Geghard (Armenian: Գեղարդ, meaning "spear") is an old monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia. Part of it is carved into the nearby mountain, and it is surrounded by tall cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has special protection.

The main chapel was built in 1215, but the monastery was first created in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator. It was built near a holy spring inside a cave and was originally called Ayrivank, which means "the Monastery of the Cave." The name Geghard, or Geghardavank, comes from a spear that pierced Jesus during the Crucifixion. This spear is said to have been brought to Armenia by Apostle Jude, also called Thaddeus, and is kept with other holy items. Today, it is displayed in the Echmiadzin treasury.

The tall cliffs around Geghard are part of the Azat River gorge and are included in the World Heritage Site listing. Some churches in the monastery are fully carved into the cliff, while others are simple caves or more complex buildings with walls and rooms inside the rock. Alongside these structures, many engraved and freestanding khachkars make the site unique and one of Armenia's most visited places.

Many visitors to Geghard also visit the nearby pagan Temple of Garni, which is farther down the Azat River. It is common to visit both places together, and they are often called Garni-Geghard.

History

The monastery was founded in the 4th century, according to tradition, by Gregory the Illuminator. The site is a spring that comes from a cave that was sacred before Christianity, which is why it was sometimes called Ayrivank, meaning "the Monastery of the Cave." The first monastery was destroyed by Arabs in the 9th century.

Nothing remains of the buildings of Ayrivank. Armenian historians from the 4th, 8th, and 10th centuries wrote that the monastery had religious buildings, as well as homes and other structures for daily use. In 923, Nasr, an assistant to an Arabian ruler in Armenia, attacked the monastery, stealing valuable items like rare books and burning its buildings. Earthquakes also caused serious damage.

Though there are writings from the 1160s, the main church was built in 1215 by Zakare and Ivane, two generals who helped Queen Tamar of Georgia reclaim much of Armenia from the Turks. The gavit, a structure that is partly free-standing and partly carved into a cliff, was built before 1225. A series of chapels carved into the rock were added in the mid-13th century after the monastery was bought by Prince Prosh Khaghbakian, a ruler who was loyal to the Zakarians and started the Proshian family. The Proshyans built cave structures that made Geghard famous, including a second cave church, a family tomb, a hall for meetings and studies (which collapsed in the 20th century), and many small rooms. A chamber near the gavit became Prince Prosh Khaghbakian’s tomb in 1283. Another nearby chamber has carvings of the Proshian family’s symbols, including an eagle holding a lamb. A staircase to the west of the gavit leads to a tomb carved in 1288 for Papak Proshian and his wife, Ruzukan. The Proshyan rulers also built an irrigation system for the monastery in the 13th century. At that time, the monastery was known as the Monastery of the Seven Churches and the Monastery of the Forty Altars. Around the monastery are caves and khachkars, which are carved stone crosses. The monastery was abandoned, and its main church was used by nomadic herders in winter until a few monks from Ejmiatsin returned after the Russian conquest. Today, the site is restored for tourists and has a small religious presence, but it remains a place where many people visit for spiritual reasons.

The monastery was famous for the holy items it protected. The most important was a spear that pierced Jesus on the cross, which was brought there by the Apostle Thaddeus. This is why the monastery is now called Geghard-avank, meaning "the Monastery of the Spear," a name first recorded in a document from 1250. This made it a popular place for Armenian Christians to visit for many years. In the 12th century, relics of the Apostles Andrew and John were added to the monastery. Over time, many visitors gave land, money, and books to the monastery. In one of the cave rooms, a famous Armenian historian named Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi lived in the 13th century.

No artistic works have survived in Geghard, except for the legendary spear (geghard). The spear has a diamond-shaped plate at its tip, and a Greek cross with wide ends is carved into the plate. A special case was made for it in 1687, and it is now kept in the museum of the Echmiadzin monastery. The gilded silver case is a simple piece of 17th-century Armenian craftsmanship.

Complex

Today, the monastery complex is located at the end of a paved road. Visitors walk up from the parking lot past women selling sweet bread, sheets of dried fruit (called fruit lavash), sweet sujukh (strings of walnuts covered in grape molasses), and souvenirs. A group of musicians often plays music for a few seconds as visitors arrive, possibly playing longer if offered money.

Near the main entrance on the west side, there are small caves, chapels, carvings, and other structures carved into the hillside. Just before the entrance, shallow shelves in the cliff are used by people who throw pebbles to make wishes come true. Inside the entrance, 12th–13th century ramparts protect three sides of the complex, while the cliffs behind protect the fourth side. Walking through the complex leads to a secondary entrance on the east side. Outside this entrance is a table for ritual animal offerings (called matagh) and a bridge over a stream.

