TALISH / ARUCH

Type: Domed single nave church
Location: 16 miles from Ashtarak and near Aruch Village,
Situated in the Arakatzoden County of Ararat province,
North of Erevan.
Date: 661-682 (VIIth c)
Evidence for date: Inscriptions on the east wall and historian's accounts (Ghewond, Yovhannes Drasxanakertc'i and Step'anos Asoghik).
Important details: Apse is adorned with a scene from Gospel.
State of preservation: Good except for the drum and cupola, damaged by earthquakes.
Reconstruction: Restored during 1946-1948.
Summary & commentary: This church or cathedral (one of the largest in Armenia) is situated near the village of Aruch or Talish on a rocky plateau at the western foot of Mt. Aragac in the district of Arakatzoden near the Ararat province, 16 miles from Ashtarak and 55 km. northwest of Erevan. (coord. 40-18/44-07). The church is named St. Grigor and is a unique example of Armenian architecture. It is a domed-hall church or a one-aisle church. According to historians Ghewond, Yovhannes Drasxanakertc'i, and Step'anos Asoghik, the church and adjoining building for residence was commissioned by Prince Grigor Mamikonian and his wife Heline during the second half of the 7th Century (661-682). The east wall of the church contains inscriptions to support this. These historical sources and the study of inscriptions (hepigraphy) tell us that a church and a palace were built for the Mamikonians.

"The old Basilica" - At the beginning of the century, G. Yovsep'ean discovered a capital with acanthus motifs on three sides and a cross set in a medallion on the fourth amongst the remains of an old basilica which has now disappeared. The stylized acanthus leaves are very similar to those on the portals imposts at K'asal and Tekor (end of the 5th century). This capital is kept in the Armenian Museum of History in Erevan. (According to Thierry 1987).

Aruch became a caravansary in the Middle Ages and a citadel in the later Middle Ages. The ruins of the palace were excavated in 1947 and between 1950 and 1952. The remains of two structures of the palace complex of Prince Grigor Mamikonian were found on the south side of the church of St. Grigor.

There is some controversy as to the exact date of the completion of this church because of the reference in the inscription to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine III (641). According to Marr, Harut'yunyan, and Manuc'aryan, it is believed that the is confusion with the emperor Constans II (641-668). Different historians give the completion date as follows: 668 according to Strzygowski, 1918 and Der Nersessian, 1969. 670's according to Mnac'akanyan in Aknark, 1964, and Harut'yunyan 1975. 666 by Manuc'aryan, 1977.

The church was restored during 1946-1948 except for the drum and cupola. The church had been extensively damaged by earthquakes and possibly by its use as a fortress in the 16th and 17th centuries (T'Oramanian, 1948).

Aruch is a one-nave longitudinal domed hall church with an eastern apse flanked by two chambers. It is oblong in shape. Four powerful pilasters projecting from the north and south walls of the church define the central square under the cupola. The supports of the cupola consist of very strong walls perpendicular to the longitudinal walls. The ends of these perpendicular partitions support four large round arches and the four corresponding large pendentives (first dated example of this kind in Armenia). There are two deep triangular inward niches between the apse and the corner rooms, which leave room for three windows in the apse. Light streams inside from many windows. The greatly protruding portals look like porches; a characteristic feature found amongst several buildings of the second half of the 7th century. The archaic cupola, now collapsed, was supported by arches linking the pilasters, and was buttressed by the east and west vaults. The transition from the central square to the circular drum is achieved through the use of pendentives, which still remain. The spacious interior is lighted by a series of large windows on each side. There are portals on the south, west, and north elevations of the church. The western door was particularly unusual because it had four pillars. The sculpted decoration is essentially found on the window arches and the cornices.

