User:Yerevantsi/Khachkar

Khachkar

Khachkar (Armenian: խաչքար, xačk’ar), sometimes transliterated as khatchkar,

File:Почтовая марка СССР № 4887. 1978. Архитектурные памятники Армении.jpg

History

earliest: 866, 876, 879; Vaghuhas

The number of khachkars is unknown, even approximately. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated in 2016 that Armenia's list of cultural monuments contains "over 10,000" khachkars." Other sources have estimated 30,000–40,000 khachkars in Armenia, while the UNESCO website states there are "more than 50,000 Khachkars in Armenia." The latter number also been cited by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The church is surrounded by tombs. Lying against the north wall are some interesting old stones, one of which is exquisitely sculptured https://archive.org/details/armeniatravelsst01lync/page/271/mode/1up?view=theater

Characteristics

the khachkars, or cross-stones, found across the Southern Caucasus. These slabs of tuff, basalt or dolomite are carved with highly decorative crosses, and their elaborate patterns suggest the influence of Islamic culture even as they attest to an unshakable Christian faith."

...tall stelae with crosses carved in sunken relief known as "khachkar"...

Գոնե ինձ համար այլևս հստակ է, որ խաչքարերը ո՛չ թե ընդհանրապես հայկական, այլ դավանաբանորեն միայն մեկ ուղղության` առաքելականության հետևորդ հայերի մշակութային ժառանգություն են: Karapetyan, Samvel (September 15, 2018). "Խաչքարերի մասին [On khachkars]". Facebook (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 10 May 2022.

Եկեղեցու համար ընդունելի կարող է համարվել Փրկիչ մեր Տիրոջ հարթաքանդակի կառուցումը՝ «Ամենափրկիչ» խաչքարերի սկզբունքով:

հայ քրիստոնեական լանդշաֆտում հատուկ կարևորություն է տրվել բացօթյա սրբազան տարածքների կազմակերպմանը, որի դոմինանտները 5-7-րդ դարերում կազմել են թևավոր խաչով պսակվող տարատեսակ կոթողները, իսկ 9-րդ դարից սկսած՝ այդ դերակատարումը ստանձնել է խաչքարը

Comparisons to high crosses

Khachkars have been widely compared to the Celtic (Irish) high crosses in both scholarly and popular literature. Colin Thubron described the khachkars he saw at Geghard as being "sculptured with a Celtic filigree of crosses and stars." Sean Thomas described them "quasi-Celtic".

Goekjian, Valerie (1973). The Christian Literature and Fine Arts of the Armenians (PDF). New York: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. pp. 17–18. in later centuries these khachkars, like the exteriors of the churches, become more ornate and are filled with the delicate lace-like carving typical of Islamic art. Khachkars are rectangular pillars mounted on cubic bases, and many scholars have noted the similarity between them and the Celtic or Northumbrian panelled crosses, which are a product of a civilization so far removed from and independent of Armenia. The connection between these has not been determined, and may be incidental.23 [sirarpie der nersessian, The Armenians, 1969, p. 123]

Sirarpie Der Nersessian: In a second group of cross-stones the shafts attain a height of three of four metres and the scenes, carved one above the other, are enclosed in rectangular frames. The general design is curiously similar to that of Northumbrian panelled crosses, and the attention of scholars has been arrested by this similarity between two groups of monuments so far removed from and independent of one another.

Richardson, Hilary (1987). "Observations on Christian art in early Ireland, Georgia and Armenia". In Ryan, Michael (ed.). Ireland and Insular Art, A.D. 500-1200: Proceedings of a Conference at University College Cork, 31 October-3 November 1985. Royal Irish Academy. pp. 129–137. ISBN 9780901714541.

Petrosyan, Hamlet L. (2012). "Similarities between the Early Christian Armenian Monuments and Irish High Crosses in the Light of New Discoveries". Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series 61: 169–179.

In May 2019 a photo exhibition of high crosses and khachkars took place at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.

Notable khachkars

https://hy.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%8D%D5%B8%D6%82%D6%80%D5%A2_%D5%8F%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6,_%D5%8D%D5%AB%D6%80%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6_%D4%BD%D5%A1%D5%B9_(%D5%AD%D5%A1%D5%B9%D6%84%D5%A1%D6%80) Dsegh

http://www.armenianheritage.org/en/monument/Haghpat/101 Haghpat Monastery Amenaprkitch Khachkar File:Haghpat amenaprkich khachkar.jpg

Goshavank http://www.armenianheritage.org/hy/monument/Goshavank/435

https://twitter.com/armine_grig/status/1432418171018006535?t=EIw7gB1SPqmY17mxemz6fg&s=19 Kichan in Martakert region of #Artsakh #Karabakh. A number of ancient khachkars (crossstones) in the area, some dating back to 9-13 c.