The one- and two-story buildings around the monastery’s yard were rebuilt many times, including in the 17th century and from 1968 to 1971. Most monks lived in small rooms carved into the rock outside the main area, which have been preserved along with simple chapels. Elaborate crosses (called khatchkars) are carved into the rock across the entire area. More than twenty spaces, of different shapes and sizes, were carved into solid rock surrounding the main cave structures. Those in the western part were for service, while others are small rectangular chapels with a curved apse and altar. Some chapels have two or three rooms with one entrance, and some entrances are decorated with carvings. Many khatchkars, often richly decorated, are carved into rock surfaces, walls, or placed on the grounds of Geghard to honor the dead or commemorate donations.

Though some inscriptions date to the 1160s, the main church called "Kathoghike" was built in 1215 by the brothers Zakare and Ivane of the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli family. These men were generals under Queen Tamar of Georgia, who helped reclaim much of Armenia from the Turks.

This is the main church of the complex and follows traditional designs. It is built against a mountain, and the interior is not exposed to the outside. The church’s plan forms a cross with equal arms, inscribed in a square and covered by a dome on a square base. Small two-story chapels with steps protruding from the walls are located in the corners. The internal walls have many inscriptions about donations.

The southern facade of the Kathoghike has a portal with fine carvings. The tympanum (the space above the doorway) is decorated with trees, pomegranates, and intertwining leaves and grapes. Doves are placed between the arch and the frame, with their heads facing the center of the portal. Above the portal is a carved image of a lion attacking an ox, symbolizing the power of a prince.

The arched top of the cupola’s drum has detailed reliefs showing birds, human masks, animal heads, rosettes, and jars.

West of the main church is a rock-attached vestry, called a gavit in Armenian (narthex in Latin), built between 1215 and 1225. Four large columns support a stone roof with a hole in the center to let in light. The spaces around the columns are roofed differently, while the central area has a dome decorated with stalactites, a style unique to Armenia. This style, called "stalactite vault," is thought to have been inspired by Islamic architecture, such as the muqarnas of the Seljuk Sultan Han caravanserai in Aksaray (built in 1229). The gavit was used for teaching, meetings, and welcoming pilgrims and visitors.

The western portal is different from other portals of that time, featuring van-shaped door bands decorated with floral patterns. The tympanum has large flowers with petals of different shapes and oblong leaves.

The first cave chamber, called Avazan (basin), is located northwest of the vestry. It was carved in the 1240s from an ancient cave with a spring. It was built during the reign of Avag, son of Ivane and nephew of Zakare II Zakarian, nicknamed "Long Arm." An inscription reads, "Remember Archimandrite Galdzag," honoring the architect who built the caves.

Avazan is entirely carved from rock and has a cross-shaped layout. The interior is lined with two crossed arches and a central stalactite dome. An inscription credits the architect Galdzak, who also built other rock-cut churches and jhamatuns (small chapels) over forty years. His name is carved at the base of the tent decorated with reliefs of pomegranates.

The main rectangular space of the church has a tent-shaped roof and is decorated with an altar apse and two deep niches, creating an incomplete cross-cupola shape. Two pairs of intersecting pointed arches support the tent and rest on half-columns. Like the vestry, the inner surface of the tent is shaped like stalactites, which also decorate the capitals of the half-columns and the conch of the altar apse. The southern wall has small triple arches with conchs of different shapes, connected by intricate floral patterns.

After Prosh Khaghbakian took over the monastery from the Zakarids, he turned it into a family monastery and mausoleum for the Proshyans. A sepulchre and a second cave church, Astvatsatsin, were carved in 1283, likely by the same architect, Galdzak. These structures are accessed through the gavit. The "main zhamatun" is a square chamber carved into the rock, with deeply carved reliefs on the walls. A high relief on the northern wall shows a ram’s head with a chain in its jaws, the chain wrapped around the necks of two lions. The lions’ heads face the viewer, and their tails are replaced by dragon heads. Between the lions and below the chain is an eagle with half-spread wings and a lamb in its claws, possibly representing the coat-of-arms of the Proshian Princes.

The reliefs on the eastern wall are also detailed. The entrances to a small chapel and the Astvatsats

Gallery

• Carved rock chamber: tomb of Prosh Khaghbakian (1283).
• Symbol of the Proshyan family.
• 17th-century buildings used for service (foreground).
• Arched entrance to caves next to the monastery.
• Khachkars placed in a rock formation.
• Geghard covered in snow.
• Dome supported by arches. Proshyan chapel (1283).
• Dome supported by arches. Proshyan chapel (1283).
• Entrance to the Proshyan chapel (1283).
• Muqarna vault of the first church carved into the rock, 13th century.
• Column from the gavit.
• Column, tomb of Papak Proshyan, 1288.
• Ceiling and muqarna vault of the gavit.
• Engraved crosses on the wall of the cave church at Geghard Monastery.

• Copies of khachkars at the Armenian cemetery in Julfa, Nakhichevan destroyed by Azerbaijan.

• From James Justinian Morier's 1818 book.