Dadivank

Dadivank
Դադիվանք
The monastery of Dadivank
Shown within Republic of Artsakh
Basic information
Location Republic of Artsakh Shahumian Region, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto);
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (de jure);
Geographic coordinates 40°09′41″N 46°17′17″E / 40.161391°N 46.288013°E / 40.161391; 46.288013Coordinates: 40°09′41″N 46°17′17″E / 40.161391°N 46.288013°E / 40.161391; 46.288013
Affiliation Armenian Apostolic Church
Architectural description
Architect(s) yes
Architectural type Monastery, Church
Architectural style Armenian
Completed 9th–13th centuries

Dadivank (Armenian: Դադիվանք) also Khutavank (Armenian: Խութավանք – Arm. Monastery on the Hill[1]) is an Armenian monastery in the Shahumian Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It was built between the 9th and 13th century.

History and architecture

The monastery was founded by St. Dadi, a disciple of Thaddeus the Apostle who spread Christianity in Eastern Armenia during the first century AD. However, The monastery was first mentioned in the 9th century. In June, 2007, the grave of St. Dadi was discovered under the holy altar of the main church.[2] The princes of Upper Khachen are also buried at Dadivank, under the church's gavit.[3]

The Monastery belongs to the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and consists of the Cathedral church of St. Astvadzadzin, the chapel and a few other buildings. The main church has Armenian script engraved into its walls, in addition to several 13th century frescoes.[4] The bas-relief on the south facade of the cathedral at Dadivank, built in 1214, shows the princess offering the church in memory of her sons.[5] According to Paolo Cuneo, Dadivank is one of two Monasteries along with Gandzasar where bust motifs (possiblly the donors of the monasteries) can be found.[6]

On 8 October 2001, motion 9256 was proposed (but not discussed, let alone approved) at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on behest of sixteen parliamentary members. According to the motion, "the local Muslim population regarded as remnants of the Armenian Christian religion and ruined the monastery as it could".[7]

Restoration

In 1994 following the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the monastery was reopened and in 2004, a renovation process began with funding from Armenian-American businesswoman Edele Hovnanian, ending in 2005. The restoration efforts restored the Cathedral, along with a chapel which was restored by Edik Abrahamian, an Armenian from Tehran, Iran.[8]

In August 2017, Italian specialists who had previously conducted restoration operations at Davidank returned to continue their cleaning and restoration of the monastery. They had already restored of the four chapels and their frescoes, and were now planning to restore inscriptions and ornaments near the doors to the chapels. The entire restoration project is planned to be completed by 2020.[9]

See also

Books

  • (in French) Le Petit Futé Arménie – by Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette – 2009 – 330 pages
  • Armenologie in Deutschland, by Armenuhi Drost-Abgarjan, Hermann Goltz – 2005 – p. 59
  • (in Italian) Documenti di architettura armena, Alexandr L. Jakobson – 1986 – 73 p.

References

  1. ↑ Жеан-Паул Лабурдетьте, Доминикуе Аузиас, Армения, Petit Futé, 2007 – p. 203
  2. ↑ В старинном монастыре Нагорного Карабаха обнаружены мощи одного из учеников Иисуса Христа
  3. ↑ Georgia, Armenia and Armenia, by John Noble, Michael Kohn, Danielle Systermans, Lonely Planet, 2008 – 364 pages, p. 307
  4. ↑ Lydia А. Durnovo, Essays on the Fine Arts of Medieval Armenia. Moscow. 1979.[In Russian]
  5. ↑ Treasures from the ark: 1700 years of Armenian Christian art, by Vrej Nersessian, British Library, 2001 – 240 pages
  6. ↑ Paolo Cuneo, Architettura Armena, Roma, 1988, pp. 450, 761, cited by. ALPAGHIAN: Raccolta di scritti in onore di Adriano Alpago Novello, Italy, 2005
  7. ↑ "Doc. 9256 - Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe". Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. ↑ RESTORATION IN DADIVANK
  9. ↑ Italian specialists to arrive in Karabakh to continue Dadivank Monastery restoration
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