Kaza of Khizan - Monasteries, churches and places of pilgrimage

Author: Tigran Martirosyan, 21/02/2026 (Last modified: 21/02/2026).

In the late Ottoman period, Khizan was a heavily Armenian populated area lying southwest of Lake Van in the southeastern part of the vilayet (province) of Bitlis,known among Armenians as Baghesh. Administratively, the territory of Khizan formed part of the sandjak of Bitlis, one of the vilayet’s prefectures of the same name, as a county (known as gavarak in Armenian and kaza in Turkish). Before the Hamidian massacres, a series of widespread killings committed by Ottoman soldiers, militias, tribesmen, and ordinary Muslims, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Armenians over the course of three years beginning in 1894, Khizan was home to a large number of ancient and picturesque Armenian monasteries and churches. Gh. P. Nahapetianc, the author of the article “Khizan” appearing in the periodical Massis published in Constantinople, wrote that, at the time the article was published in January 1884, “magnificent monasteries were seen in the villages of Khizan, all of which were worthy of thorough exploration from both historical and archaeological perspectives”. [1] In antiquity, these monasteries were the domain of the Artsrunis, a noble princely and, later, royal dynasty of Armenia. [2]

In the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Khizan was one of two eparchies (the other one was Aghtamar) of the Catholicosate of Aghtamar, [3] an independent See that existed from 1113 to 1916, which had under its jurisdiction a part of the Vaspurakan ashkhar (province) of historic Armenia. [4] In the 12th century, the Catholicosate established itself on the island city of Aghtamar, three kilometers from the southern coast of Lake Van. According to the British Orthodox Church webpage, Aghtamar was a “thriving walled-city built on the small island, with ornate palaces, gold topped churches and magnificent hanging-gardens”. Here Gagik I Artsruni, the King of Vaspurakan, “had erected a fine domed church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, which he offered to the Catholicos as his patriarchal cathedral”. [5]

A contemporary Armenian observer Teotoros Lapjinchian (Teodik) suggested that the Catholicosate of Aghtamar’s eparchies of Khizan and Aghtamar covered the lakeside areas of Hayoc Dzor, Gavash-Karchkan, Shatakh, Norduz, Moks (Mokk‘), and Khizan. [6] The encyclopedia Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran (Christian Armenia Encyclopedia), on the other hand, suggests that the areas covered by the two eparchies were Hayoc Dzor, Rshtunik, Shatakh, Andzevacik, Mokk‘, Korchayk, and Khizan, and that the two eparchies combined had 302 functioning churches and 58 monasteries. [7] The British Orthodox Church webpage suggests that, before the Armenian genocide in 1915, the Catholicosate of Aghtamar “had consisted of some 70,000 members comprising 130 parishes, with 203 churches, covering the districts of Gavash, Shatakh and Karchkan”. [8]

With the death of Catholicos Khachatur III Shiroyan in 1895 amid the Hamidian massacres, the Catholicosate of Aghtamar was in a state of terminal decline. In Khizan, the gravest consequences of these massacres were that several Armenian monasteries and churches were either destroyed or looted or converted to mosques, while several Armenian clergymen were either killed in the most gruesome ways or were forcibly converted to Islam. [9] Desecration of religious edifices, gruesome killings, and forced conversions were especially widespread in Khizan. According to editorial Hayastaneanc yekeghecin Tachkastanum (The Armenian Church in Turkey), published in February 1896 in Ararat, the literary journal of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, in August 1895, violence affected the Armenian clergy, ordinary villagers, and religious buildings in four of Khizan’s sub-counties: Gavarner, Sparkert, Mamrtank and Shenadzor. [10] According to Johannes Lepsius, a German Protestant missionary, in October 1895, the following monasteries in Khizan have been looted (see section “Monasteries of the Khizan county” below): the Holy Cross Monastery of Khizan or Shinidzor, the Barakadzor Holy Mother of God Monastery, the Bazenic Holy Mother of God Monastery, the Geghsu Saint Cyricus Monastery, the Shirinic Surb Gevorg Monastery, the Sori Holy Mother of God Monastery, and the Khndzorut Saint George Monastery. The Holy Cross Monastery at Aparank has been converted to mosque. [11]

The Gospel book which belonged to Catholicos Khachatur III of Aghtamar kept at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, the U.S. (Source: The Walters Art Museum’s Online Collection, Khatchatur of Khizan (Armenian, active 1455) Artist, 1455 (Renaissance) W.543)

As if brutality, killings, forced conversions, and looting were not enough, the Kurds carried out the removal of ancient Armenian books from the monasteries and their destruction. The editorial Namakner parska-tachkakan sahmanaglkhic. Kriv Vaspourakani Khizan gavari Surb Khach vankum. Vanki harstaharumn yev averumn (Letters from the Persօ-Turkish Border։ A Skirmish at the Surb Khach Monastery in Vaspurakan’s county of Khizan – The plunder and destruction of the monastery), which appeared in 1896 in Droshak, the official organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF (also known as Dashnakcutyun) published in Geneva, reported one such case that occurred in the Cathedral of Holy Cross on Aghtamar Island. A member of a group of haiduks, or freedom fighters, sent by the Central Committee of ARF’s Vaspurakan branch to defend the cathedral and the surrounding area, reported that, after they looted valuable relics and desecrated beautiful mural sculptures of the cathedral, the Kurds destroyed about 1,000 priceless old-printed books and manuscripts stacked in the cathedral library. [12]

As the Bible has traditionally been the primary focus of veneration in the Armenian Apostolic Church, meticulously crafted books written and illuminated by hand by monks or scribes living in monasteries, have been among the finest works of Armenian medieval art. In the 15th century, in Khizan, Armenian artists developed the dramatic narrative style of illumination. [13] Khizan’s principal town, which shared the same name as the county, was one of the manuscript-writing centers (in Armenian, grchutian kentron) in historic Armenia. A chronicle of the 17th century tells us that there were seven sanctuaries in the town, the churches of Surb Harutyun (Holy Resurrection), Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), Surb Hovhaness Mkrtich (Saint John the Baptist), Surb Stepannos (Saint Stephen), Surb Grigor Lusavorich (Saint Gregory the Illuminator), Surb Sargis (Saint Sergius), and Surb Martiros (Saint Martiros). [14] In these seven churches, from 1336 until 1626, around two dozen Gospels and other manuscripts have been hand-copied and illustrated. [15] For this reason, in many medieval Armenian chronicles, Khizan was commonly mentioned as “the Town of Seven Altars” or yotnkhoranian qaghaq in Armenian. [16]

Silver cover of a Bible made in Khizan, kept at Matenadaran (The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), in Yerevan, Armenia (Source: Osep Tokat, Ermeni Gümüş Ustalari (Armenian Master Silversmiths), Istanbul: Aras Yayıncılık, 2009, p. 61).

It must be said that Armenian monasteries and churches in Khizan were exposed to Kurdish encroachments even before the Hamidian massacres. In the 1860s, a cunning and insidious mullah by the name of Sibghatullah, together with his son, sheikh Jalaleddin, moved from the largely Armenian-inhabited village of Arvanc (present-day Doğanyayla) in Moks into the areas behind the southwestern and northwestern shores of Lake Van. Having assembled gangs of murderous thugs, these two Kurds, through intimidations, threats and killings, forced hundreds of Armenian families to leave their ancestral homes in Khizan, Bulanik, Manazkert, and parts of the Moush Plain. [17] In Khizan, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Jalaleddin ordered to demolish the church in the Armenian village of Midjtagh (present name unknown), while his brigands destroyed the church at another Armenian village of Pater (present-day Koçlu). [18] The notorious sheikh also destroyed the magnificent church of Surb Harutyun (Holy Resurrection) [19] in Khizan’s then chief town of Betamin (present-day Gayda), and used the church stones to build a house for himself. After becoming the owner of Betamin, Jalaleddin, filled with hatred and bigotry towards Christian sanctuaries, ordered to destroy a number of Armenian antiquities, churches, chapels, and half-ruined temples in Khizan and the adjacent areas. [20]

The editorial Baghesh yev yur shrdjakaik (Baghesh and its surroundings), appearing in the literary journal Lumá published in Tiflis, suggested that in around 1875, an Armenian archimandrite, after enduring hardships and privations inflicted on him by the local Kurds, managed to settle in one of the monasteries of Khizan, the Khizan or Shenadzor Holy Cross Monastery (Khizanu kam Shinidzoru Surb Khachavank). According to the editorial, by the time it was published in 1900, the remaining Armenian monasteries in Khizan the Kurds converted into their summer cottages or farmsteads. [21]