Yerevan park https://www.yerevan.am/en/news/mshakowt-ayin-egherhn-khach-k-areri-khorhowrde-khoragrov-ts-owts-ahandes-bats-erknk-i-tak/

Gyumri В Гюмри открылся «Сквер хачкаров» с копиями уничтоженных в Старой Джуге средневековых армянских хачкаров

File:Օրբելյանների տապանատուն, որմնափակ զույգ խաչքարեր 02.jpg|Գերեզմանոց. Օրբելյանների տոհմական տապանատունը[1]

Hy:Դերջանի Ապարանից Ս. Դավիթ վանքի խաչքարերի կրկնօրինակներ

Hy:Խաչքար-հուշարձան աղոթքի և ուխտի (Էջմիածին) https://www.armenian-genocide.org/Memorial.13/current_category.52/memorials_detail.html

File:Խաչքար Գեղարդ27.JPG|Khachkars (cross-stones) at Geghard Monastery painted with vordan karmir

khachkars on older stones

• 
  Ulgyur near Aghavnadzor, Vayots Dzor; vishap
• 
  Garni Greek inscription; Arakelyan, 1950

|Urartian inscription discovered in 1975 in Tanahat near Sisian (now at Erebuni Museum)

a damaged Greek inscription on an ashlar found near the fortification wall, which had been fashioned into a khachkar, a stone cross stele, in the Middle Ages.180 The inscription’s lacunae have encouraged a range of different readings, and a number of scholars have offered alternative editions and competing translations of the inscription, most of which must be dismissed as overly imaginative. The inscription states that a king named Tiridates built a fortress for his queen in the eleventh year of his reign.181 Both the inscription’s regnal era and paleography cohere with the reign of Tiridates I and suggest the fortress was reconstructed ca. 76 CE. This corresponds to the Roman Empire’s contemporary policy of strengthening the passes through the Caucasus and controlling them through its allies.182 Garni remained an important royal residence and fortress for the Arsacids throughout the life of the dynasty.

• Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. Oakland: University of California Press. pp. 115-118. ISBN 9780520290037.

LAST, FIRST (2018). "CHAPTER". In Evans, Helen C. (ed.). Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages. Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press. ISBN 9781588396600. OCLC 1028910888. KHACHKARS [chapter] Fig. 31. Urartian stela. Church of Surb Poghos, Lake Van region, 828-86, with I0th-century cross and inscription

Outside Armenia

uk:Вірменська культурна спадщина в Криму

Homeland

Historic

There are numerous khachkars outside the traditional Armenian homeland,

Javakhk, Artsakh, northern Iran, eastern Turkey

Ջավախքի խաչքարերը / by Կարապետյան, Սամվել https://web.archive.org/web/20220513101859/http://tert.nla.am/archive/HAY%20GIRQ/Ardy/1981-2000/javakhqixachqarer_1995.pdf
Unfortunately, still there are regions where the preserved khachkars haven't been studied up today. One of such regions is, e.g., the territo- ry of Javakhk gavar of Gugark province (which now corresponds Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki districts of the present Republic of Georgia) where the number of preserved khachkars is over 100. As to the chronology, in Javakhk there are inscribed (sometimes dated) and inscription less khachkars referring to all epochs. The geog- raphy of their settlement is vast, as wells more than 30 olden places spread all over the territory of the ancient gavar. Khachkars dating back from at least the 9th century and being cre- ated up to the present days are of artistic and historical great value. The existence of khachkars in Javakhk different places of antiquity is the best proof of many villages being armenian settlements through ages.

Diaspora old

traditional communities, Crimea, Moldova, Cilicia

Sergiyev Posad https://www.armmuseum.ru/news-blog/khachkar-sergiyev-posad-exhibition-2022 В Сергиевом Посаде обнаружили белокаменный хачкар IX-XIII века: находку выставили в музее https://archive.ph/D4nGn

White Monastery, Coptic Egypt Poets, Heroes, and their Dragons (2 vols): Armenian and ... - Page 159 / James R. Russell · 2021 Two Armenian Cross - stones ( xačk'ar ) found in Cairo are dated to the tenth century ; and the huge fresco at Deir al - Abyad , the “ White Monastery " near Sohag , dated 1124-1125 , has Armenian inscriptions...

Vatican Museums, 2014

Rome Reports covers the story of a medieval Armenian cross-stone (khachkar) located at Vatican museum[2]

File:Vatican Museum khachkar plaque.jpg
File:Vatican Museum khachkar plaque2.jpg
File:Vatican Museum khachkar3.jpg
File:Vatican Museum khachkar2.jpg
File:Vatican Museum khachkar.jpg

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01933957/ Small mural khachkars in medieval Armenian communities of Crimea, Galicia, Podolia, and Bessarabia Patrick Donabédian

https://www.academia.edu/41997229/Donab%C3%A9dian_P_Small_mural_khachkars_in_medieval_Armenian_communities_of_Crimea_Galicia_Podolia_and_Bessarabia_In_Felonyuk_A_Khalak_N_Garassim_Y_Hayuk_I_eds_%D0%9D%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%B6i_%D0%BCi%D0%B6_%D0%A1%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BC_i_%D0%97%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BC_Lviv_2018_p_324_335

Diaspora modern

Vatican Gardens

In recent decades, khachkars have been erected worldwide; many are memorials in commemoration of the victims of the Armenian genocide. In France, home to the largest Armenian community in the EU, There are at least 30 khachkars installed in public spaces. Some khachkars have been placed in notable locations, including at the Vatican Gardens (1996), the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg (2018), the memorial garden of Canterbury Cathedral (2019), the Peace Palace in the The Hague (2022) and elsewhere.

