Harants Monastery :: ARTSAKH HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Harants Monastery

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Getabek / Metz Gharamurat

Location

The monastic complex of Harants is situated on a hill rising between two small gorges, about a kilometre north-east of Metz Gharamurat.

Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 263.

Description
1890 y․

Kamalian, who visited the monument in 1890, writes, “...A fine dome built of white finely-finished stone could be seen at the foot of Mount Dagirman: the Ayrums called that building a monastery. Indeed, the agreeable dome could attract anybody wandering amidst the ruins of that wild area so that I rode my horse in the direction of Mount Dagirmi, on the way to which I came across some graves and ruined dwellings, certainly, once inhabited by the people who later moved to Shulaver. On the left bank of a clear stream flowing from the gorge was seen the edge of a forest which gradually grew denser, the wild trees being replaced by fruit-bearing ones with pomegranates, quinces, pears, apples, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc. Going deeper into the gorge, we saw smoke swirling up near some dilapidated walls that were the remnants of some large ancient ramparts. Right of them, a marshy lake could be seen in what was the site of the former creamery. The church represented a spacious building of finely-finished stone, with its roof undamaged and two entrances opening in the west and north. The area abounded in khachkars, but they were bare of inscriptions: the inscribed ones seemed to have been deliberately broken by the savages. In the north of the church stood a magnificent belfry built of white and reddish ashlar: it was its dome that we had seen in the distance. We were told that its cross had been standing until recently, but the same Ayrum savages had displaced it together with its conical pedestal and thrown it somewhere in the vicinity. The high-rising dome of the belfry as well as a stone cross that was higher than life-size and stood amidst four finely-erected pillars in its lower floor still aroused admiration and attracted pious believers. I had never seen a cross so superb in any Armenian sanctuary: it represented a single piece of surprisingly well-dressed white stone rising at a height of two feet on a nicely-carved pedestal... You had to dip your feet into the dirty dung left by the cattle of the Ayrum barbarians in order to approach that unsurpassed work of art...”

Yeghishe Charents Art and Literature Museum. Sargis Kamalian Fund, copy-book No. 1, VI-11, p. 31; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, pp. 263-265.

Architectural Description

Another interesting description299 of the monument is provided by Barkhutariants: “Built of finely-finished stone, the standing monument (it is 15 metres 5 centimetres long and 9 metres 60 centimetres wide) rests upon two pillars. ...In its north-eastern corner, it has a double-storey belfry entirely built of finely-finished stone. The covering slabs of both the monastery roof and belfry have collapsed. The latter retains a life-size stone cross rising on a stepped pedestal on its first floor: it bears a striking resemblance to the wooden cross on which Christ was crucified.”

M. Barkhutariants identifies Harants Monastery with the cloister of Khamshi situated in the district of Miapor (nowadays the basin of the river Getik) adjacent to Zakam District. This identification, however, is absolutely groundless. Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, pp. 309-310; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 265.

Description
17 c․

The monastery also had some annexes intended for habitation and additional accommodation. They were erected through Prior Yeghia the Hermit’s efforts in the mid-17th century (“...He had many buildings added to the monastery”). Within the enclosure of the cloister, a large cemetery of khachkars used to be located. By our first visit (1980) to the monument, however, they had already been levelled with the ground. A Turkish inhabitant of Gharamurat had ploughed the territory of the monastery, breaking and displacing all the khachkars and tombstones as something unnecessary and arranging them on the new enclosure of his land.

Colophons of the Armenian Manuscripts of the 17th century, vol. 3. Compiled by Hakobian, V. Yerevan, 1984, pp. 851-852; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 266.

Scriptoria
1659 y․

The colophon of a Gospel created in 1659 states, “...The Gospel ... was completed by sinful Grigor, a priest in name only, on 20 March 1659 of the Armenian era... ...Mahtesy Yeghia the Hermit, who ... went to Gharamurat's holy monastery, stayed there for a time and ... went on pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem on Prior Terun’s order... Returning to his first sanctuary, ... he had a great number of buildings added to the monastery. Some time later ... on Father Superior Terun’s order and by all the brothers’ consent, he came to us with a request to have his sacred wish fulfilled. And I completed the Holy Gospel, gilded and illustrated it with various colours. ...May you please pray for Father Terun and the monks of the holy monastery, Bishop Grigor, Priest Karapet, Father Yeghia and others...”

Colophons of the Armenian Manuscripts of the 17th century, vol. 3. Compiled by Hakobian, V. Yerevan, 1984, pp. 851-852; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 266.

1679 y․

The colophon of another Gospel copied by Priest Avetis Kamaletsy in 1679 states, “The Holy Gospel was finely-written by sinful priest Avetis from Kamalu Village of Tavush in Harants Monastery of Gharamurat, Verin Zakam in sorrowful times, in the year 1679 of the Armenian era...”

Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, pp. 281-282. The manuscript is kept in the Matenadaran (N 6708). Voskian, H. The Monasteries of Artsakh. In: “Handes Amsorea,” August to October 1951; July to September 1952, p. 427; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 266.

1682 y․

In 1682 Priest Ghukas copied a Mashtots Dzerats in the cloister.

A Catalogue of Armenian Manuscripts of the Matenadaran after Mashtots, vol. 2, Yerevan, 1970, p. 200, manuscript N 5868; Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 266.

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the east
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

Type Photo
View Exterior
Direction From the north-east
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Black-and-white negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

Type Photo
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Direction From the south-east
Author Hovhannes Zakarian
Source Colour Negative
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

View Interior
Author Samvel Karapetyan
Date 1980 — 1982 yy․

Type Measurement
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Author Samvel Karapetyan
Source Sketch

Type Photo
View Exterior
Author Hovhannes Zakarian
Source Colour Negative

Type Photo
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Author http://earth.google.com
Source Colour Negative