After the violence during the Hamidian massacres subsided, the Catholicosate of Aghtamar’s eparchies of Khizan and Aghtamar were transferred under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. [22] In the early 1900s, the eparchy of Khizan covered parts of the Gavash and Karchkan (Karçıkan) kazas of the vilayet of Van, parts of Khizan’s sub-county of the same name (also known as Gavarner), and Khizan’s three other sub-counties: Sparkert, Karkar, and Mamrtank. [23] Writing in 1911, Archbishop Malachia Ormanian, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople from 1896 to 1908, noted that the See of Aghtamar exercised “jurisdiction over the districts of Gavash and of Shatakh in the vilayet of Van, and over the district of Khizan in the vilayet of Bitlis”, and that “this See, vacant since 1895, [was] administered provisionally by a bishop.” [24] According to Archbishop Ormanian, the Catholicosate boasted one subordinate eparchy of Khizan, which comprised of some further 25,000 members in 64 parishes served by 69 churches. [25] Writing in 1907, Sukias Eprikian, an Armenian philologist, lamented that many of Khizan’s monasteries were in a dilapidated state, and only a few were run by abbots. [26] By 1913, according to the statistical bulletin for the Khizan county drafted by the Catholicosate of Aghtamar, most of Khizan’s monasteries and churches were laid open to ruin, vandalized and desecrated by the Kurds. This said, the bulletin noted that several monasteries and churches were fortunate to remain intact and were relatively well-preserved. [27]

After the Hamidian massacres and until 1915, the Catholicosate was administered by locum tenens, or catholicossal vicars, called aradjnordakan pokhanord in Armenian. In the years preceding the genocide, Rev. Fr. Petros archimandrite Grigorian was the catholicossal vicar of Khizan. [28] In addition to his primary duties, he was also the abbot of the Holy Cross Monastery of Khizan or Shinidzor (Khizanu kam Shinidzoro Surb Khachi vank) (see the list of monasteries below). Suffering a similar fate of scores of members of the Armenian clergy during the genocide, Father Petros was killed by the Turks with indescribable cruelty in 1915. [29] On the Aghtamar Island, the entire congregation of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross were also killed. [30] Among the victims were Very Rev. Fr. Yeznik Nerkararian and Very Rev. Fr. Poghos archimandrite Karapetian. [31] After the Armenians were wiped out from a part of their ancestral homeland around Lake Van, the Turkish government formally abolished the Catholicosate of Aghtamar in 1916. [32]

It must be said that the number of monasteries and churches in Khizan has varied throughout the late Ottoman period, especially as it was reported by various contemporary authors, local observers, and out-of-area media outlets. These various numbers are provided below as a bullet point list of sources containing them in the order of their publication dates:

Archimandrite Ghevond, who in 1877 put together “The List of Armenian monasteries of Van” (in Armenian, Vani hye vankere) while in Manchester, England, listed 10 monasteries in four of Khizan’s sub-counties: Khizan (Gavarner), Karkar, Sparkert, and Mamrtank. [33]
In 1878, Supreme Archimandrite Poghos Natanian listed 10 monasteries and 53 churches in five of Khizan’s sub-counties: Khizan (Gavarner), Shenadzor, Spaykert, Nzar, and Mamrtank. [34] However, one of these monasteries, namely the Ouraneh Holy Mother of God Monastery (Ourane Surb Astvatsatsni vank) near the village of Ouranc (present-day Anadere) stood outside the administrative borders of Khizan. This would bring down the number of monasteries to 9.
A count of the total Armenian population of the vilayet of Van, which appeared in the 1879 issue of the literary journal Arevelian Mamoul published in Smyrna, identified 4 monasteries and 27 functioning and 1 ruined churches in two of Khizan’s sub-counties, Gavarner and Shenadzor. [35]
In the article Nkaragrutioun Kurdastani. Gavarakq Salnadzoro kam Baghsho (Description of Kurdistan: The Counties of Salanadzor or Baghesh) published in 1881 in Massis, Nahapetianc informs us that, at the time of publication, Khizan had 12 monasteries. [36] However, two of them, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels (Surb Hreshtakapetac vank) near the village of Smbon (present-day Yumrukaya) and the Holy Guarantor Monastery (Tsikori Surb Yerashkhavor vank) in the village of Tskor (present-day Baltacık), stood just outside the administrative borders of Khizan. This would bring down the number of monasteries to 10.
In 1881, the editorial Turkac Hayastan (Turkish Armenia) appearing in Mshak, a periodical published in Tiflis, suggested that in the four areas adjacent to the southwestern shore of the Lake Van, namely Khizan (Gavarner), Karkar, Kecan (an area near the westernmost shore of the lake), and Karchkan, there were 11 monasteries and 70 churches. [37] However, based on the data derived from other primary sources, it appears that these figures referred to Khizan only, and not to all four above-mentioned areas.
Authors of the editorial Baghesh yev yur shrdjakaik (Bitlis and its surroundings), published in Lumá in 1900, suggested that in 1881 there were 8 monasteries in Khizan. [38] However, two of them, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels (Surb Hreshtakapetac vank) near Smbon and the Holy Guarantor Monastery (Tsikori Surb Yerashkhavor vank) in Tskor, stood just outside the administrative borders of Khizan. This would bring down the number of monasteries to 6.
In 1902, Armenian folklorist and ethnographer Gevorg Sherenc identified one monastery in Mamrtank, four in Khizan (Gavarner), and five in Sparkert, which amount to a total of 10. [39]
In 1907, Eprikian counted 8 monasteries and 59 functioning and 7 ruined churches in five of Khizan’s sub-counties: Khizan (Gavarner), Shenadzor, Sparkert, Nzar, and Mamrtank. [40] However, one of these monasteries, the Holy Guarantor Monastery (Tsikori Surb Yerashkhavor vank) in Tskor, stood just outside the administrative borders of Khizan. This would cut the number of monasteries to 7.
In 1908, the Comprehensive Calendar of the Holy Savior Armenian Hospital, published in Constantinople, suggested that in six of Khizan’s sub-counties, namely Lower Karkar, Shenadzor, Sparkert, Mamrtank, Nzar and Khorors, there were 109 churches and 17 monasteries. [41]
In 1913, the Catholicosate of Aghtamar’s statistical bulletin tabulated 10 monasteries and 48 churches. In the table that provided a breakdown of churches by sub-county, the Catholicosate statisticians counted 10 churches in Lower Karkar (in fact, it should read 11), 11 in Shenadzor, 15 in Sparkert, 4 in Mamrtank, 2 in Nzar, 4 in Gavarner, and 2 in Khorors. The total number of churches thus came to 48. [42] Due to an error in counting the number of churches in Lower Karkar, the total should read 49.
The 1913-1914 census of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, which used the data supplied by the Catholicosate of Aghtamar, listed 10 monasteries and 48 churches. [43]
In 1921, Teodik counted 11 churches and 2 monasteries in Karkar and Khizan (Gavarner), 15 churches and 3 monasteries in Sparkert, 1 monastery in Nzar, 11 churches and 1 monastery in Shenadzor, and several unidentified monasteries in Khorors. [44]
In 1947, Hamazasp Voskian, a Mekhitarist Catholic priest, identified 15 monasteries in Khizan and adjacent areas: 4 in Sparkert, 4 in Gavarner, 2 in Mamrtank, 1 in Shenadzor, 1 in Lower Karkar, 1 in Verin Karkar, 1 in Karchkan, and 1 in Nzar. [45] However, two of these monasteries, namely the Holy Guarantor Monastery (Tsikori Surb Yerashkhavor vank) in Tskor and the Monastery of the Holy Archangels (Surb Hreshtakapetac vank) near Smbon stood just outside the administrative borders of Khizan. This would cut the number of monasteries to 13.