Danilov Monastery, Moscow

https://www.facebook.com/100064776424443/posts/994364176066121/?rdid=v0uWQM2tEqHBOma7# https://archive.ph/jBs0m https://archive.ph/4oKHW
https://www.dommoskvy.am/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C/3661 https://archive.ph/rWK5U
https://yerkramas.org/article/97077/istoriya-armyan-moskvy/ https://archive.ph/mqIX5

http://parliament.am/news.php?cat_id=2&NewsID=7679&year=2015&month=7&day=1 Բրեստում բացվել է հայ զինվորների հիշատակը հավերժացնող խաչքար https://archive.ph/XSWTy

http://diaspora.gov.am/en/pages/76/norway In 2007, a khachkar was erected in Bergen in memory of a friend of the Armenian people, the great humanist Fridtjof Nansen, and the victims of the Armenian Genocide. https://archive.ph/xcXtv

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/21851/ A khachkar in memory of Nansen and victims of Armenian Genocide to be installed in Norway https://archive.ph/gdEd3

https://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2016/03/16/President-Serzh-Sargsyan-Cyprus-opening-Armenian-khachkar President Serzh Sargsyan in Nicosia attended the ceremony of unveiling the cross-stone which symbolizes the Armenian-Cypriot friendship

Museums

Khachkars have been acquired by or donated to many museums or temporarily displayed at exhibitions around the world, such as at the British Museum (London), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Vatican Museums, Louvre (Paris), Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg),

https://www.facebook.com/589228257845718/posts/4782298091872026/ Хачкар. XIII–XIV века. Из коллекции Государственного Эрмитажа. Фото: Армянский музей Москвы https://archive.ph/RLsC1

http://www.museum.ru/N6414 хачкар (дословно "крест-камень") https://archive.ph/taNem

Эрмитаж вспоминает Иосифа Орбели Мемориальный зал академика Орбели в Эрмитаже, где проходила акция, отдан памятникам культуры и искусства Армении. Постоянная экспозиция армянского искусства охватывает период от I века до XIX столетия. Основные материалы относятся к эпохе средневековья. Среди них произведения торевтов киликийской Армении XII-XIII веков, фрагменты архитектурного убранства зданий (XI-XIV веков), а также поклонный камень — "хачкар". Особое место на выставке занимают образцы средневековой монументальной живописи и коллекция книжной миниатюры.

Museum of the Bible (Washington, D.C.), National Museum of Ethnology (Osaka, Japan), Pushkin Museum (Moscow).

Conservation and threats

In Armenia

In Armenia... erosion, displacement

Խաչքար (Պավղոս և Քաղաք կազմողներ)

Hripsime concrete example

Makaravank, Tavush

Առինջի խաչքարադաշտում կարող ենք թույլ չտալ Ջուղայի խաչքարադաշտի կոտորածը https://hetq.am/hy/article/103255

https://hushardzan.am/archives/28597 Վայոց ձորի մարզում կայծակի հետևանքով խաչքար է վնասվել: 13-րդ դարի արձանագիր խաչքարը գտնվում է մարզի Կարմրաշեն վարչական շրջանում: Վնասված խաչքարը նկատել են պատմական միջավայրի պահպանության Վայոց ձորի մարզի աշխատակիցները շրջայցի ժամանակ: https://web.archive.org/web/20230629123624/https://hushardzan.am/archives/28597

https://x.com/simonforco/status/1803128056418279578 As Azerbaijan continues destroying the most unique expressions of Armenian identity — sacred khachkars — Armenia’s leader said today that there are too many Armenian khachkars. No context can justify such destructive & dangerous derangement. Jun 18, 2024

Turkey and Azerbaijan

In Turkey and Azerbaijan, where Armenian culture heritage is endangered, khachkars have been widely targeted along with churches and monasteries.

A large number of khachkars in historically Armenian-populated lands in Turkey were destroyed during and after the Armenian genocide. Even decades later khackars continue to be destroyed. In one example, Narek... e.g. Narekavank The scholar James R. Russell, who visited the monastery site in 1994 and 1997, was told by local Kurdish villagers that a 10th-century khachkar (cross stone) was destroyed by the Turkish police.[18]

https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/1861892055.html Even in contemporary Istanbul, historic Armenian churches and graveyards continue to be neglected and vandalized. In recent years there have been reports of surviving khachkars being smashed and their rubble removed.

In Azerbaijan, the destruction of Armenian cemetery in Julfa all of Nakhichevan https://hyperallergic.com/482353/a-regime-conceals-its-erasure-of-indigenous-armenian-culture/

https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-julfa-cemetery-destruction-unesco-cultural-heritage/30986581.html When The World Looked Away: The Destruction Of Julfa Cemetery

https://iwpr.net/global-voices/azerbaijan-famous-medieval-cemetery-vanishes

Timbuktu, Djulfa and Bamiyan were attacked by the very power-holders that were supposed to protect them, arguably making these cases “crimes against humanity.” The victims weren’t just the stones, but also the communities who considered them sacred. https://www.amnestyusa.org/when-does-targeting-monuments-become-a-human-rights-abuse/

Artsakh post-2020 https://www.evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/artsakh-s-cultural-heritage-under-threat According to a detailed January 2021 report by the Artsakh Human Rights Defender’s office, 161 churches and monasteries have come under Azerbaijani control, including 56 in Hadrut, 42 in Karvachar (Kelbajar), 26 in Kashatagh, 13 in Askeran, 9 in Martakert, 9 in Martuni, and 6 in the Shushi district. The report listed 591 khachkars

https://web.archive.org/web/20220603080344/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ In a resolution on “Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan / Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” adopted on September 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stated, “The long running conflict has had a catastrophic impact on the cultural heritage and property of the region, for which both Armenia and Azerbaijan have a responsibility.” PACE condemned the damage “deliberately caused to cultural heritage during the 6-week war, and what appeared to be the deliberate shelling of the [Holy Savior Cathedral] in Shusha and the destruction or damage of other churches and cemeteries during and after the conflict.” The resolution also stated PACE remained “concerned, in the light of past destruction, about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the Dadivank monastery, and cross-stones and other forms of cultural heritage which have returned under Azerbaijani control.”

