Ani: Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator

Church of Tigran Honents'; Church of St. Grigor Lusaworic'; Church of Tigran Honenc'

Ani: Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of Tigran Honents'; Church of St. Grigor Lusaworic'; Church of Tigran Honenc' Commissioned by Tigran Honenc' Churches Ruins Religious buildings Narthexes This church, finished in 1215, is the best-preserved monument at Ani. It was built during the rule of the Zakarids and was commissioned by a wealthy Armenian merchant named Tigran Honents. Its plan is of a type called a domed hall. In front of its entrance are the ruins of a gavit and a small chapel that are from a slightly later period. The exterior of the church is spectacularly decorated. Ornate carvings of real and imaginary animals fill the spandrels between blind arcade that runs around all four sides of the church. The interior contains an important and unique series of frescoes cycles that depict two main themes. In the eastern third of the church is depicted the Life of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, in the middle third of the church is depicted the Life of Christ. In the gavit and its chapel survive fragmentary frescoes that are more Byzantine in style. Images Digital Tiff and Jpeg2000 A-2153 Parsegian, V.L.. Armenian Architecture (Zug, Switzerland; IDC, 1980) Armenian Ani, Kars Ili province, Doğu Anadolu region,Turkey 1215 CE Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY; Armenian Educational Council

Ani: Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator

Church of Tigran Honents'; Church of St. Grigor Lusaworic'; Church of Tigran Honenc'

Commissioned by Tigran Honenc'

Churches

Ruins

Religious buildings

Narthexes

This church, finished in 1215, is the best-preserved monument at Ani. It was built during the rule of the Zakarids and was commissioned by a wealthy Armenian merchant named Tigran Honents. Its plan is of a type called a domed hall. In front of its entrance are the ruins of a gavit and a small chapel that are from a slightly later period. The exterior of the church is spectacularly decorated. Ornate carvings of real and imaginary animals fill the spandrels between blind arcade that runs around all four sides of the church. The interior contains an important and unique series of frescoes cycles that depict two main themes. In the eastern third of the church is depicted the Life of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, in the middle third of the church is depicted the Life of Christ. In the gavit and its chapel survive fragmentary frescoes that are more Byzantine in style.

Images

Digital

Tiff and Jpeg2000

A-2153

Parsegian, V.L.. Armenian Architecture (Zug, Switzerland; IDC, 1980)

Armenian

Ani, Kars Ili province, Doğu Anadolu region,Turkey

1215 CE

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY; Armenian Educational Council