This study relied on several data sources which, in the order of their publication dates, are set out below․

The book about several Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire, including Khizan, written by Natanian in 1878;
The statistics on Armenian population and churches in villages around Lake Van tabulated in “The List of the total Armenian population of the Van-Tosp province” (in Armenian, Coucak Van-Tosp nahangi bolor hyeaser zhoghovrdoc), which was published in 1879 in Arevelian Mamoul;
The geographical dictionary of historic Armenia compiled by Eprikian in 1907, which contains a list of churches in Khizan;
Two versions of the statistical bulletin for the Khizan county (in Armenian, Vichakacuic-teghekagir Khizan gavari)drafted by the Catholicosate of Aghtamar in 1913 respectively on July 26 (No. 555) and September 30 (No. 558), prepared for the 1913-1914 Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople census, which contain counts of churches and monasteries;
The 1913-1914 Patriarchate census figures reproduced in Kévorkian & Paboudjian (1992), including figures from supplementary Patriarchate census data available to these co-authors;
The book about the sufferings of the Armenian clergy during the genocide composed by writer Teotoros Lapjinchian (Teodik) in 1921;
The directory of the Armenian monasteries in the Vaspurakan-Van region compiled by Voskian in 1947, which contains a list and a detailed description of monasteries; and
Testimonies of genocide survivors found in the collection of documents titled “Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: The Testimony of Survivors” (2012) and edited by Amatuni Virabyan; and

Some additional data were supplied by Tadevos Hakobyan, Stepan Melik-Bakhshyan, and Hovhannes Barseghyan, the authors of the “Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories”; Raymond Kévorkian’s sole-authored treatise on the history of the Armenian genocide published in 2012; the topographic survey of the churches and monasteries in the province of Van published by Sherenc in 1902; the 1908 Comprehensive Calendar of the Holy Savior Armenian Hospital; Archimandrite Ghevond’s list of Armenian monasteries of Van compiled in 1877 and published in the collection of books “The Archives of Armenian History: Oppression in Turkish Armenia” in 1915; the relevant encyclopedic entries from the “Christian Armenia Encyclopedia”; the book “The Great Loss of the Armenian Clergy during the Armenian Genocide” authored by Bishop Papken Tcharian and published in 2009; the editorial “The Ante-mortem letter and survey by the late Catholicos Khachatur of Aghtamar, 19 December 1895” published in 1896 in Ararat; Armenian periodicals Arevelk published in Constantinople, Massis, and Mshak, and Armenian literary journals Arevelian Mamoul, Lumá, and Ararat.

Additional reading on the subject can be found in the book titled Monuments arméniens du Vaspurakan (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1989) by Jean-Michel Thierry, an eminent French art historian, who examined the remains of the Armenian religious edifices still standing in the Lake Van area thanks to missions he had carried out in the 1970s to Western Armenia, and to Khizan in particular. An extensive description of the internal and external design and some historical background of the Armenian monasteries in Khizan can be found in the illustrative list titled “100 Armenian National Assets and Monuments as example” posted on the website of the French online project Collectif 2015 (Réparation, Union Internationale des Organisations Terre et Culture) by following this link: https://www.collectif2015.org/en/Projects.aspx

Below is a list of Armenian monasteries, churches, and places of pilgrimage in the kaza of Khizan during the late Ottoman era. Unless otherwise stated, the information submitted below is drawn from sources covering a period of almost 40 years, or from 1877 to 1915. Because several of the monasteries have been known by various names, both official and colloquial, a few selected name variants are additionally provided for a monastery to which the sources referred by different name. In some cases, the data sources also disagree on the names of churches in several of Armenian-populated villages of Khizan. In each such instance, a reference to a particular source or sources is given for a church appearing in the list.

Wherever possible, the list of monasteries and churches includes information regarding the number and names of the serving clergy, which were extracted from Teodik’s work, the Catholicosate of Aghtamar’s statistical bulletin for the Khizan county, the 1913-1914 Patriarchate census data found in Kévorkian & Paboudjian, Bishop Tcharian’s book, the late Catholicos of Aghtamar Khachatur III’s ante-mortem letter, Supreme Archimandrite Natanian’s work, the list of archimandrites serving in various monasteries and churches throughout historic Armenia (in Armenian, Coucak vardapetac Hayastaneaic Surb yekeghecio) published in 1884 in the periodical Arevelk, and the list of Armenian populations in the vilayet of Van published in Arevelian Mamoul.

The reader should know that the names of the formerly Armenian-inhabited villages in Khizan where monasteries, churches, and places of pilgrimage were located, their geographical coordinates and current Turkified names, can be found in the article Khizan – Demography. Non-Armenian readers should be aware that, in this study, the letter Ց ց appearing in the names of the Armenian monasteries or churches (as, for example, in Srboc Hreshtakapetac vank) and transliterated into C c, should be pronounced as a Z sound, as in the German word Zeitung, and not as an S sound or a K sound, as in the English words. All photos of the monasteries in Khizan posted in the list below were kindly shared by Jelle Verheij, whose help is much appreciated.

Monasteries of the Khizan county

The Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach vank)

Other known names: Aparanic Surb Khach, Mamrtanic Surb Khach, Aparanki Surb Nshan

The monastery stood 28 kilometers southeast of Karasu Nerkin (present-day Hizan), the chief town of Khizan, in the northern quarter of the village of Aparank, also known as Varas or Veras (present-day Kayaş). This village was located 3 kilometers north of Voghim, also known as Hopoun or Obin (present-day Döküktaş), the southernmost locality of Khizan whose Armenian inhabitants were able to resist the depredations of the Kurds until the early 1890s and the Hamidian massacres in mid-1890s. [46] Several modern authors wrongly identified the monastery as belonging in the neighboring county of Moks in the vilayet of Van. This misidentification might have occurred due to the existence in Moks of the Monastery of the Holy Women (Surb Kananc) or Saint Tsayat (Surb Tsayati vank), which was also known as Holy Cross (Surb Khach). [47] This latter monastery stood 3.5 kilometers in the straight-line distance southwest of Moks (present-day Bahçesaray), the principal town of the same name as the county.

Francis Crow, a British consular officer who journeyed to Khizan in 1897, described the Aparanki Surb Khach as an “old Armenian monastery” standing in a “remote corner of southeastern Khizan, bordering on the Bohtan Mountains, and skirted by the river of that name.” In his words, the monastery was “picturesquely situated on the slopes” of a mountain which he identified as Vanbier Dağ, “under the shelter of one of its highest peaks” and was “rich in arable and pasture lands, its cornfields and meadows, pleasantly wooded, covering many acres of the mountain side down to the edge of the stream at its foot”. Crow particularly noted that the monastery and its church were “much venerated by the [Armenian] Gregorian community”, and in importance it ranked with the famous Monastery of Holy Precursor or John the Baptist (Msho Surb Karapet) in the western extremity of the Plain of Moush. [48]

The Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach) in the formerly Armenian village of Aparank (present-day Kayaş).

An interior detail of the Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach).

The founding of the monastery at Aparank goes back to the mid-10th century. The monastic complex consisted of the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin), the Church of John the Baptist (Surb Karapet), and the Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos). The history of the monastery’s foundation and an extensive description of its churches, especially the Surb Astvatsatsin one which was flanked by a side chapel, are found in an encomium Patmutioun Aparanic Khachi (The Story of the Cross of Aparank) by Grigor Narekaci, a 10th-century Armenian mystical poet and theologian. [49] Throughout the late Middle Ages, the monastery was a notable center of Armenian spiritual and cultural life which housed a scriptorium, a writing room that was set aside for the use of scribes, typically monks themselves, engaged in storing and copying manuscripts. The monastery fell into decline by the end of 16th century, but the scriptorium was reportedly operational until the end of the following century. A decisive impetus to the revitalization of the monastery was provided by Abbot Simon Pokr, who in the mid-17th century, built a hostelry, a fountain, and the parish Church of Holy Mother of God in the village. The monastic possessions included an oakwood to harvest gallnuts, a windmill, and 27 tracts of arable land. [50]

In the 1830s and 1840s, the Ottoman government’s policies aimed at centralizing power in the peripheries of the empire produced a power vacuum, as they eventually drove the local Kurdish beys out. In Khizan, this power vacuum unleashed the hands of the local Kurds and, in the 1850s-1860s, the Kurdish mobs plundered the monastery. A Kurdish bey by the name of Osman appropriated the monastic buildings. In the following decades, his sons Hassan and Abdurrahman turned monastic lands into their farmlands, called çiftlik in Turkish. [51] The beautiful Christian churches were turned into barns and stables. The drum of the Church of John the Baptist, as well as its outbuildings, were demolished. [52] The ancient manuscripts kept in the monastery disappeared at the same time. [53]

An interior detail of the parish church of the Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach).

Crow related that the deputy bishop who resided in the monastery had to leave it around 1891 due to “the poverty and the disordered condition of the country”. The monastery was left to a caretaker, who cultivated the land with the aid of the Armenian villagers. Crow added that, in 1895, a Kurdish bey and his bandits settled in Aparank and forced the caretaker and the villagers “to embrace Islamism”. When Crow visited the village two years later, he was appalled to see that the monastery was used as a barn by this Kurdish bey. The Englishman has found that the floor of the chancel and the nave were “covered with heaps of wheat and barley, and the side aisles blocked with stacks of hay. The vestments, vessels and other accessories have been appropriated by the Kurds, and the sacred books and archives partly destroyed, and the remainder given to the Kurdish children to play with”. [54]

The entrance detail of the parish church of the Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach).