https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=29401&lang=en the Assembly: 18.3. remains concerned, in the light of past destruction, about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the monastery in Khutavank/Dadivank, cross-stones and other forms of cultural heritage which have returned under Azerbaijan control;

Arakel/Arakyul https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/destruction-of-a-khachkar-in-arakel-village-of-hadrut-region/ https://fip.am/en/14568

Today, khachkars (some a millennium old) face destruction in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Elsewhere

Armenian khachkars have been vandalized in several locations, including in Cardiff, Wales (2008), Budapest, Hungary (2008), Glendale, California (2010), Bandol, France (2019), Denver, Colorado (2020), Brussels, Belgium (2022).

Restored https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/armenian-genocide-memorial-restored-vandalism/73-556d48c8-e374-4b7e-a842-440c335d9460

Azerbaijani revisionism

Խաչքարերը հակագիտական խեղաթյուրումների առարկա [3] Babken Arakelyan and Սահակյան, Արծրունի (1986)

Ghazinyan, Aris (23 July 2011). "Cross Scandal: Opening of Armenian khachkar exhibition in Paris turns into a politicized debate with UNESCO". ArmeniaNow. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011.

During and after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijani social media accounts and TV channels claimed khachkars are "artificially aged."

https://monumentwatch.org/hy/alerts/%d5%a1%d5%a4%d6%80%d5%a2%d5%a5%d5%bb%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5%a1%d5%af%d5%a1%d5%b6-%d5%b0%d5%a5%d6%80%d5%a9%d5%a1%d5%af%d5%a1%d5%b6-%d5%a6%d5%a1%d5%be%d5%a5%d5%b7%d5%bf%d5%a8-%d5%b0%d5%a1%d5%b5%d5%a5%d6%80/

Influence

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41826-022-00049-x The only equivalent stone-carved decorations in the closest neighboring society are traceable to Armenia, seen on mausoleums, khachkars and churches.

The Tombstone of Sultan Oways Jalayeri and its Inscription. A Moradi - Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 2023 https://discovery.researcher.life/article/tombstone-of-sultan-oways-jalayeri-and-its-inscription/4af943c98aa936018024e7bd3f42483c

Sultan Oways tombstone

One might suggest that Sultan Oways' tombstone is specifically linked to khachkars in terms of shape but not in design, as khachkars are usually grander and more complex in decorative repertoires. Moreover, khachkars are erected for personages whose identities are no longer remembered or discoverable (Mnatsakanyan 1958). The tombstone of Sultan Oways represents an iconographical modification in using Arabic inscription instead of the geometric patterns that are dominant in both khachkars and tombstones in Akhlat. With regards to the decoration, khachkars are richer since the only graphic symbolism Islam had at its disposal was Arabic script, hence Sultan Oways' tombstone and those in Akhlat do not compete with Armenian traditions in their symbolism.

four khachkars in Adana Archaeology Museum https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/en/journal/art-sanat/article/adana-muzesindeki-hackarlar

Tombstones of Ahlat

• Russell, James R. (1987). Zoroastrianism in Armenia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-96850-9.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/353/mode/1up?view=theater Armenian khatchkars were certainly copied on Muslim tombstones at Ahlat (((The Tombstones of Ahlat the Urartian and Ottoman citadel))) in the basin of Van, and Armenian building methods were widely used, in the same area, for Mongolian türbs (mausoleums). This artistic counter-exchange perhaps led the Armenians to remember the türbs when they built some of their drums in Vaspurakan, in the late Middle Ages.

J. M. Rogers

Rogers, Michael. (2000). "The Tombstones of Ahlat and Later Mediaeval Armenian Khachkars, Interrelations and Interactions (Ahlat Mezartaşları ve Geç Ortaçağ'da Kaç karlar: İlişkiler ve Etkileşimler", ULUSLARARASI "SANATTA ETKİLEŞİM" SEMPOZYUMU, 25-27 KASIM, ANKARA 1998, BİLDİRİLER, Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası, 206-209.

Recognition

[khachkars] They are a point of ethno-religious pride by many Armenians, who perceive the khachkar as a beautiful physical representation of Armenian culture through art and religion.

Art critic Jason Farago described khachkars as "perhaps the most distinctive artworks of the Armenian Middle Ages." In 2010 the UNESCO inscribed "Armenian cross-stones art" to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Pope John Paul II noted that khachkars are a "striking feature" of Armenia, which testify the Armenians' "steadfast fidelity to the Christian faith." In a letter to Catholicos Karekin I, he wrote: "It is most significant that everywhere in Armenia one finds khatchkar[s], those massive stones representing the glorious Cross of the Saviour. Throughout your history they have been carved and placed wherever Armenians wished to acclaim or invoke their Redeemer. These khatchkar[s] have become a special symbol of the trials and humiliations which the Armenian people have had to suffer." During his visit to Armenia, Pope Francis said khachkars "recount a singular history bound up with rugged faith and immense suffering, a history replete with magnificent testimonies to the Gospel, to which you are heir."

