Shativank Monastery

Shativank is situated 4 km to the east of the village Shatin, on the right side of the gorge of the same name. It was built by the order of Smbat, Sahak princes of Syunik and lady Sophia in 929. It consists of a church and other residential blocks of the monks. The church was called St. Sion. The name of the church comes from the name of the Shatik Menakyats, who was the prelate of the Verin Noravank. It was reconstructed in the middle of the 17th century. The initiators were rich merchants from Jugha.

Most of the monuments of the ensemble belong to the ancient period. Those are the dining room, the big and small residence chambers, the sheds, the spring, the water mill, the wheat barns, etc. Many cross stones and manuscripts are also preserved from the ancient period of the existence of the church.

The main construction of the new period is the upright basilica church (1654-56). Later the west vestry and south entrance hall were added to it. The walls of the senior altar bear the fresco the following words are carved in black Armenia letters: “Foot washing”, “Vernatoun”, (raised platform in the church), “Stone Throwing”.

The excavation of the church and its surroundings revealed a lot of important information was collected about the industry of the monk economy in 15-16 centuries. It was the information about the existence iron melting, polished pottery, the production of crystal and glass, heating system. Drinking water was brought to the church with the help of clay pipes from the distance of 3 km.

During its existence Shativank had many monks. There is an inscription on the Tsatour Bridge testifying about it. The bridge was built in 1666 on the way to Shativank. Only the number of the monk members was 90. The ensemble is surrounded by imposing, huge walls rectangular in the plan, semi-circular pyramids, added to the defense capacity of the fence.