Unnamed dilapidated monastery at Badrananc

It was believed that the village housed an ancient Armenian monastery. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the ruins of a large structure were visible in the eastern quarter of the village. The Kurds called it Kafri kale or the fortress of Kafri. However, the remnants of the “fortress” walls lined with honed stone, bearing inscriptions which were effaced because most likely they were carved in Armenian, suggest that the structure was the remains of a monastery. [55]

The Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Bast (Bastá Surb Astvatsatsin vank)

Other known names: The Monastery at Bast, Bastavank

The monastery in this village, which stood on the far side of a ridge at the upper reaches of a tributary of the Sparkert River, was attested in 1439. At some time during the 17th century, it was the seat of an episcopal See. [56] In the years before the genocide, the monastery was already in a dilapidated state. [57]

The Church of Holy Mother of God at Bast (Basta Surb Astvatsatsin yekegheci) in the formerly Armenian village of Bast (present-day Oymapınar). This church was also known under the names of Surb Atovmianc (Saint Atovmianc) and Surb Stepannos (Saint Stephen).

The Church of Holy Mother of God, called Bastá Surb Astvatsatsin in Armenian, was the parish church of the monastery. Its architectural design suggests that it was probably built in the second half of the 17th century. The church was a tri-apsidal cross-in-square, measuring 14.7×11.9 meters, with four pillars and a central dome with low domes in the four corners outside the apsidal block. [58]

The entrance detail of the Church of Holy Mother of God at Bast (Bastá Surb Astvatsatsin yekegheci).

The Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Bazmenic (Bazenic Surb Astvatsatsin vank)

Other known names: Bazenic vank, Baznic or Bazenc Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Bazenc Surb Astvatsatsin, Bazenic Surb Etchmiadzin, Bazeic Surb Astvatsatsin, Bazmenic Surb Astvatsatsná, Pazeni Surb Astvatsatsin

This beautiful monastery stood a kilometer away from the northeastern quarter of the village. [59] In 1902, the structure was reported as becoming derelict and decayed. [60] Father Simon was the abbot of the monastery in 1878. [61] Father Karapet was abbot in 1895. [62] In the years prior to 1915, the monastery was run by a secular abbot. [63]

The Monastery of Saint Simeon at Berdak (Surb Simon vank)

The 1913-1914 Patriarchate of Constantinople census, where this monastery is mentioned, contained no information on the number of monks. [64]

The Monastery of Holy Archangels at Berkri (Srboc Hreshtakapetac vank)

The reference to this monastery is found in the 1913-1914 Patriarchate of Constantinople census. [65]

The Holy Trinity Monastery at Chazhvan (Surb Yerordutyun vank)

Other known names: The Most Holy Trinity Monastery (Amenasurb Yerordutian vank), the Most Holy Trinity Monastery of Sparkert (Sparkertu Amenasurb Yerordutian vank)

Tradition has it that the monastery was built in the 18th century. [66] Separated by a long fence, the monastery had sturdy walls and wonderfully arched ceiling. At the foot of the monastery’s western walls flowed a high-water stream. The sick used its water to bathe sore body parts, believing that the water had a healing effect. According to local beliefs, the monastery was in possession of fertile land property and a small congregation until the early 1800s. As of the early 1900s, the fields and arable lands belonging to the monastery remained for the most part uncultivated, and some lands were given to the peasants of the neighboring villages. [67]

The Monastery of Saint Gamaliel at Ekou (Surb Gamaghieli vank)

Other known names: Surb Gamaghiel, Surb Gamaghiel Arakelo vank

This monastery stood a few hundred meters west of the village and was in possession of vast estates. [68] The monastery had a beautiful domed church and several rooms for the monks. [69] The church walls were lined with honed stone. The church was seen still standing in the 1880s. Tradition has it that the monastery was built by Apostle Thadeus, who placed in it the head of Gamaliel, [70] a Jewish teacher of the law in the 1st century AD. The ecclesiastical tradition holds that Gamaliel embraced the Christian faith. According to Photios I, the 9th-century Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Gamaliel was baptized by Saint Peter and Saint John. [71] In the 14th and 15th centuries, Saint Gamaliel was a famous manuscript-writing center. [72] The monastery remained desolate for several years prior to the genocide. [73] Father Vardan served as abbot in 1879. [74] In 1884, the abbot was Father Hovhannes Khizanci. [75] Rev. Father Ghevond archimandrite Hovhanessian was the abbot in the early 1900s. [76]

The Monastery of Saint Cyricus at Geghis (Geghsu Surb Kirakos vank)

Other known names: Keghsu Surb Kirakosi vank, Geksui Surb Kirakos, Keghis Surb Kirakos

By 1902, this monastery was reported as becoming derelict and decayed. [77] It remained desolate for the remaining years before the genocide. [78] However, as an architectural structure, the monastery was standing until 1918. [79] The names of the abbots have not come down to us. In 1895, the estate manager was Poghos Khachaturian. [80]

The Monastery of Saint John at Geghis (Geghsu Surb Hovhannes vank)

Other known names: Keghsu Surb Hovhannes vank, Surb Hovhannu vank

If we had to compare Saint John to Saint Cyricus above, the former was the most magnificent and beautiful of the two. Built on a hill, the monastery stood in the southern quarter of Geghis and was a large and splendid structure. The monastery was destroyed and abandoned during the genocide. [81]

The Hegin or Hayká Monastery at Hegin (Khizanu Hegvá or Hayká vank)

Other known names: Hegvá or Hayká vank, Hizanu Hegvá kam Hayká vank

The monastery was given this name to distinguish it from Hayká Holy Mother of God Monastery (Hayká Surb Astvatsatsin vank) and the Monastery of Saint Abraham at Khek (Kheka Surb Abrahami vank), also known as Haykavank or Hegvá vank. Both monasteries stood in what was historically known as the Hayoc dzor canton of the Armenian province of Vaspurakan that encompassed the area to the southeast of Lake Van. The Hegin or Hayká Monastery in Khizan stood near the Armenian-inhabited village of Hegin (present-day Yolbaşı), not far from the Monastery of Five Altars (see entry for this monastery below). By the late 19th century, the Hegin or Hayká Monastery was in bad disrepair, but still rich in arable lands. [82]

The Monastery of Holy Resurrection at Khizan (Khizani Surb Harutyun vank)

According to Voskian, Surb Harutyun was considered one of Khizan’s “monastery-churches” (in Armenian, vank-yekegheci). [83] The monastery stood atop a picturesque hillock outside the imposing medieval fortress in Karasu Nerkin (present-day Hizan), an Armenian-populated locality which from the mid-19th century onward has become Khizan’s principal town. [84] At the foot of the hillock ran a creek with arch bridge over it serving as section of road leading to the monastery. There was a graveyard to the east of the monastery, and a road leading to the female part of the church to the west of it. The door to the female part faced south. The structure was beautiful and austere, 56 feet long and 42 feet wide. The church had three altars, one vestry room, and seven windows. The year of construction is unknown because, by 1870s, a part of the marble plaque containing the year was destroyed by a local Kurdish sheikh, who also used the hewn stones that lined the church walls for his mansion. [85]

Saint George Monastery at Khndzorut (Khndzoruti Surb Gevorg vank)

Other known names: Khndzorut Surb Gevorg vank, Surb Gevorgá vank, Khndzorutá Surb Gevorg, Khndzoruti vank, Khndzorutá vank

The monastery stood on an eminence, east of the Armenian-populated village of Khndzorut (present-day Tatlısu). [86] According to Voskian, during an unspecified time period, the monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Aghtamar. [87]

The Dershku Holy Mother of God Monastery at Segh (Dershku Surb Astvatsatsni vank)

Other known names: Derzhku Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Dershku Surb Astvatsatsná vank, Dershki Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Derzhku Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Dershku Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Surb Khachi vank

The monastery stood to the east of the Armenian-inhabited village of Segh (present Turkified name unknown), in Voskian’s words, “a quarter of an hour walk from the village”. [88] The location of this monastery, as well as the village, cannot be determined, possibly somewhere west or northwest or southwest of Aparank. Hakobyan et al. suggest that the monastery should not be confused with the homonymous monastery which stood west of the village and was also known by the name of Seghavank (the Monastery at Segh) or Surb Khach (Holy Cross). [89] The Dershku Holy Mother of God stood atop a mountain peak and could thus be seen from all sides. The monastery’s floor space was 60 sq feet; it had three altars and a large window. The area of its gate was 50 sq feet. The monastery bull, called kondak in Armenian, has been lost. [90] By the 1880s, as a result of Kurdish depredations, all structures within the monastery’s grounds were abandoned and turned into ruins. Only the mother church (in Armenian, katughiké) managed to remain half intact for some time. [91]

The Barakadzor Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Paladzor (Barakadzori Surb Astvatsatsni vank)

Other known names: Baridzori Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Baredzori Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Balidzori Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Yot Khoranac vank, Yotn Khoranac vank, Yotn Khorani vank, Yotn Khoraná vank, Yotn Khoranvank, Yotnkhoran Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Khoranac vank, Yotn Khoran Surb Astvatsatsin, Baridzoró Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Barakadzoró vank, Barakadzori Surb Astvatsatsin, Bardzradzori vank, Yotn Khoraná vank, Baredzori Yotnkhoran vank, Yotn Khoran kam Baridzoró vank.

