Harichavank Monastery

Harichavank Հառիճավանք
Rear view of the monastery.
Basic information
Location	Harich, Shirak Province, Armenia
Geographic coordinates	40°36′23″N 43°59′58″E / 40.606464°N 43.999422°E / 40.606464; 43.999422Coordinates: 40°36′23″N 43°59′58″E / 40.606464°N 43.999422°E / 40.606464; 43.999422
Affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
Architectural description
Architectural style	Armenian
Completed	7th century, 13th century

The Harichavank (Armenian: Հառիճավանք; transliterated as Harijavank or Harichavank) is 7th century Armenian monastery located near the village of Harich (Armenian: Հառիճ) in the Shirak Province of the Republic of Armenia. The village is 3 km southeast of the town of Artik.

Harichavank known as one of the most famous monastic centers in Armenia and it was especially renowned for its school and scriptorium. Archaeological excavations of 1966 indicate that Harich was in existence during the 2nd century BC, and was one of the more well known fortress towns in Armenia.

The oldest part of this Armenian monastery is the Church of St. Gregory the Enlightener (Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ); it is a domed structure that is usually placed in the category of so-called "Mastara-style" churches (named after the fifth century church of St. Hovhannes in the village of Mastara, in the southern part of Shirak). The founding date of the monastery is unknown, but probably it was built no later than the 7th century, when St. Gregory was erected.

The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God (Սբ. Աստվածածին) that dominates the monastic complex was built by the orders of Zakare Zakarian, Amirspasalar (commander-in-chief) and Prince who ruled Eastern Armenia in the 13th century together with his brother Ivane Zakarian. Prince Zakare started the Cathedral after he bought Harich from a family representing the Pahlavuni dynasty.

The Cathedral is a cruciform church with two-story sacristies in each of the four extensions of the building. The tall 20-hedral drum of the cupola is of original style. Initially tent-roofed, it acquired triple columns on its facets and large rosettes in the piers which, together with platbands, form an unusual decorative girder around the middle of the drum height. Later, the cupola drum of the Gandzasar Monastery (1216-1238) was decorated in the same way.