GAGIKASHEN

Type: Tetraconch church
Location: Northwest part of the city of Ani
Date: early XIth c, about 1000AD
Evidence for date: texts
Important details: statue of architect, now lost
State of preservation: in ruins
Reconstructions:
Summary: The church is located in the northwest part of the city of Ani. (Monument #15 on the map by Marr).

It was constructed by Trdat A.D. 1000 for King Gagik according to the reports of Armenian historians, including the contemporary Step'anos Asolik, Samuel of Ani (12th century) and Kirakos Ganjakec'i (13th century). An inscription fragment also confirms that Gagik commissioned the church. The descriptive passage in Step'anos Asolik states that King Gagik had the church built with the same dimensions and design as the church of Zuart'noc'. One copy of Step'anos' history (Erevan Madenataran ms. #2865) names Trdat as the architect, the architect of the Cathedral of Ani.

In 1013, the church underwent extensive repairs, according to the dated inscription on the southeast pier. Damage on the west side necessitated strengthening the supports of the dome (t'oramanyan, Mnac'akanyan). The church collapsed subsequently (13th century?) possibly because of an earthquake (T'oramanyan). Only the lower courses of the walls, pillars, columns, a few capitals, and many fragments of the sculpture remained intact. In 1905-1906, the church was excavated by N. Marr. More than 100 inscription fragments were discovered, some pieced together by Marr and K'alant'aryan. A standing portrait of King Gagik I, arms outstretched to hold the model of his church, was found in the ruins. The lower part of the church model was also found. Both are now lost. The portrait is of significance as the only known free-standing Armenian statue carved entirely in the round. The model, its top tiers reconstructed from fragments, provided evidence for the reconstruction of both S. Gregory and its prototype Zuart'noc (T'oramanyan). The collapse of the church has been attributed to the lack of sufficient support for the superstructure of such a large church in a country prone to earthquakes (T'oramanyan, Mnac'akanyan). The individual standing supports were not constructed with large blocks of dressed stone but with a core of smaller stones, unlike the usual building practices of Armenian architects of this period.

S. Gregory was a tetraconch church inscribed within a circle, on a stepped foundation and with a central dome resting on four massive piers. A circular ambulatory encompasses the four conchae which were open exedrae, each with six columns. The exterior was polygonal with 36 sides. According to reconstruction by T'oramanyan, Marut'yan, and Mnac'akanyan, the church had three tiers made up of cylinders of diminishing size set one above the other. Each level was ornamented with blind arcades set on double columns, and enclosing narrow windows. The arches of the lower level were surmounted by a band of sculpture and a row of round windows. The architect followed the plan of Zuart'noc (a-0006, 7th cent.), but introduced some new features. He increased the central cruciform space and the number of planes of the exterior (from 32 to 36) and omitted the rectangular east chamber (one was added to S. Gregory subsequently) as found at Zuart'noc. He also changed the proportions of the interior elements, constructed an exedra for the east apse instead of a solid wall, and used different decorative elements in the reliefs.

BROSSET, M. Les Ruines d'Ani, St. Petersbourg, 1861, pp. 105-106.
RIVOIRA, G.T. Architettura Musulmana: Sue Origini e Suo Sviluppo, Milan, 1914, p. 238.
STRZYGOWSKI, J. Die Baukunst der Armenier und Europa, 2 Vols., Vienna, 1918, pp. 119-121, 453-454.
T'ORAMANYAN, T'OROS, Nyut'er Haykakan Cartarapetut'yan Patmut'yan, 2 Vols., 1942-1948, Vol. I, pp. 270-281, Vol. 2, pp. 47-48, 106-107, 257-259.
LEVONYAN, G. "Cartarapet Trdat Anec'in ev ir Gorcere", (The Architect Trdat of Ani and his Works), Ejmiacin, No. 1-2, 1949, pp. 68-69.
JAKOBSON, I.A. Ocerki Po Istorii Armianskoi Architektury (Essay on the History of Armenian Architecture), Moscow and Leningrad, 1950, pp. 68-69.
HOVHANESIAN, K. The Architect Trdat, Erevan, 1951, pp. 59-83.