The monastery stood to the south of the Armenian-inhabited village of Paladzor (present-day Çiçekli), in a wooded gorge known as Baridzor or Baredzor. It is thought that the construction of the monastery was completed in the beginning of the 11th century. Armenian letters ՆՂ which were carved into the church door made of walnut tree apparently indicated 1041 as the year the building was completed. [92] During the 15th and 16th centuries, the monastery was one of historic Armenia’s flourishing manuscript-producing centers. In the 19th century, the monastery was in possession of a forest area and vast arable lands [93] and had developed a productive farming enterprise. [94] At about that time, the monastery began to be more often mentioned as the Monastery of Seven Altars (in Armenian, Yotn Khoran vank), in reference to the number of altars in the church and its narthex.

The monastery’s grounds included the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). The church was built on a tri-apsidal cross-in-square plan and measured 9.5×8.2 meters, with a dome and central apse, decorated inside with apparent bricks, dihedral pillars, with two deep lateral niches set into the west wall which housed two altars. [95] Located within the monastery grounds were three chapels dedicated to Saint George (Surb Gevorg), Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis), and Saint Mercurius (Surb Merkerios), as well as several auxiliary structures. Despite having been plundered by the Kurds in the 1870s and again during the Hamidian massacres in 1895, the monastery remained intact and was functioning, as far as circumstances permitted during the massacres, until the end of the 19th century. [96]

In the wake of the Hamidian massacres, in 1901, the holding of worship services was entrusted to a secular abbot named Abraham Margarian. [97] In the years leading up to the genocide in 1915, Rev. Fr. Ghevond archimandrite Hovannessian assumed the abbotship of the monastery. [98]

The Monastery of Saint George at Shirin (Shirinic Surb Gevorg vank)

Other known names: Shrnis Surb Gevorgá vank, Shirnic Surb Gevorgi vank, Sherenic Surb Gevorg, Shirinic Surb Gevorgá vank, Shirini Surb Gevorg vank, Shirinic Surb Gevorg vank, Shirnic Surb Skavaraki vank, Skavaraki vank, Skavaraká Shirenc Surb Gevorg, Skavaraki Surb Gevorg, Shirinic vank, Shirnici Surb Gevorg, Lrnisi vank.

As its name indicates, the monastery stood near the Armenian-populated village of Shirin (present-day Kayalı). The monastery was also known by the name of the Monastery of Holy Ripidion at Shirin (Shirnic Surb Skavarak vank). According to Lumá, however, to the west of the monastery lay the Armenian village of Lernis (present-day Dağören), which gave another name to the monastery, the Monastery at Lernis, or Lrnisi vank, in Armenian. [99] It is hard to verify the validity of this statement, because the villages of Shirin and Lernis were located fairly far apart, at a distance of some 17 kilometers. The Saint George monastery, a splendid structure perching on a mountain slope, was one of the masterpieces of medieval Armenian architecture. It had a high and beautifully shaped dome, an altar, and two windows adjacent to gloomy and shabby monastic cells. The monastery was in possession of prime arable lands. In 1895, during the Hamidian massacres, the monastery was looted and devastated by the Kurds. [100]

In 1895, the abbot of the monastery was Father Hovanness. [101] In the years preceding the genocide, a priest performed the duties of abbot. [102] The 1913-1914 Patriarchate of Constantinople census, where this monastery is mentioned, contained no information on the number of monks. [103]

The remains of the Monastery of Saint George at Shirin (Shirinic Surb Gevorg vank) near the formerly Armenian village of Shirin (present-day Kayalı).

The Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Sori (Sorii Surb Astvatsatsni vank)

Other known names: Sorvó Surb Astvatsatsná vank, Sorvá Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Hzaru Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Hzaru Surb Astvatsatsin, Sorii Surb Astvatsatsin vank, Sorvá vank, Soró vank, Hzaru vank, Sorik Surb Astvatsatsni vank, Hzaru kam Soró Surb Astvatsatsni vank.

The monastery was another one of Khizan’s vank-yekeghecis, which the editorial in Lumá desribed as “splendid structure”. [104] The monastery stood on a flower-strewn hillock, to the southeast, according to one account, to the east, according to another, of the Armenian-populated village of Sori (present-day Gedik). The monastery housed a vibrant scriptorium, because kept in storage were four Gospels that were copied there in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The monastery’s kondak attributed the founding of the monastery to Apostle Thaddeus. A spring-well sprung nearby and was said to have healing qualities. [105] Tradition has it that it was Thaddeus who caused the spring to gush forth. The architectural features of the structure, however, argue in favor of the early 11th century as the monastery’s founding date. [106]

The monastery had a small domed church. [107] Dedicated to Holy Mother of God, the church was built on a cross-in-square plan, measuring 8.8×6.7 meters, and had a dome and octagonal drum. Dihedral pillars were garnished with small columns; a horseshoe apse communicated with two side chambers. There were niches lining the two sides of the west arm. [108]

Beginning from the late 19th century, the monastery has become a target of Kurdish looters and vandals. It was sacked and destroyed in 1895 during the Hamidian massacres. By 1900, according to Lumá, there was nothing left of the monastery except the frame. There was no abbot, no priest, not even a sexton left to maintain the functioning of the monastery. One lame Armenian peasant by the name of Gabriel took up residence in the monastery with his family to cultivate monastic lands. However, large part of the crop would go to Kurdish chieftains to cover an illegal tax khafir. [109] By 1902, the monastery was reported as becoming derelict and decayed. [110] In 1903, the monastery was again looted and plundered by the Kurds. [111]

The Shenadzor Holy Cross Monastery at Surbkhach (Shinidzoru Surb Khachavank)

Other known names: Shinidzori Surb Khatch, Shinidzoru Surb Khach, Shinidzoró Surb Khach vank, Shiniydzoru Surb Khach vank, Shinidzoru Surb Khach, Surb Khachavank, Shinidzoru Surb Khachá vank, Shindzoru Surb Khachá vank, Hiznó Surb Khach vank, Khizanu Surb Khach vank, Khizani Surb Khach vank, Surb Khachi vank, Shinidzori vank.

Perched atop a forested hill, the monastery was located to the east of the Armenian-populated village of Surbkhach (present-day Bereket). Shinidzoru Surb Khachavank was Khizan’s most significant monastery and the seat of the bishopric of Khizan. [112] Typically, it would have been an abbot functioning as spiritual leader of Khizan with residence in the monastery. [113] Surb Khachavank was considered a center of Armenian intellectual culture and, during the late Middle Ages, was a productive manuscript-writing center. Tradition has it that the monastery was built in the 4th century AD during the time of Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church and King Tiridates III, who proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia. [114] The unusual architecture of the monastery church, however, whose plan has no analogues in the Armenian domain, suggests Byzantine influence and a construction date around 1000. [115]

In the late 19th century, the monastery and its possessions have increasingly become targets of incursions and looting by the Kurdish beys. Even prior to that, in 1823, the Kurdish cutthroats had assassinated Harutiun I, the Catholicos of Aghtamar, within the monastery walls. In 1895, during the Hamidian massacres, Kurdish mobs stormed the monastery and appropriated all its possessions.