Pashinyan։ The cross-stone is a unique manifestation development of Armenian culture; it is one of the most characteristic symbols of the Armenian identity. Having behind more than thousands years of history, the cross-stone is also a contemporary cultural phenomenon.

Pashinyan։ This Cross-Stone – Khachkar symbolizes the Armenian understanding of peace and resilience and constant struggle for peace, be it in Armenian highlands and elsewhere.

Pashinyan։ Khachkar is a masterpiece and symbol of Armenian culture, its essence and has in itself the message of peace, carved in the stone that remains intact during the centuries. This is why the Khachkar was chosen as a gift to the Peace palace to symbolize generations of Armenians, who contributed to the peace in the World.

Armenian stamps https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/33293.pdf

https://acmcu.georgetown.edu/2013/11/04/armenia-sacra-a-forgotten-bridge-between-east-and-west/ For those of us who know little of the history of Armenia, this exhibition provided a context for this culture told through visual evidence ranging from monumental katchkars —upright stone slabs carved with cross-centered lace patterns— and carved capital to fascinating manuscript illuminations and reliquaries to liturgical objects. Diane Apostolos-Cappadona https://web.archive.org/web/20220325090721/https://acmcu.georgetown.edu/2013/11/04/armenia-sacra-a-forgotten-bridge-between-east-and-west/

S. Res. 49: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Arms Control,

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on Arms Control, Oceans, and International Environment · 1977 · ‎Full view · ‎More editions Khachkars are intricate monuments which embellish churches or stand in “ forests ” of religious monuments . There is an unmistakable sacred value attached to them by the

sources

major

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/009182960403200303 Art, Theology, and Contextualization: The Armenian Orthodox Experience Khach'kars

Armenian stone crosses (khach 'kars) carry engraved ornamental images, and they deserved to be treated as a separate category because they are so unique and integral to Armenian Christianity.
It is no wonder that the khach 'kar is considered one of the most original manifestations of the religious heritage of the Armenian people. Only in neighboring Georgia, and for some obscure reasons in distant Ireland, do we find similar stone crosses. Richardson has conjectured that "both groups [Armenian and Irish] spring from a common prototype" (1988:577) prevalent between the fifth and seventh centuries.

READ ALL

• Thierry, Jean-Michel; Donabédian, Patrick (1989) [1987]. Armenian Art. Translated by Celestine Dars. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-0625-2.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/n10/mode/1up?view=theater preface by publisher ANNE DE MARGERIE: They are a rallying point for a people united by a symbol of a common faith.

covered throughout https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/613/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/34/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

Above all, however, was the cult of the Cross. This cult was of two kinds: the Sign of Christ ( Ngan in Armenian), symbol af His victory over death, commemorative of the redemptory sacrifice of the Passion. By analogy, the Sign was used as the symbol of victory over the infidels, as a protection against evil. The other form is that of the true cross, the « Holy Wood », a real relic discovered by St. Helena in 326 and retaken from the Persians by Heraclius in 630. Small pieces of this trophy, often kept in sumptuous, cross-shaped reliquaries, were particularly coveted for their healing powers. This 1s also the case for the Varag cross brought from Rome by Hripsime, of the Aparank cross presented by Emperors Basil and Constantine, and the Cicatn cross given by Emperor Heraclius. Moreover, the cross has been depicted on stone steles, khatchkars, of which thousands were erected in Armenian lands, and of which a rather large number still extist.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/38/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

ARMENIANS have produced great artists in two main areas — architecture and illuminations, in which their abilities and creativity are best expressed, but other art forms such as sculpted steles (khatchkars) should not in the least be neglected.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/40/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

Eastern sculpture is closely linked to eastern architecture, but the Armenians have extended its use in a very original manner in decorating the steles and khatchkars already mentioned.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/123/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/124/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar K uarcHkARS were a type of stele that first appeared at this period.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/165/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar Also in western Siunia we find the earliest khatchkars, of which there are two kinds:

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/167/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/168/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar The type of khatchkar with a flowered band already mentioned seems to have been seen for the first time at Hofomos............

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/170/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar A great number of g'* to 12% century khatchkars are found in this kingdom, and in particular in Gogaren,

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/178/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/201/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

ScuLPTURE became more prominent than ever in the 13° and 14" centuries. Always carved in bas-relief, it was still subject to the need to decorate architectural features, but the multiplication of khatchkars gave the craftsmen a degree of independence. Iconography and styles denote constant exchanges between sculptors and painters, who were often the same man (Momik). 

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/205/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

Against this, another school upheld Armenian stylistic traditions, and the vardapet Momik is the best exponent of this style. He realized the sculptures at Areni (1321), that of several khatchkars, and probably the lower tympanum of the jamatoun at Noravank'. The figures, although in shallow relief, are at ease, sometimes almost lyrical, faces are expressive, heads in proportion to the bodies, the folds of the drapes flowing and realistic. There are richly decorated backgrounds, covered with vine scrolls or, on khatchkars, finely carved hike lace. Momik is relatively well known, so many other works have been attributed to him (G. Hovsep'ean, or Hovsp'yan), as Spitakawor, but we think this is erroneous.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/205/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars

KHATCHKARS. From the 13% century, khatchkars became of foremost importance among Armenians. There were thousands of them standing іп graveyards or embedded in monastery walls. They are covered, even excessively, with a wealth of motifs, illustrating the amazing skills of some sculptors. The variety of the motifs makes it difficult to analyze them, and any attempt of classification has so far been in vain.  ....

