catholicos Anania Mokatsi anathematized him. Surrounding regions benefited from Tatev's weakened position, rejected its supremacy and established their own dioceses.[10] In 958, Bishop Vahan (later Catholicos Vahan Syunetsi) recovered some of the bishopric rights and properties.[8] In 1006, Bishop Hovhannes V succeeded in re-establishing the metropolitan privileges of the diocese.[9]

Tatev Monastery has played a notable role in the advancement of cultural life of Armenia. In his History of the Province of Syunik, Stepanos Orbelian describes how the monastery served as the repository for thousands of valuable manuscripts, monastic and official documents and contracts. The Monastery hosted a university that operated between 1390 and 1434, where instructors were educated and trained not only for the province of Syunik, but also for other regions of Armenia.

In the beginning of the 1340s, following the decline of the University of Gladzor, Hovhan Vorotnetsi departed from Vayots Dzor, and arriving in Dzghook, Vorotn, he obtained the blessing and patronage of the Orbelian princes to advance the educational system at Tatev. Vorotnetsi used his experience from Gladzor to revise the educational plan and to organize the admission and classification of students and instructors. This enabled Tatev to be transformed to a deserving university within a short period of time,[15] attracting students from various regions of Greater Armenia and Cilicia.[13]

Vorotnetsi organized the university into three departments – study of Armenian and foreign scriptures, the study of scriptural arts, and finally, the study of music. The first included the study of humanities and social sciences, philosophy, oration, grammar, literature and history. The second focused on calligraphy, artistic design of books and the painting of miniatures and murals. The third department included ancient music and musicology.[10]

Following the death of Vorotnetsi in 1388, Grigor Tatevatsi assumed the role of abbot. He succeeded in raising the standard of the University to unprecedented heights. During his tenure, Tatev experienced its most dynamic and creative period. Topics of instruction included Armenian literature, interpretation and analysis of the Old and New Testaments, works of the holy fathers, works of Plato, Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria and Porphyry, and their analysis.[15]

The University of Tatev became the leading scientific and cultural centre of the time. Its achievements appear even more significant when they are viewed in context with the turbulent political situation and endless devastations of the period, when the University was occasionally forced to migrate to avoid persecutions from invading forces.[16][17]

Tatev University led the effort to combat the influence of the Fratres Unitores in Armenia. The Unitores were an Armenian branch of the Dominican order and the result of an initiative taken by Pope John XXII to extend the influence of Holy See of Rome onto Asia and to Latinize Greater Armenia.[18] Scholars of Tatev University fought against the proselytizing of the Unitores and sought to diminish their influence on the Armenian Church and people.[16]

Following the collapse of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375, scholars of Tatev, led by Grigor Tatevatsi and then his followers, especially Tovma Metsobetsi and Hovhannes Hermonetsi played an important role in convincing the authorities to repatriate of the supreme patriarchal throne of the Armenian Church from Sis to Etchmiadzin, the original See of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.[17] The effort succeeded in 1441 following the decisions of the National Congress of Etchmiadzin, proving to be one of the most significant events in Armenian history of that century.[15][16]

The prominence of the University began to wane following the death of Grigor Tatevatsi. In spite of the dauntless efforts of its new leaders, the political and economic conditions, compounded with the security complications of the period led Tatev to lose its luster and finally ceased to function following the invasions of Shah Rukh in 1434.[10][15]

St Gregory church of the Tatev Monastery at sunset

In 1995, the monasteries of Tatev, Tatevi Anapat and their adjacent areas of the Vorotan Valley were added to the tentative list of World Heritage Sites of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[19]

Launched in 2008, Tatev Revival foundation was founded by impact investor and entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan. The main goal of Tatev Revival is the restoration of Tatev Monastery. Included in this objective is the creation of infrastructure around the monastery while respecting its cultural, historical and spiritual significance, as well as the concurrent development of local communities. The official start of the project is given on October 2010 by the launch of the world's longest reversible aerial tramway (5750 m long), as part of its effort to revive tourism in the area. This link, named Wings of Tatev connects the village of Halidzor with the Tatev Monastery.[7] The project is executed by the Swiss competence center of the Doppelmayr/Garaventa group and cost US$25 million.[20] The Wings of Tatev cableway has been used by nearly 950,000 tourists over the course of its operations. In the town Goris, more than 50 hotels and guesthouses opened after the launch of the program. In nearby villages around 50 B&B were founded by locals. The Kapan-based Ark Ecological NGO is currently building hiking trail infrastructure to connect Kapan and Tatev monastery to promote the ecotourism in the Syunik region.[21]

• Tatevi Anapat, a nearby 17th century Armenian monastery in the Vorotan Valley gorge directly below Tatev

• Kouymjian, Dickran. "Index of Armenian Art: Armenian Architecture – Tat'ev". Armenian Studies Program. California State University, Fresno.

• Official Site
• Wings of Tatev for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
• Wings of Tatev | developWay CJSC
• Article Armeniapedia.org: Tatev Monastery
• 3D Virtual Model of Tatev Monastery
• Tatev Monastery. 3600 Panorama
• Seasons, weather and climate in Tatev
• Wings of Tatev, the world longest non-stop double track aerial tramway that leads to the monastery