The monastery had a tri-apsidal church, called the Church of the Holy Cross, built on a cross-in-square plan measuring 12.5×14.3 meters. The church had two lofts, called vernatun in Armenian, and a high brick dome with five beautiful windows. [116] The church also had dihedral pillars, two of which were engaged in the western wall, side chambers above the apsides and chambers open to the west in the northern and southern arms of the cross. [117] The monastic complex was walled. Directly outside the fence there were auxiliary buildings. Several of these served as orphanages. The monastery had vast estates and its income. [118]

In 1884 and until 1895, the abbot of the monastery was Sahak archimandrite Karapetian. [119] In the years preceding the genocide, the abbot was Very Rev. Petros Grigorian, who also performed the duties of the Diocesan vicar of Khizan. Father Petros was killed in 1915. [120]

The remains of the Shenadzor Saint Cross Monastery (Shinidzoro Surb Khachi vank) in the formerly Armenian village of Surbkhach (present-day Bereket).

The Monastery of Five Altars at an unspecified location (Hing Khoran vank)

Other known name: Khizanu Hing Khoran vank.

According to Sherenc, the monastery stood on an elevated plain in the southeastern part of Khizan, about 5 kilometers to the east of the Hegin or Hayká Monastery at Hegin (present-day Yolbaşı). [121] However, the village of Hegin was located in the western part of Khizan, in Gavarner. Whereas the southeastern part of Khizan covered the territory of Sparkert, a different sub-county.

The monastery had five hewn stone-clad altars. Except the main altar at the center, the structure had four smaller altars on both sides of the monastery church, carved from white stone. [122] According to a tradition that was passed down to the locals, unknown martyrs were buried under these altars. [123]

Churches of the Khizan county

Ales

The Church of Saint Thaddeus (Surb Tadevos).

Ampis

The Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos).

Anapat

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg). One serving clergyman in 1879, according to Arevelian Mamoul.

Andenc

The Church of Saint Ananias (Surb Anania). The Church of Saint Menas (Surb Minas), according to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul.

Aparank [Varas, Varaz, possibly Vank]

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Arat

The Church of Saint Paul and Saint Peter (Surb Poghos-Petros).

Arndjik

The Church of Saint Cyricus (Surb Kirakos) could be seen to the west of the village, still intact in 1900. There was another unnamed church to the east of the village. [124]

Avendank

The Church of Saint Paul and Saint Peter (Surb Poghos-Petros). Hakobyan et al. suggest the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Azger

One unnamed dilapidated church. According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Bast

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos). Two serving clergymen in 1879. Lumá in 1900 reported that in the village center stood a church dedicated to the Atovmianc saints, called the Church of Saint Atovmianc (Surb Atovmianc).

Bazmenic

Lumá in 1900 identified two churces standing on the western and the southern sides of the village, these were the Church of Saint Thaddeus (Surb Tadevos or Surb Teodoros) and the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis or Surb Sargsá). [125]

Berdak

The Church of Saint Anthony (Surb Anton). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Berkri

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). The church was built of stone and mortar. One serving clergyman in 1913.

Betamin

The Church of Holy Resurrection (Surb Harutyun). Destroyed on orders from Kurdish sheikh Jalaleddin during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

Bvan

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Chazhvan

The Church of Holy Trinity (Surb Yerordutyun) also known by the name the Church of Most Holy Trinity (Amenasurb Yerordutyun). The church was a monastery in the past. Lumá in 1900 described it as “magnificent church”. [126] Sherenc reported that during a year, the church service was held only once for Pentecost, which was celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter (in Armenian, Hogegalusti kirakin). [127] One serving clergyman in 1913.

Dalas

One unnamed church. Lumá in 1900 reported no church in the village, but noted that to the north of it stood a ruin, whose position and external architectural shape indicated that it was part of a church structure. [128]

Daronc

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Dasht

Lumá in 1900 reported that to the south of this village stood the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargsá). [129] Hakobyan et al. indicated the second church, the Church of Saint Jacob (Surb Hakob).

Di

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). One serving clergyman in 1879.

Dzmen

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Garnoc

The Church of Saint Cyricus (Surb Kirakos).

Geghis

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis) stood to the east of the village. The church was built of stone and mortar. [130] Hakobyan et al. note that there was a second church, the Church of Saint Christopher (Surb Kristapor).

Gtanc

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Guzenc

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Harbonc

One unnamed church.

Hargin

Lumá in 1900 suggested that to the north of the village stood a church, which perhaps was the oldest in the area. [131] Hakobyan et al. suggest the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Harsmogh

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Havakhos

One dilapidated church. Hakobyan et al. suggest that the church was ancient and still standing

Hoghand

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Hokordzu

One unnamed church.

Hye Herit

The Church of Saint Isaac (Surb Sahak). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). One serving clergyman in 1879.

Hyurdjouk

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Hyuruk Verin

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis). According to genocide survivors Tigran Grigorian and Mkrtich Mouradian, the church, which was built of stone and mortar, stood to the north-east of the village and was an ancient structure. The church housed handwritten and printed books, as well as golden and silver crosses. [132] Lumá in 1900 suggested that the name of the church was the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). [133] One serving clergyman in 1913, Father Yeghiazar.

Hyuruk Nerkin

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin or Srbó Astvatsatsná). The church stood on an eminence to the west of the village and was built of stone and mortar. [134]

Hyusp

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis or Surb Sargsá). The church was destroyed by the emir of Sparkert in the late 1840s. The stones of the demolished church he used for his nomad encampment, which he set up at the site of the church. The remains of the demolished church could still be seen as of 1900. [135]

Kakvanis

The Church of Saint Simeon (Surb Simon). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Karasu Verin

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg). One serving clergyman in 1879.

Karasu Nerkin

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Kasr

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Katinok

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Khakev

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos).

Kharkhoc

The Church of Saint Isaac (Surb Sahak). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Holy Trinity (Surb Yerordutyun). Two serving clergymen in 1879. The Church of Saint Isaac was a vaulted, tri-altar structure built of stone. In the church were kept the relics of Saint Isaac, Saint George, and Saint Christopher. According to genocide survivor Avetis Ter-Nersessian, there were many ancient handwritten Gospels, golden chalices, crosses, chasubles, and church plate. At the outskirts of the village stood the chapel of Surb Toukhmanuk. [136] Two serving clergymen: Father Hovanness and Father Hovsep.

Khavous

One dilapidated church. According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Khazoukonc

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Hakobyan et al. indicate the Church of Surb Harutyun (Holy Resurrection).

Khizan

The Church of Surb Harutyun (Holy Resurrection). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, one ruined church.

Khndzorut

The Church of Saint Cyricus (Surb Kirakos).

Khoup yev Khopan

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Khout

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). Lumá in 1900 identified ruins of the Church of Saint Thaddeus (Surb Teodoros) to the west of the village. [137]

Kones

The Church of Saint Jacob (Surb Hakob).

Kotenc Verin

The Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos). Lumá in 1900 reported the beautiful Church of Saint Jacob (Surb Hakobá) standing amidst walnut- and apple-trees. [138] Two serving clergymen in 1913.

Kotenc Nerkin

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis). Lumá in 1900 reported the beautiful Church of Saint Stephen (Surb Stepannos) to the west of the village. [139]

Kran

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Surb Araqyal). Lumá in 1900 reported one unnamed church to the north of the village. [140]

Li

The Church of Saint Isaac (Surb Sahak). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Louar

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis). Lumá in 1900 reported the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorgá) at the foot of a hillock to the east of the village. [141] One serving clergyman in 1913.

Mahmtenk

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin). Two serving clergymen in 1879.

Mandoyenc

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Mat

The Church of Saint Isaac (Surb Sahak). Lumá in 1900 identified an unnamed church built of stone and mortar that stood on an eminence to the south of the village. [142]

Midja

The Church of Saint Menas (Surb Minas). Hakobyan et al. identified the Church of Saint Christopher (Surb Kristapor).

Midjtagh

One unnamed church destroyed by the Kurds on orders from sheikh Jalaleddin at the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

Mout

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Mzren

The Church of Saint Vardan (Surb Vardan).

Nam

The Church of Saint John (Surb Hovanness).

Nerban

The Church of Surb Harutyun (Holy Resurrection). The church stood to the east of the village near a country road [143] One serving clergyman in 1913.

Norshen

According to the 1913-1914 Patriarchate of Constantinople census, there was a hermit’s cell in the village dedicated to Saint George. According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Nzar

Hakobyan et al. suggested one unnamed dilapidated church.

Ov

The Church of Surb Thomas (Surb Tovmas).

Pakhour Verin

The Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Pakhour Nerkin

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Parkanc

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg).

Pars

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Pater

One unnamed church destroyed by the Kurds at the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

Proshenc

The Church of Saint Anthony (Surb Anton). Two serving clergymen in 1879, one in 1913.

Segh

Hakobyan et al. identified the Church of Saint Sergius (Surb Sargis).

