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Sevanavank (Սևանավանք) is a monastery on a peninsula along the northwest shore of Lake Sevan in Armenia. The name translates to Sevan Monastery.
Introduction to Sevanavank
According to ancient chronicles, St. Gregory the Illuminator built the Church of Surb Harutyun atop the ruins of a pagan temple in 305. At that time, the peninsula was an island in Lake Sevan. Several monks settled there at the end of the 8th century.
The monastery was founded in 874 by Princess Mariam, the daughter of King Ashot I and wife of Prince Vasak Gabur of Syunik. Under her patronage, the Churches of Surb Arakelots and Surb Astvatsatsin were constructed along with a school and library.
Surb Harutyn was destroyed by an earthquake in 995, and the monastery was destroyed during the Mongol and Timurid invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively. It was rebuilt after the reestablishment of the Holy See at Echmiadzin in 1441, and in 1451 Daniel Vardapet founded a seminary there.
Sevanavank became a major center of calligraphy where Armenian manuscripts were copied and illustrated. The churches were renovated in 1661, but Surb Astvatsatsin was demolished during the Soviet period in the 1930s. It was later rebuilt by the local community, and the buildings were renovated from 1956 to 1957.
The island became a peninsula after drainage of the lake during the rule of Joseph Stalin. The monastery was revived in the 1990s, with a modern seminary named after Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I (1908-1994) built to the north.
Today, Sevanavank consists of the Churches of Surb Arakelots and Surb Astvatsatsin, the ruined Church of Surb Harutyun church, monk cells, auxiliary buildings, and a several khachkars (cross stones) and gravestones. It’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in the county.
Church of Surb Arakelots
The Church of Surb Arakelots (Holy Apostles) is the first church you’ll come to at Sevanavank. It’s a small domed structure with three apses and an annex on the southeast side. The elaborately carved wooden door was made in 1486 and is on display at the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan.
Church of Surb Astvatsatsin
Next is the Church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), which is the larger of the two churches. It was once entered through a gavit, which is a narthex doubling as a mausoleum, that was destroyed in the 1930s.
Inside the church, you’ll find a beautiful wooden iconostasis and an intricate khachkar. In the past, there were also four columns with wooden capitals. They’re now kept at the History Museum of Armenia and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Lake Sevan
Lake Sevan is the largest body of water in modern Armenia. It sits at 1,900 meter (6,234 feet) above sea level, and covers an area of 1,242 square kilometers (480 square miles). The average depth is 26.8 meters (88 feet) and the deepest point is 79.4 meters (260 feet). The lake is fed by 28 rivers and streams and provides 90% of the fish caught in Armenia.
As previously mentioned, the lake was drained under Joseph Stalin. The water level dropped by 20 meters (66 feet) and the volume decreased by 40%. Before this, the deepest point was 95 meters (312 feet).
Today, Lake Sevan is an important tourist destination. With the only beaches in Armenia, you’ll find resorts with activities such as swimming, sunbathing, windsurfing, sailing, and jet skiing. The majority of the resorts are situated around the town of Sevan.
Lake Sevan is also an important breeding ground for 95 species of birds and home to over 200 species in total. The endangered Sevan trout is a fish native to the lake.
