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St John in Mastara

 
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The village of Mastara is located 8km from the region centre, Talin. The nearby buildings, cemetery and ruins witness of the vast importance of the location during the middle ages. On the foot of the nearby hill stands a khatchkar from 1223, which originally stood beside a medieval fortress and the ancient Stepanos Nakhavka.

I the vicinity of Mastara there are several other churches among which the St John (Sourp Hovhannes) is one of the perfect examples of medieval Armenian architectural works. The main chamber of the church is square (12x11.2m), with large stretched octagonal columns on each corner, on which a second row of hexagonal columns stands bearing the weight of the drum of the dome. The drum is octagonal on the inside with triangle-shaped niches. Inside the main room there are several alters, semicircle in shape on the inside and pentagonical on the outside. On the both sides of the eastern alter, quite lower the alter itself, are smaller rooms. The church has a cone-shaped (externally) dome, two entrances in west and south, eight windows on the drum and nine in the main room. The church in Mastara has been renovated thoroughly during the 12th century. The original composition of the church walls was made of red-purple large stone blocks (row-height of 0.62-0.77m) but has been renovated with orange-yellow smaller stones (row-height of 0.47-0.60m). The church in Mastara has also been renovated in several occasions during the period between 10th and 13th century. Since the 18th century the church had been surrounded by a high fence, which in 1889 was demolished by the order of the village priest who also ordered the renovation of the monument in the yard (the inscription is seen on the masonry of the altar's southern wall).

On the church there are three preserved inscriptions belonging a certain Grigor Vanakani, in which he claims to be the founder of the church. The inscriptions are dated to the 7th century, from which the dating of the church has also been estimated. However, the studies done in regard to the church of Mastara revealed that the dating in the inscriptions refer to the renovations during the 7th century and that the church was built during the 5th century, which is confirmed by the strict old foundation work of the architecture, the relevant thick walls (1.3m), the indentation of the alter, the arches and the dome, the original large size of the stone blocks, the symmetrical wings of the crosses of the corner-door tympana, the carving of six-winged angels, the western side's carved cross with the twin-birds, and finally the carved doves in the ceiling are all characteristic of the period between 5th and 6th century. This dating is also confirmed by the old Greek inscription on the monument in the yard. There are, however, other estimates mentioning the date between 6th and 7th centuries.

The church of Mastara is outstanding in regard to its vast interior, especially in regard to the balanced proportions between the dome and the foundation, which grants an immense sense of tranquility while the wide dome with its strong lifting arches radiate strength and grandeur. The main body of the church consists of a well joined and balanced monolith, consisting of stone, and depicts a tipped over church bell, with a balance centre at approximately 1/3 of its height. This composition constitutes the unique stability of the church and its durability against the active seismic nature of the region, something which simultaneously is the importance of its artistic value. Among other churches which are of Mastara-type are the churches of Voskepar (6th century), Artik's Major (7th century), Haritchavank (7th century), and Arakelots in Kars (10th century).

Source: The Encyclopedia of the Republic of Armenia
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