Sevkar

An unnamed church, which according to the villagers, beginning from 1893 has not seen the daylight nor was filled with the aroma of incense. [144]

Shen

The Church of Saint Mesrop (Surb Mesrop), according to genocide survivor Gevorg Amirkhan. [145] According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Saint Cyricus (Surb Kirakos). One serving clergyman in 1879.

Shenaghbyur

The Church of Saint Isaac (Surb Sahak). Hakobyan et al. suggest the Church of Saint Cyricus (Surb Kirakos), according to other sources: One serving clergyman in 1913.

Shiriz

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg). According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, the Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin).

Sori

The Church of Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin) and the Church of Saint Christopher (Surb Kristapor). Hakobyan et al. note that the latter was mentioned in records as monastery. Its proximity to Sori meant that the church was regarded as part of the Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Sori (Sorii Surb Astvatsatsni vank). The church dated back to the 10th-11th centuries; it had twin naves and measured 9.1×12.8 meters. [146] Lumá in 1900 reported that to the west of Sori, there was a church built of stone and mortar, named after the Holy Archangels. The story goes that, in the early 1800s, the church was accidently unearthed by a villager who chose the site for the construction of a building. [147]

Sousanc

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village. However, Lumá in 1900 reported that to the east of the village stood the Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg) built of stone and mortar. [148]

Surbkhach

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Surb Araqyal).

Tacou

The Church of Saint Atovmianc (Surb Atovmianc), also called Saint Atom the General (Surb Atom Zoravar), and The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg). One serving clergyman in 1913.

Tagh

Because the village was supposedly a neighborhood of the larger village of Geghis, Lumá in 1900 reported that there was no church in it. [149]

Tosou

The Church of Sahak the Parthian (Surb Sahak Partev). The church stood to the east of the village and was built of stone and mortar. [150]

Tvaghous

The Church of Saint George (Surb Gevorg). This small church stood to the west of the village. [151]

Yeghanc

According to the 1879 issue of Arevelian Mamoul, there was no church in the village.

Yeghegs

There were two unnamed churches in the village. Two serving clergymen in 1913.

Places of pilgrimage in the Khizan county

The Monastery of the Holy Cross at Aparank (Aparanki Surb Khach vank)

The monastery was considered one of the most favorite sites of Armenian Christian pilgrimage. Crow noted that “[p]ilgrimages were made to the building, and special religious services performed within the walls yearly, in the month of September, on a day set apart for that purpose in the Armenian calendar.” [152]

Shirin

The Monastery of Saint George at Shirin (Shirinic Surb Gevorg vank) was an important pilgrimage site. [153]

Paladzor

The Barakadzor Monastery of Holy Mother of God at Paladzor (Barakadzori Surb Astvatsatsni vank) was considered one of the most important sanctuaries of the Armenian Christian pilgrimage․ The Armenian peasants from adjacent villages made a pilgrimage to the monastery for the Feast of Hambardzum (Ascension), which usually fell on a Thursday. [154]

Chazhvan

A significant pilgrimage site for the Armenian population of Khizan. The day of the pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Monastery at Chazhvan (Surb Yerordutyun vank) was Pentecost celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter. [155] On a hillock to the south of the village there was another pilgrimage site, which the villagers believed was a church in the past. [156]

The Monastery of Five Altars (Hing Khoran vank)

Local tradition holds that under those five altars were buried unknown Armenian martyrs in memory of whom numerous sheep were being sacrificed. Masses of pilgrims from all over Khizan huddled into the monastery. Local Kurds also came in crowds to get a share from Armenian offerings, and often to steal what was lying about. [157]

Khout

Near the ruins of the Church of Saint Thaddeus (Surb Teodoros) sprang a cold-water spring which the locals called yekeghecvo aghbyur, or “spring at the church”. The spring was a famous pilgrimage site among Armenian residents of the adjacent villages. [158]

