Geghard Monastery is one of the most ancient and famous monasteries in Armenia. For several centuries, the "Spear of Longinus" was kept here. According to legend, the warrior Longinus pierced the body of Jesus Christ with it during his crucifixion on the cross. In 2000, the Geghard Monastery was included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List.
In Armenian, the monastery is called Geghardevank, which means "Monastery of the Spear". The monastery was founded in the 4th century by St. Gregory the Illuminator near the Holy Spring in the gorge of the Gokht River. At first there were only caves here, and the monastery was called Ayrivank, which means "Cave Monastery". Gregory the Illuminator in 301 persuaded Tsar Trdat III to accept Christianity as the state religion. This happened 2 years earlier than the Edict of Milan, which the Emperor Constantine in 303 allowed to openly profess Christianity. In Byzantium, Christianity became the state religion only in 380.
Gregory the Illuminator became the first catholicos of all Armenians and placed the Spear of Longinus, one of the main Christian shrines, in the Geghard Monastery. According to legend, the spear was brought to Armenia by the Apostle Thaddeus, who visited the countries of Transcaucasia on a missionary trip in the mid-40s A.D. Later, the spear of Longinus was moved to the Echmiadzin Cathedral.
The location of the spear of Longinus in the Christian tradition is a debatable issue. Another spear of Longinus is kept in St. Peter`s Cathedral in the Vatican and another spear is in the Treasure Chamber of the Vienna Hofburg.
In 923, the Geghard monastery was ravaged by the Arabs, so nothing has been preserved from the old buildings, except for cave cells. In the 13th century, construction began again in the monastery and buildings that have survived to this day were erected. The main temple was built in 1215 in the center of the Geghard monastery. It`s called Katogike. At the same time, a sacristy (Gavit) was carved into the rock.
In 1240, on the site of an ancient spring, the architect Galdzag carved the first cave church Avazan ("Reservoir" in Armenian) into the rock. In 1283, another Church of the Virgin Mary was carved into the rock nearby, as well as the necropolis of the dukes Proshyans. A hundred meters in front of the entrance to the monastery on a rock above the road is the chapel of St. Gregory the Illuminator, built in 1177.
Geghard Monastery is located 35 km east of Yerevan, near the Hellenic Temple of Garni. In the gorge of the Azat River, near Garni, you can also visit a unique natural monument called the Stone Symphony. This is the slope of the gorge, consisting of hexagonal basalt tubes, which resembles an organ. The length of some pipes reaches 200 meters, and they hang over the gorge.