[to p. 207]

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/212/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar a door from the monastery at Tatt'ew, which is sculpted like a khatchkar

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/262/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars Butipines have hardly any sculptures (St. Bartholomew at Afbak, Kaposivank‘), which were mainly applied to khatchkars, which can be geographically catalogued as follows: — The school of Upper Armenia produced a series of large khatchkars (up to 16 feet high), on which peacocks are sometimes on either side of a cross decorated with commonplace fretwork, a mouf also used on window arches or on niches, and which could be explained by the influence of illuminations, where it occurs frequently. There were also paleo-Christian models in the area, such as the extant mosaic with facing peacocks, in Erzerum. This type of sculpture is found in the Erzincan area, at Aprank* (1191, 1194), ...

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/312/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars 18th century

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/353/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars Armenian khatchkars were certainly copied on Muslim tombstones at Ahlat in the basin of Van The Tombstones of Ahlat the Urartian and Ottoman citadel

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/n458/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars [Noravank] Several khatchkars of great quality stand inside and in front of the jamatoun. Two of them, signed by Momik and showing Christ enthroned (c.1303), and Deisis (1308) on their upper levels, haye been transferred to Ejmiacin.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/510/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars Amenaprkich

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/512/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars Dadivank: A bell tower west of the gallery, in a rustic style contrasting with the two splendid khatchkars embedded in its walls. They are very similar in style, one of them being dated 1283. The other is probably contemporary.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/530/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar [Garni] The first dated Armenian khatchkar, Queen Katranide’s khatchkar (879), is among the numerous items found in the cemetery and in the village. It is as sparsely and clumsily decorated as the « patron » Sergis’ khatchkar (1195). which has four crosses on it.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/535/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkar [Haxpat] The khatchkar called Amenap'rkic (Qur Saviour), raised against the north wall of the Holy Seal, was sculpted in 1273 for Prince Sadun Arcruni (Ardzruni), It is carved with the Descent from the Cross after an archaic iconography, and with the Ascencion above, works which can be attributed to the sculptor Vahram.

https://archive.org/details/thierry-1989-armenian-art/page/569/mode/1up?view=theater&q=khatchkars Sanahin: Two beautiful khatchkars, one dated 1215, stand at the extremities of the hall.

---

Abrahamian, Levon (2006). Armenian Identity in a Changing World. Mazda Publishers. ISBN 1-56859-185-3.

according to an opinion popular in Azerbaijan, Armenians appropriated Caucasian Albanian history and identity by translating Albanian texts into Old Armenian and destroying the original manuscripts, or by destroying Albanian inscriptions on the medieval khachkar (cross-stone) monuments and thus claiming them to be Armenian (Akhundov, 1983); Arm rebuttal: Arakelian and Sahakian, 1986; Argam Aivazian 1984

"a traditional multifunctional monument, which was widely used also as a gravestone. Presently the khachkar, both in its traditional and modernized form, plays the role of the most prestigious gravestone — this "revival" of the death symbol began in the 1960s after a ong period of relative oblivion. In the 1990s, it also regained its ancient function of the memorial stele."

Vrej Nersessian https://www.getty.edu/publications/virtuallibrary/0892366397.html https://books.google.am/books?id=2vxGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 pp. 110-112

http://www.armenianreligion-am.armin.am/am/Encyclopedia_of_armenian_religion_Khachkar

Maranci

Maranci, Christina (2018a). The Art of Armenia: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190269005.

74-76 144-149 202-203

Maranci, Christina (2018b). "Khachkars". In Evans, Helen C. (ed.). Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages. Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press. p. 90-95. ISBN 9781588396600. OCLC 1028910888.

• Maranci, Christina (1998). Medieval Armenian Architecture in historiography: Josef Strygowski and His Legacy (PhD thesis). Princeton University. OCLC 40827094.

However, it should be said that one tradition of scholarly inquiry has indeed followed Strzygowski's example: one finds, for example, modern scholars who compare Irish cross-stones to Armenian xačk'ars, or comparisons of Armenian churches and medieval monuments in Eastern Europe. However, these discussions are usually limited to the format of a short article, and are for the most part simply formal comparisons accompanied by very little historical documentation. Further, these works do not usually appear in major art historical and Armenological publications, and have not been incorporated into recent surveys on Armenian art and architecture.

Petrosyan

Hamlet Petrosyan Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity (2001), "Symbols of Armenian Identity. The Khachkar or Cross-Stone." https://www.academia.edu/1129885/Symbols_of_Armenian_Identity._The_Khachkar_or_Cross-Stone

Petrosyan, Hamlet (2008). Խաչքար. ծագումը, գործառույթը, պատկերագրությունը, իմաստաբանությունը [Khachkar: The Origins, Functions, Iconography, Semantics] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Printinfo. ISBN 978-99941-836-6-1. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. (archived PDF)

Petrosyan, Hamlet (2015). Khachkar. Yerevan: Zangak. ISBN 978-9939-68-386-7.

review: https://arar.sci.am/publication/43733

Lang

• Lang, David Marshall (1970). Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. London: Allen & Unwin. https://archive.ph/Oe0j2/098ddeb88421e9d2f53263ff3981b870ae2bff04.jpg

226 The Armenians made little attempt to emulate the Greeks and Romans in the realm of statuary, nor did they contribute any vital element to the sculpture in the round of Renaissance Italy. They made up for this by the wonderful friezes and bas-reliefs carved on churches, by their imaginative and splendidly carved khachkars or memorial stones, indeed by the loving care lavished on every detail of thousands of memorable buildings, ranging from wayside fountains and caravanserais to king’s palaces and metropolitan cathedrals.

