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Thadeus Monastery

 
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The monastery of St. Thaddeus (Xll-XIXth centuries)
Analytical-descriptive monograph by Wolfram Kleiss of the German Archaeological Institute of Teheran

The famous monastery of Sourb Thade (St. Thaddeus), or in Turkish, Ghara-Kilise, is located in the mountainous area of western Azer baidjian, about 20 km from the town of Makou and is today in Iranian territory. Sourb Thade can be glimpsed from quite a distance thanks to the massiveness of the church, strongly characterized by 2 cuspidate tambours. The monastery is perched on a mountain ridge beside a stream sunken into the rock, thus giving it a natural fortified position. Nearby are several chapels, 3 on the hills east of the stream, 1 approximately 3 km south of the monastery on the road to Bastam, and another that also serves as the church for the village of Ghara-Kilise.

According to tradition (see the chronological history), the monastery was founded by the Apostle St. Thaddeus on the spot where a pagan temple existed in former times. Time after time it was destroyed by invasions, and struck by earthquakes, the most devastating of which occured in 1319. In 1329, the monastery was rebuilt, and further renewed and enlarged during the course of the following centuries.

The massive wall, fortified for defense purposes, enclosing St. Thaddeus, forms two large interior courtyards. The first, to the West, seems to have been designed for medition purposes, and serves the second courtyard belonging to the monastery itself, where the monks' cells encircle the building that is the church.

Two round towers protect the monastery's west side, and soften the harsh outlines of the wall. A center opening made in this side, is decorated with ornamental motifs and 2 khatchkar (stone crosses) inserted into the masonery. This opening leads to the first courtyard where, in the South-east corner, are a series of rooms given over to the processing and preserving of agricultural produce. Among other things, are found rooms equipped for oil making, a miniature windmill; an oven and a fountain.

A small door placed in the western side, opens to the second courtyard where the monks' cells for living and working line the . perimeter of the wall together with the abbot's rooms, the refectory, the kitchen and facilities. All these rooms, built in cruJely shaped stone, face the interior of the courtyard, which supplies their light source. The outside wall of the cells is continuous with the fortified wall, where three defense towers overlooking the valley below to the East, stand. In the center of the second courtyard is the church, which as was mentioned, has undergone considerable changes over the centuries. It has been destroyed, rebuilt, restored and enlarged. Its present day aspect betrays the presence of 3 different structures, each of which has its own architectural and spatial concept, that blends with the others; with a few exceptions; to give the feeling of a single unit. The oldest building at the eastern end, is domed with a central plan, cruciform for the interior and quadrangular for the exterior. On one side, the dome rests on the two chapels adjacent to the apse, and on the other, on two pillars incorporated into the external western walls, which were later included in the eastern part of the central church (see the reconstruction hypothesis). Probably built in the 12th century then restored in 1329, 1426, 1680-1.684, and from 1819 to the 1830's (on the northern wall inside, there is a plaque dated 1329 regarding the church's reconstruction), St. Thaddeus resembles in its composition, the general outlines of the monasteries of St. Thomas of G(h)andzak (10th century) and St. Bartholomew (9th century) both found near Vaspourakan.
Of the two rooms beside the apse, the one to the north serves as a chapel whereas the southern one was modified to hold a sepulcher. The apse is raised up on four steps and in it a sort of transenna was erected, probably in the 19th century.

In keeping with Armenian usage, two low niches were carved into the apse walls, and a high window was placed on an axis with the altar. The apse calotte consists of a gore vault rather than the traditional spherical one, a most unusual feature for an Armenian church.

The later central structure, built in the 19th century (1819-1830's) acts as the fulcrum of the entire composition because of the complexity of its mass, and exceptional dimensions, thus extending as it were, the volumetric play of the older church.

Located on the same longitudinal axis as the older church, this later structure becomes its gravit. Its planivolumetric plan is reminiscent of the church of St. Edchmiadzin in Vagharshapat (5th-7th centuries), and is dominated by a cuspidate tambour similar to that in the older church, but more emerging. Here also, the cupola beneath rests on four arches and consequently on four free pillars by means of spherical pendentives.

