Okonavank

Okonavank

2023-09-18T14:23:07+00:00 18/09/2023|Tavush, Recent News, Publications, Monuments of Tavush|

Okonavank or Okonakhach’s three-nave basilica was built with hard rocks of different sizes in 1863. Inside the church, there are four ashlar round columns that support the arches creating three naves.

On each side of the eastern altar t, here is one sacristy. A blue khachkar (cross-stone) with a bas-relief of a horseman carved on it is inserted in the facade of the entrance of the northern sacristy. There are two khachkars erected on both sides of the western entrance of the church and on the southern one there is a carving of an armed horseman.

Around the church, there is a large cemetery with simple tombstones from the XIX-XX centuries.

A winged cross, probably dating back to the XII-XIII centuries, is stuck in the ground a few meters east of the church. On each of the wings of the cross, one cross is carved. The crossing part is emphasized with a circular ornament inside which half of the circular insert has been preserved. One eternity sign is engraved on each horizontal arm of the cross, equidistant from the crossing part. The cruciform design with cross-shaped wings is embedded in the border which has the appearance of a bulge in the central part of the top of the upper cross arm. On both sides of the upper wing, the edge has a semicircular stylization.