A SMALL PARADISE CALLED--- MUGHNI

  The sun in that place always greets visitors with a kiss. Time in that place comes to a halt. The church bells in that place make the flowers bow their heads. One of Armenia’s sacred sites is in that place, the Church of St. Gevorg in Mughni. 

            The Mughni church is surrounded by a heavenly garden maintained and taken care of by some village people, not for payment.

  While we were strolling in the courtyard and helping ourselves to the wet nuts of the walnut-tree, we were joined by the pastor of the church, Father Yeghishe  Barseghian. He told us that he takes part in the grape harvest every year and, as the church tradition has gone for centuries, performs the blessing of grapes in the courtyard of the monastery.

 In the Middle  Ages the monastery was quite famous for the relics of St. Gevorg (St. George), one of the Pan-Christian Saints. The church of St. Gevorg was built on the site of an earlier edifice as one of the remarkable structures of 17^th century Armenian architecture. The first reference to the church can be found in two records, the copies of which date back to 1278 and 1280. A perpetual fire burns near the relics of the Saint with an entrance limited to those who bear the name Gevorg. Only those people are allowed to add oil to the fire.

  The Monastery of Mughni was rebuilt in the 17^th century. From 1632-1655, the prior of the monastery, Bishop Martyros demolished the old church and built a new four-pillared church with adjacent structures and walls. Unfortunately, that church did not survive long since it was assembled with untreated stone. In 1664, the new prior of the monastery and the cousin of Bishop Martyros, Hovhannes, who was one of the outstanding religious figures of the time, sanctioned the complete demolition of the unsightly old church and proceeded with the construction of a new one with finished stone, sponsored by Hakob Jughayetsi. The construction was accomplished in 1670. The church we see today is in the shape it was built back then, only with partial renovations.

   The Church of St. Gevorg is located in the central part of the monastery complex enclosed within a mighty wall. Adjacent building stand closer to the walls including the refectory, the warehouse and a freshwater spring. The church itself is a rectangular domed basilica made of  tuffa  stone with incredible black and orange hues. Concurrently

With the church, the hall with the triple-dome rotund bell tower and  twelve pillars were built. Special attention was given to the tympanum of the western portal decorated with an ornament of luxuriant foliage and vases typical of West European baroque style, allegedly reflecting Armenia’s trade ties with Western Europe.

  Interestingly, as opposed to other medieval structures of this kind that have window openings towards the four corners of the world, the windows at Mughni do not obey this rule. The distinctive striped drum below the conical cupola is externally decorated with five belts of orange-red stones and, alternating above the windows, the carvings of the Cross and the symbols of the Four Evangelists; man, bull, lion and eagle.

   The Mysteries of Mughni 

   There are several cross- tones in the backyard. The oldest of them dates back to 932 and the newest one was carved in 1975. Mysteriously enough, this last “Khachkar” was placed in the yard at night, and therefore nobody knows who by.

    A secret passageway, one kilometer long, was built from Mughni to the Kasakh River canyon to serve for escape in dangerous situations, to save the manuscripts and to carry water to the monastery.

  In older times the church was a legendary sacred site. People with various diseases have healed themselves in the church. Allegedly, even Muslims have come here to make sacrifices.

   The Church of St. Gevorg has a Sunday school today. It also has a newspaper that leads the struggle with sectarianism. During our conversation, Father Yeghishe recalled that in older days it was extremely difficult to bring the Shlushkan Gospel (also know as the Mughni Gospel, 11^th century) to Mughni from Matenadaran, the institute and Museum of Ancient Manuscripts. Now it is brought every year. St. Gevorg’s Day is observed on the last Saturday of September.

  A nice tradition is observed here. Before deciding to get married, young couples visit the Church of St. Gevorg to get the Saint’s blessing and only then go home to break the news to their parents.