226 Some archaic khachkars are much simpler, as at Talin, Haridj and Adiaman.! These primitive examples have archaic carvings of divine and biblical personages, strongly resembling those found on ancient Irish high crosses, such as can be seen at Clonmacnoise, Kells and elsewhere. Parallels between Armenian and Celtic sculpture and interlaced work have been drawn by several scholars. There seems to be some shadowy evidence of early evangelization of Ireland by monks and missionaries from Armenia. However, it seems more likely that the similarities remarked on arise from a common fund of artistic taste rooted in the people, and a similar naive and reverent approach to the problems of Christian iconography.

minor

Khachkar https://tert.nla.am/archive/NLA%20AMSAGIR/SovetakanHayastan1945/1969(10).pdf

David Roden Buxton 1934

An essential character of Armenian decoration is the use of purely geometrical patterns, which reach a very high pitch of complexity,excelled only by those elaborated by the Mahommedans in the later Middle Ages. Such ornament is freely applied to the frames of doors and windows, to arcades, and the bases and capitals of pillars. But it reaches its fullest development on the Armenian memorial stone or hachkar [Plates 90, 1; 91]. These stones are strewn on Armenian soil in tremendous numbers, but are quite absent from Georgia.
There appears at first sight a surprising correspondence between the interlacing patterns on Armenian stones, and those of European countries-—those, most notably, of the Scottish cross-slabs, and the high crosses of Ireland. Yet, in spite of occasional identity in the designs, a detailed study reveals important differences. In Celtic interlaced work the basis of the pattern generally shows through quite plainly as a simple plait, the lines showing a tendency to run diagonally over the space covered. In Armenian designs, on the other hand, the basic plait is...

Eastmond, Antony (2017). Tamta's World: The Life and Encounters of a Medieval Noblewoman from the Middle East to Mongolia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-16756-8. p. 218

Wooden door with Arabic text from the church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine; 1227
the thirteenth century is the pair of doors commissioned for the church of the Nativity at Bethlehem by two Armenian priests. Placed at the entrance from the narthex into the main body of the church, the doors had great prominence (they were later removed and only rediscovered and photographed in the 1930s, nailed to the roof beams of the church; they are now lost) [Figs. 68 and 69].45 The form of the doors is predominantly Christian. The large crosses take their designs from Armenian khatchkars, the great stone crosses that were set up across Armenia throughout the Middle Ages.

p. 67

A 6.8-metre-high khatchkar (Armenian cross-stone), decorated with elaborate geometric interlace designs around the central cross, was set up at Kosh in 1195 to celebrate that ‘our land was purified and the churches of Armenia were made radiant’ by Zakare and Ivane’s conquests [Fig. 21].

Secondly, Mandelstam notes that the Armenians are connected to the world of "real things", and we remember a primary tenet of Acmeism, the poetic 'school' of Mandelstam, was this allergy to "metaphysics" or the symbolic slush practised by Russian and European poets of the day: he loves power of stone. The "world of real things" is precisely what he celebrated in Armenia during his trip he found gravestones or khatchkars

The Ruins of Ani

Khatchkar (khachkar). An Armenian carved stone cross. The crosses bear intricate vine and rosette motifs, as well as pagan and Christian iconography. The khatchkar is a dominant Armenian folk art prevalent in the landscape.

Basmadjian, Vartoug (1995). "Light in darkness: The spirit of Armenian nonconformist art". In Rosenfeld, Alla; Dodge, Norton T. (eds.). From Gulag to Glasnost: Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union (PDF). New York: Thames & Hudson. pp. 214–250. OCLC 263631797. p. 227 "The art of medieval Armenia found particularly lively and beautiful expression in illuminated manuscripts (around thirty thousand of which have survived) and in the elaborately carved stone crosses, called khachkar, that punctuate the Armenian landscape."

• Russell, James R. (1987). Zoroastrianism in Armenia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-96850-9.

The votive steles and xackars of Arm. Christianity perhaps preserve the ancient custom of outdoor worship, the cross replacing images like those erected by Antiochus of Commagene or sacred bas-reliefs.[4]
Christian Armenian villagers carved a Cross into the stone, transforming the ancient kudurru into a mediaeval kotogh of the kind most common in Armenia: a xac°kar, 'Cross stone[5]

Leonid Volynsky, 1963 128

Хачкары - это как бы знак благодарности или задабривания напе- ред, они имеют, в сущности, то же значение, что и «матах» - обряд жертвоприношения, сохранившийся в армяно-григорианской церкви еще со времен язычества. 
Khachkars are, in a way, a symbol of gratitude or appeasement towards the divine. Essentially, they carry the same significance as "matakh" - a ritual of sacrificial offering that has persisted in the Armenian-Gregorian Church since the times of paganism.