This leads to a completely new freedom of composition.. The peri metrical walls, having lost their primary static role, are free to expand, thus favoring a perfect correspondance between internal and external space, that is lacking in the older church. The spacious ness of the interior, devoid of any decoration, closely resembles that of the Roman churches in central Europe.

There are three entrances; the main door in the center of the western exedra connected to the portico before it, and the other two on the North and South sides.

The portico inserted at the point corresponding to the western exedra of the main church, was never completed and dates back to the middle of the 19th century. It probably was intended to have a second floor and a true bell tower. The portico's massiveness is lightened by little blind arches, and decorative and geometric figures repeating those of the central church, to further unify the two parts of the complex. The element connecting the porticobell tower and the church wall is missing. The building technique of this section, partially demolished and partially unfinished, is typical of Armenian architecture with the external surface of the walls in ashlar stones, and the supporting section of the walls in roughly worked stone.

From the outside as well, the three different constructive periods - the oldest church, the main church and the porticobell tower - are evident. The first of the three has smooth walls in grey black tuff, from which its name KaraKilise (black church) is derived. Placed on the twostep high baseboard of the building, are decorative halfcolumns with an unfinished base, more than likely remains of the first church destroyed prior to the 14th century.

The roof has 2 layers of large stone shingles: the surface of the tympanum is carved with basreliefs, some of which are in white stone, which can probably be attributed to restoration work done in later centuries. The twelvesided tambour, surmounted by the pyramide shaped cuspide, is in alternating light and dark colored stones (St. Bartholomew, St. Karapet of Moush, Narek). Of particular interest are the 3 miniature models of the church placed at the vertex tambours bringing to mind the architectural structure of the Seljuk turbe, for instance, Mama Hatun of Terjan.

The main church instead has a flat roof. The pyramidal cuspide rises above a twelve-sided tambour placed on a square foundation.

The North and South exedrae are polygonal, exactly like the church of St. Edchmiadzin, and in this case as well the cupola should have been flanked by two bell towers, that in reality were never built. Traces of their foundations are noted however in the roof.

The church exterior is encircled by five decorative bands in alternating dark and light stone which gives a chiaroscuro effect to its entire mass and enhances the effect of the separation of the two cuspides with the use of rhythmic horizontal bands. Below, the decoration comprises the foundation, the first area of smooth stone, and then a series of panels with round, blind arches alternating with pointed ones, all resting on slender half-columns. Inside the panels are various decorative motifs such as rosettes, khatchkar, coats-of-arms, and animal and flower figures. Near the impost of the arches are winged cherubin heads, and statues of angels are placed in the corners of the church facade.

Above this, a finely sculptured, double band of bas-reliefs, richly adorned with episodes from the Old and New Testaments, scenes with human and animal figures, and others, goes around the entire church. Slightly higher, the panels, formed by half-columns surmounted by decorative capitals, with mythical animals flanking their baseboards, are repeated. Inside the panels are bas-relief depicting saints and other figures connected with the life of the monastery. Higher up still are isolated figures, and on the North and South facades, crosses designed in the wall with dark-colored stone probably an influence of the decorative tradition that grew up at Ani. The relief figures in the main church are clearly inspired by the ones at Aghthamar (10th century) although they lack their expressive force. It is curious to note that at St. Thaddeus' the Saints have no halos, due undoubtedly to a certain influence of Islamic art especially in its Persian tradition which must be recognized in the decoration of the monastery.

The descriptive analysis of the monastery to this point does not explain its expressive and communicative feeling that no one or no reproduction has ever been able to adequately illustrate.

What is most surprising is the ethereal ambiance that the monastery offers almost as a sign, of a living presence within its walls, there since time began. It is surely this feeling that attracts the numerous pilgrims that gather there each year for the traditional feast-day of St. Thaddeus.

Source: Documents of Armenian Architecture: S. Thadei' Vank, Edizioni Ares, Milan, 1971

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