[1] Massis, No. 3596, January 27, 1884․
[2] Voskian, Hamazasp. Vaspourakan-Vani vankere (The Vaspurakan-Van Monasteries), vol. 3. (Vienna: Mkhitarian Press, 1947), p. 812.
[3] Endardzak Oracuic Surb Prkchian hivandanoci Hayoc, 1908 [The Comprehensive Calendar of the Holy Savior Armenian Hospital, 1908] (Constantinople: H. Mateosian Publishing House, 1908), p. 346.
[4] Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran [Christian Armenia Encyclopedia]. (Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia Publishers, 2002), p. 36.
[5] “The Forgotten Patriarchate: A Brief Historical Note on the Armenian Catholicosate of Aghtamar”. The British Orthodox Church 2019, britishorthodox.org/glastonburyreview/issue-123-the-forgotten-patriarchate/.
[6] Lapjinchian, Teotoros (Teodik). Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan yev ir Hotin Aghetali 1915 Tariin [The Calvary of Ottoman Armenian Clergy and its Flock’s Catastrophic Year of 1915]. (Tehran: S.N., 2014), p. 61.
[7] Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran, p. 36.
[8] “The Forgotten Patriarchate: A Brief Historical Note on the Armenian Catholicosate of Aghtamar”. The British Orthodox Church, 2019, britishorthodox.org/glastonburyreview/issue-123-the-forgotten-patriarchate/.
[9] Aghtamara hanguceal Khachatur katoghikosi verjin tughtn yev teghekagire, 19 December 1895 [The Ante-mortem letter and survey by the late Catholicos Khachatur of Aghtamar, 19 December 1895], in Ararat, No. 29, May 1896, p. 246.
[10] Ararat, No. 2, February 1896, pp. 89-90.
[11] Lepsius, Johannes. Armenien und Europa. Eine Anklageschrift wider die christlichen Großmächte und ein Aufruf an das christliche Deutschland. (Berlin-Westend: Verlag der Akademischen Buchhandlung W. Faber & Co., 1896), trans. by Ashot Hayruni and Mariam Martirosyan (Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 2022), pp. 264-266.
[12] Droshak, No. 16, June 27, 1896.
[13] “Four Gospels in Armenian, 1434/35”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art website, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/478665.
[14] Srvandztiants, Garegin. Toros Aghpar. Hayastani Champord (Toros Aghpar: A Traveler around Armenia). (Constantinople: G. Baghdadlian Publishing House, 1885), vol. 2, p. 262.
[15] Hakobyan, Tadevos, Stepan Melik-Bakhshyan, and Hovhannes Barseghyan. Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri teghanounneri bararan [Dictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories], 5 vols. (Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 1986), vol. 2, p. 731.
[16] Badalyan, Gegham. “Arevmtian Hayastani patmajoghovrdagrakan nkaragire Mets Yegherni nakhorein (mas VII-rd)” [A Historico-demographic Description of Western Armenia on the Eve of the Armenian Genocide, pt. VII: The southeastern counties of the province of Bitlis], in Vem, No. 4 (56), 2016, p. 7.
[17] Idem, pt. VII, p. 8.
[18] Natanian, Poghos. Artosr Hayastani, kam, Teghekagir Balua, Karberdu, Charsanchagi, Chapagh Djuri, ev Erznkayu (haueluats est khndranac azgasirac Khizan gavar) [The Tears of Armenia, or a Survey of Balu, Kharberd, Charsanchak, Chapagh Djour, and Yerznka, with Additions Requested by the Patriotic People of the Khizan County] (Constantinople: unknown publisher, 1878), p. 186.
[19] Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, p. 194.
[20] Eprikian, Sukias. Patkerazard bnashkharik bararan [The Illustrated Dictionary of Geography]. (Venice: St. Lazarus Press, 1907), vol․ 2, p. 173.
[21] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 222.
[22] Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran, p. 36.
[23] Mayewski, Vladimir T. Voenno-statisticheskoe opisanie Vanskogo i Bitlisskogo vilayetov [The Military Statistics of the Van and Bitlis Provinces]. (Tiflis: Caucasus Military District Headquarters Press, 1904), Strategic Study, p. 101.
[24] Ormanian, Malachia. The Church of Armenia: Her History, Doctrine, Rule, Discipline, Liturgy, Literature, and Existing Condition, trans. by G. Marcar Gregory. (London; Oxford: A.R. Mowbray & Co., 1954), p. 132.
[25] Idem, p. 208.
[26] Eprikian, Patkerazard bnashkharik bararan, vol․ 2, p. 174.
[27] Vichakacuic-teghekagir Khizan gavari [The statistical bulletin for the Khizan county] Nos. 555 (July 26, 1913) and 558 (September 30, 1913), intro page.
[28] Endardzak Oracuic Surb Prkchian hivandanoci, 1908, p. 256.
[29] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, p. 77.
[30] Idem, p. 61.
[31] Tcharian, Papken. The Great Loss of the Armenian Clergy during the Armenian Genocide, trans. by Tamar Topjian Der-Ohannessian. (Antilias, Lebanon: Armenian Church Catholicosate of Cilicia, 2009), pp. 172, 187.
[32] Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001). p. 224.
[33] See Appendix 171 in Divan Hayots Patmutian. Harstaharutiunner Tachkastanum [The Archives of Armenian History: Oppression in Turkish Armenia], vol. 13. (Tiflis: Gyout Aghanyanc Publishing House, 1915), pp. 547-550.
[34] Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, pp. 186-190, 192-202.
[35] Arevelian Mamoul, June 1879, pp. 67-68.
[36] Massis, No. 3036, November 6, 1881․
[37] Mshak, No. 121, July 3 (15), 1881.
[38] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 222.
[39] Sherenc, Gevorg. Srbavayrer. Teghagrutiun Vaspurakani-Vana nahangi glkhavor yekegheceac, vanoreic yev ousumnaranac [The Holy Sites: The Topographic Survey of the Most Significant Churches, Monasteries, and Educational Institutions of the Vaspurakan-Van Province] (Tiflis: Vereichev & Kamenmakher Publishing House, 1902), pp. 136-137, 137-141, 151-153.
[40] Eprikian, Patkerazard bnashkharik bararan, vol․ 2, pp. 171-172.
[41] Endardzak Oracuic Surb Prkchian hivandanoci, 1908, p. 346.
[42] Vichakacuic-teghekagir Khizan gavari No. 558, September 30, 1913․
[43] Kévorkian, Raymond. The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. (London, New York: I.B. Tauris, 2011), p. 277.
[44] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 58, 62-63.
[45] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, pp. 814-880.
[46] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 137.
[47] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, pp. 866-870.
[48] Crow, Francis. “Report on a Journey through the Caza of Khizan in September 1897”, as cited on the website of Jelle Verheij, historian, www.jelleverheij.net/monuments/aparank.html.
[49] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p. 53.
[50] Collectif 2015, No. 030: “Monastery of the Holy Cross of Abarank”; Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p. 838.
[51] Massis, No. 3036, November 6, 1881․
[52] Collectif 2015, No. 030: “Monastery of the Holy Cross of Abarank”.
[53] Ashkhatank, No. 12, December 1911, p. 975.
[54] Crow, Report on a Journey through the Caza of Khizan …, as cited on the website of Jelle Verheij, historian, www.jelleverheij.net/monuments/aparank.html.
[55] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, pp. 225-226.
[56] Collectif 2015, No. 027: “The Holy Mother of God church of Pasd”.
[57] Teodik, KoghkotaTrqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 62-63.
[58] Collectif 2015, No. 027: “The Holy Mother of God church of Pasd”.
[59] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, pp. 227-228.
[60] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 153.
[61] Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, pp. 197-198.
[62] Aghtamara hanguceal Khachatur katoghikosi verjin tughtn yev teghekagire …, p. 246.
[63] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 58, 62.
[64] Kévorkian, Raymond, and Paul Paboudjian. Les Arméniens dans l’Empire Ottoman à la veille du genocide. (Paris: ARHIS, 1992), p. 476.
[65] Ibid.
[66] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 215.
[67] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, pp. 151-152.
[68] Kévorkian & Paboudjian, Les Arméniens dans l’Empire Ottoman …, p. 476.
[69] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 222.
[70] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 776.
[71] Saint Gregory Armenian Catholic Church in Glendale, CA. www.stgregoryarmenian.org/st-gamaliel/.
[72] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 776.
[73] Teodik, KoghkotaTrqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 62-63.
[74] Arevelian Mamoul, June 1879, p. 68; Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, p. 196.
[75] Arevelk, No. 214, September 19 (October 1), 1884.
[76] Teodik, KoghkotaTrqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 77-78; Tcharian, The Great Loss of the Armenian Clergy …, p. 185.
[77] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 153.
[78] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 58, 62.
[79] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 831.
[80] Aghtamara hanguceal Khachatur katoghikosi verjin tughtn yev teghekagire …, p. 246.
[81] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 831.
[82] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p. 872.
[83] Idem, p. 875.
[84] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 2, p. 731.
[85] Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, pp. 194-195.
[86] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 222.
[87] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p. 864.
[88] Idem, pp. 853-854.
[89] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 2, p. 92, vol. 4, p. 565. See also Appendix 171 in Divan Hayots Patmutian …, vol. 13. (Tiflis: Gyout Aghanyanc Publishing House, 1915), pp. 547-550.
[90] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p․ 854.
[91] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 222.
[92] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 617.
[93] Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran, p. 174.
[94] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 617.
[95] Collectif 2015, No. 024: “Paritzor Holy Mother of God Monastery”.
[96] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 1, p. 617.
[97] Collectif 2015, No. 024: “Paritzor Holy Mother of God Monastery”.
[98] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 77-78; Tcharian, The Great Loss of the Armenian Clergy …, p. 185.
[99] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, pp. 227.
[100] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 134.
[101] Aghtamara hanguceal Khachatur katoghikosi verjin tughtn yev teghekagire …, p. 246; Natanian, Artosr Hayastani …, p. 198.
[102] Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 58, 62.
[103] Kévorkian & Paboudjian, Les Arméniens dans l’Empire Ottoman …, p. 476.
[104] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 223.
[105] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 665.
[106] Collectif 2015, No. 026: “Holy Mother of God Monastery of Hzar or Sori”.
[107] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 665.
[108] Collectif 2015, No. 026: “Holy Mother of God Monastery of Hzar or Sori”.
[109] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 223.
[110] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 153.
[111] Kévorkian & Paboudjian, Les Arméniens dans l’Empire Ottoman …, p. 476.
[112] Kévorkian & Paboudjian, Les Arméniens dans l’Empire Ottoman …, p. 476.
[113] Vichakacuic-teghekagir Khizan gavari Nos. 555 and 558, intro page. See also Teodik, Koghkota Trqahye Hogevorakanoutyan …, pp. 62-63.
[114] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 124.
[115] Collectif 2015, No. 025: “The Holy Cross monastery of Khizan or Shinitzor”.
[116] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 124.
[117] Collectif 2015, No. 025: “The Holy Cross monastery of Khizan or Shinitzor”.
[118] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 124.
[119] Arevelk, No. 214, September 19 (October 1), 1884. See also Aghtamara hanguceal Khachatur katoghikosi verjin tughtn yev teghekagire …, p. 246.
[120] Tcharian, The Great Loss of the Armenian Clergy …, p. 157.
[121] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 139.
[122] Ibid.
[123] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 3, p. 414.
[124] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, pp. 224-225.
[125] Idem, pp. 227-228.
[126] Idem, p. 228.
[127] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, pp. 151-152.
[128] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 227.
[129] Idem, p. 226.
[130] Idem, p. 227.
[131] Ibid.
[132] Virabyan, Amatuni, ed., Hayots ceghaspanutyune Osmanyan Turqiayum. Verapratsneri vkayutiounner [Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: The Testimony of Survivors], Vol. 2: The Bitlis Province. (Yerevan: Zangak-97, 2012), p. 97.
[133] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 228-229.
[134] Idem, p. 225.
[135] Ibid.
[136] Virabyan, Hayots ceghaspanutyune Osmanyan Turqiayum …, p. 90.
[137] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 225.
[138] Idem, p. 228.
[139] Ibid.
[140] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 226.
[141] Idem, p. 228.
[142] Idem, p. 226.
[143] Idem, p. 229.
[144] Idem, p. 228.
[145] Virabyan, Hayots ceghaspanutyune Osmanyan Turqiayum …, p. 339.
[146] Collectif 2015, No. 026: “Holy Mother of God Monastery of Hzar or Sori”.
[147] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 223.
[148] Idem, p. 224.
[149] Idem, p. 227.
[150] Ibid.
[151] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 226.
[152] Crow, Francis. “Report on a Journey through the Caza of Khizan in September 1897”, as cited on the website of Jelle Verheij, historian, www.jelleverheij.net/monuments/aparank.html.
[153] Hakobyan et al., Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri …, vol. 4, p. 134.
[154] Kristonya Hayastan Hanragitaran, p. 174.
[155] Voskian, Vaspourakan-Vani vankere, vol. 3, p. 814.
[156] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 228.
[157] Sherenc, Srbavayrer .․․, p. 139.
[158] Lumá, Chapter 1, 1900, p. 225.