The apse at Talish is adorned with a scene from the Gospel. A very tall figure of Christ, only part of which remains, stands on a gem-encrusted pedestal similar to the one shown at Lmbat. The long parchment that He holds unwinds down to the ground, and a verse from the Gospel of John can be read: "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them it is he that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." To the right of Christ, the hem of a tunic and the foot of a figure, probably an angel, are visible. The words inscribed on the scroll are extracted from Jesus' last words to His disciples; they are addressed to the apostles who were depicted on the lateral walls of the apse. Only those on the north side have been preserved, the first five standing, faced forward, holding the Gospel, the sixth, in profile, his right hand raised as of to speak. An acanthus scroll adorns the base of the dome and the name, "Step'annos" is written beneath in large uncials. There are traces of a contemporary wall painting in the apse. This represented the Tradiusestio legis with a tall, upright Christ holding a scroll and accompanied by the Apostles standing at a lower level. A scroll of acanthus treated in the antique manner decorates the base of the apse. The name Step'annos, perhaps the painter's, is legible here.
Several fragments of early Christian steles are preserved inside the church, one of them showing an angel placing a crown on the head of a saint. Another, in poor condition, is erected near the northern façade. A standing Virgin and Child seems to be represented on the north side.

The church is constructed of native tuff in shades ranging from rose to brown. The exterior is imposing both in size and height. The walls are rectilinear with the exception of the East End where two deep triangular niches define the perimeter of the apse and are crowned with an ornamental band of three arches.

The eastern façade has a more accentuated decoration typical of the second half of the 7th century. A band that runs above the two niches and a third one in the middle is purely decorative. Some of these arches are lightly rounded. Amongst the carved motifs, we find intersected festoons and bands with zigzags or lozenges, which are a variation of sections of the circle from Iranian and Roman, antique motifs. The band over the windows of the apse is decorated with vine leaf scrolls; the regularity of the curves and the stereotyped manner in which grapes and leaves alternate, demonstrate the stylization and the systematic geometry used in the early Middle Ages. A vertical roll is carved along the four angles of the building. The cornice is oblique with basketwork motifs very common from the half of the 7th century onwards. It has horizontal segments at the end of the gables.

Not too far from the church, the ruins of a complex believed to be Prince Mamikonian' palace, including several rooms, a gallery and a large hall, which was probably used for receptions, was excavated in the 1950's. It had the plan of a basilica, with three pairs of columns defining two square bays in the center. The columns were made of wood and topped by large, stone capitals, which supported a wooden roof. The roofs of the two square bays were perhaps copied from the false cupolas of peasant buildings, which were made of cantilevered beams and a central skylight (v. Harut'yunyan). Two massive capitals have large balusters on either side of the column, on which are carved a circular palm motif and a rosette (a similar work is found in Duin). These capitals are of popular origin rather than a classical Ionic origin. The ruins of a single-naved chapel and of another basilican room lay further south. The few remains of decorative fragments seem to indicate that they were of an earlier date than the palace and the church.

At the junction of the Aruch road and the great medieval road linking Tabriz, Duin and Kars, there are the ruins of a three-naved building oriented north to south, which had angles reinforced by round turrets. It was a "Mountain" type of caravansary. The northern part of the side nave all that remains. It has a barrel and a vault and low arches opening on to the central nave. The building could perhaps be dated somewhere between the 13th and the 19th centuries.
The decoration of the apse at Talish forms a unified whole. Although the apostles are not level with the figure of Christ, they should be seen as standing at His side. The theme of Christ with His apostles is part of the iconographic plan of apsial decoration in the art of the early Middle Ages. Christ is generally depicted reigning in Glory. The only previously known extant example of a monument with the variation showing Him standing is that in the church of Sant'Andrea in Cantabarara, in Rome; the fresco at Talish proves that this variation also existed in the Christian East.

The disappearance of the majority of interior church decoration, and the poor condition of most of the surviving fragments prevents us from acquiring a clear insight into Armenian church paining during this early period.

Aruch belongs to the important group of aisleless longitudinal churches having a central cupola almost as wide as the church supported by piers (Pt'ghni (A-0064) instead of free standing pillars, (T'alin A-0023) and (Mren A-2176). Aruch is also one of a series of contemporary Armenian churches showing traces of extensive wall painting (T'alin A-0023), Lmbat (A-0008) and Mren (A-2176)). There are also bands of ornamental sculpture with interlace and floral motifs as at Pt'ghni (A-9964) and Zvart'noc' (A-0006).

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