The Old Martyr Monastery of Patara

The Old Martyr Monastery of Patara

Location

The Monastery of the Old Martyr is located 2.9 kilometers from the village of Patara in a forested area. Built on a small promontory (Fig. 1), the monument is surrounded by a large cemetery and the ruins of an ancient settlement. Adjacent to the church are the remains of a gavit and a chapel. According to M. Barkhudaryants, the upper stream of the nearby river is called Ptretsots, and the inner stream is Khojalu, and together they are called Old Martyr (Barkhudaryants 1895, 158).

After the Azerbaijani military aggression in September 2023 and the forced expulsion of Armenians, the monastery came under Azerbaijani occupation.

Fig. 1 The exterior of the church from the south, photo by H. Petrosyan.

Historical overview

An inscription is located on the eastern wall of the church, engraved on a plate that protrudes outward. It reads: "By the will of God and during the reign of Smbat, I, the elder priest Mkhitar, built this church. Those who worship, remember me in their prayers" (Fig. 2). The date of construction is also engraved on the lintel: "In the year 1126." Since the two inscriptions are engraved in different script styles, it is difficult to assert that they are contemporaneous. Notably, in the mid-12th century, the Smbat of these territories is also mentioned in the famous khachkar inscription of the Okhty Yeghtsi Monastery dated 1158 (https://monumentwatch.org/hy/monument/%d6%85%d5%ad%d5%bf%d5%a8-%d5%a5%d5%b2%d6%81%d5%ab-%d5%be%d5%a1%d5%b6%d6%84%d5%a8/).

According to Barkhudaryants, the church is called "Old Martyr" because it houses the remains of an ancient martyr buried within its walls (Barkhudaryants 1895, 158).

Fig. 2 An inscription-bearing stone on the wall of the church, photo by H. Petrosyan.

Architectural-Compositional examination

The church is a single-nave hall constructed from locally quarried rough and uncut limestone (Figs. 3-4). The cornerstones, the entrance lintel, and select stones throughout the structure-including those adorned with cross sculptures and the two slabs of the northern wall, one of which bears the construction inscription (Fig. 4) - are likewise characterized by a rough texture.

Fig. 3 The general view of the church from the northeast and northwest, photo by H. Petrosyan.

The eastern tabernacle is a rectangular, vaulted structure (Fig. 5). A niche for the baptismal font has been preserved on the northern wall. The only entrance is on the southern side. Windows on the eastern and western walls widen inward. Inside the tabernacle, there are niches of three different sizes.

The church is distinguished by a dual-sloped roof currently covered with soil, and walls of considerable thickness, reaching up to one meter. Its dimensions are 5.65 meters in length, 2.50 meters in width, and 5 meters in height.

Some of the hewn stones on the walls feature images of crosses. A khachkar with an inscription is located beneath the eastern wall (Fig. 6). Additionally, an inscription is present on the pedestal of one of the khachkars: "Holy Sign of the Lord, be Andrias's aid in the days of the Last Judgment." This inscription dates to the summer of 695 (1246 CE). Such poetic forms are relatively common in memorial inscriptions, particularly those that anticipate the Last Judgment and emphasize the role of the cross as a mediator between the faithful and divine power (Petrosyan 2008, 253).

Additionally, the chapel, the village of Tsera Nahatak, the cemetery, and numerous khachkars are situated near the church (Fig. 7).

The condition before, during, and after the war

During the 2023 Azerbaijani military aggression and in its aftermath, no information about the monument has been available.

Bibliographic examination

A brief historical account of the church is provided in Makar Barkhutaryants's work Artsakh. Subsequently, it was mentioned among other monuments of the village of Patara in the book by S. Sargsyan and Yu. Arakelyan (Sargsyan and Arakelyan 2006).

Bibliography

  1. Barkhutareants 1895 - Barkhutareants M., Artsakh, Baku, Aror.
  2. Sargsyan, Arakelyan 2006 - Sargsyan S., Arakelyan Yu., Patara, Yerevan.
  3. Petrosyan 2008 - Petrosyan H., Khachkar, origin, function, iconography, semantics, Yerevan, Printinfo, Yerevan.
The Old Martyr Monastery of Patara
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