Telfer, John Buchan (29 May 1891). "Armenia and Its People". Journal of the Society of Arts. XXXIX (2, 010). London: Royal Society of Arts: xxx. 580-581

Ancient cemeteries, in various parts of the country, present a remarkable appearance, the monuments being mostly in the form of a ram, or having a ram's head; and the ingenuity displayed in the variety of crosses, sculptured in relief, is very striking. These tombstones are usually of a reddish sandstone, the finest works being of the 14th and 15th centuries.

https://naasr.org/blogs/event-videos/khachkars-as-worldwide-witnesses-of-armenian-history-spirituality-and-art Khachkars as Worldwide Witnesses of Armenian History, Spirituality, and Art

The world’s only ceramic tile khachkars are at the Mount Zion St. Savior Armenian Church in Jerusalem. Photos by Dr. Hamlet Petrosyan https://twitter.com/simonforco/status/1548801757207076870 https://archive.ph/PeUYQ

The world’s smallest intricately carved khachkar is 2.5mm long: its pedestal is a grain of rice. It was created in 2013 to celebrate the enlisting of khachkar crafting as UNESCO heritage. On display at the Ter-Ghazaryans’ Micro Art Museum in Yerevan. https://twitter.com/simonforco/status/1679932114400350208 https://archive.ph/qEfAb

https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-khachkar-cross-stone-hunter/31569349.html https://web.archive.org/web/20211123055845/https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-khachkar-cross-stone-hunter/31569349.html Armenia's Khachkar Hunter

Alexander Sahinian

http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3496/ http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3510/ http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3522/ http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3535/ http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/3555/

Rafayel Israyelian

http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/9823/ http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/9861/

Yakobson book

ru:Якобсон, Анатолий Леопольдович http://armenianhouse.org/yakobson/armenian-khachkars/ch1.html

http://armenianhouse.org/yakobson/armenian-khachkars/summary.html English summary

http://echmiadzin.asj-oa.am/15212/ Ջուղայի նոր խաչքարերը Հարությունյան, Մարիաննա (2014

https://web.archive.org/web/20201130010111/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01911704/document Can we call the Sudak cross-stones ”khachkar”?

http://www.etd.ceu.edu › gui...PDF Religious Nationalism as an Explanation for the Destruction and Appropriation ... by J Guidon · 2019 — 62 Khachkars are Armenian crosses that are carved from stone by craftspeople

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu › ...PDF TITLE OF THESIS OR DISSERTATION, WORDED EXACTLY ... - Scholars' Bank by P Orte · 2019 — Armenian churches and Khachkars in Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, which has been well- documented since the Nagorno-Karabagh War,1 this sort

https://udspace.udel.edu › ha...PDF THE MULTIVOCALITY OF THE CROSS OF THE SCRIPTURES: CLAIMING ... by C Hutchison · 2019 — earliest khachkar dates to the late ninth century with the height of examples ... See Christina Maranci, “Khachkars,” in Armenia: Art, Religio

Small mural khachkars in medieval Armenian communities of Crimea, Galicia, Podolia, and Bessarabia P Donabédian - На межi мiж Сходом i Заходом. On the …, 2016 - halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr … towards the East, like the monumental khachkars of Armenia, but are mounted into the … Their decoration presents mainly the same kind of cross-tree of life, as on the tall khachkars

https://evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/christianity-in-karabakh-azerbaijani-efforts-at-rewriting-history-are-not-new/ Ryszard Kapuscinski calls these khachkars “symbols of Armenian existence, or else boundary markers, …signposts. You can find [them] in the most inaccessible places.”[10] [10] Ryszard Kapuscinski, Imperium. New York: Vintage International, 1994: 43.

https://evnreport.com/author/haroutioun-khatchadourian/ Haroutioun Khatchadourian is an engineer from the Ecole Supérieur d'Electricité (Supelec, Paris, France), specializing in Information Technology and Project Management. In 1984, in parallel to his career, he studied Armenian art history at INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) in Paris with Professor Jean-Michel Thierry. Since then, he dedicated 30 years to scientific expeditions in Armenia, Turkey and Iran in order to conduct research and fieldwork on khachkars. As an independent researcher, he co-authored two publications: "L'art des khatchkars, les pierres à croix arméniennes d'Ispahan et de Jérusalem” (The art of khachkars, Armenian cross-stones from Isfahan and Jerusalem), Paris, Ed. Geuthner, 2014, translated in Armenian in 2019, and "Localités et biens cultuels arméniens dans la Turquie ottoman” (Localities and Armenian worship properties in Ottoman Turkey), Paris, ed. OTC, 2016. He is continuing his fieldwork in Armenia and is working on his next publication on the khachkars of the region of Kotayk.

https://evnreport.com/magazine-issues/memory-back-up-the-security-of-armenias-cultural-patrimony-in-time-of-perennial-war/ the khachkar (stone-cross) has become a codified distillation of Armenian cultural identity

https://www.rferl.org/a/heart-of-stone-armenia-s-first-female-khachkar-carver/31902778.html Heart Of Stone: Armenia’s First Female Khachkar Carver

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43251219 The suggestion that the cross is a tree which actually bears foliage, blossom and fruit is reflected in the khach'k'ar or "living crosses" common amongst Armenian Christians, which have foliage and flowers entwined around them or even growing out of them.

gallery

File:Dowling 1910 Armenian Cross Near Ani.jpg

See also

• Armenian Cross
• Stećak

References

Citations

References