Tsiranavor Church of Ashtarak, Medieval church in Ashtarak, Armenia.
Tsiranavor Church is a triple-aisled basilica built in the 5th century, with a horseshoe apse flanked by two rectangular chambers. The south portal remains open while the west portal is blocked; the southern aisle's columns and two massive piers still stand. The vaulted ceiling survives only in part at the west end.
This church was built in the 5th century and is one of the oldest structures in Ashtarak. In the 17th century, fortifications were added with doubled north and west walls fitted with gun slots.
According to the legend, three sisters in Ashtarak loved the same man, Prince Sargis. The two elder sisters threw themselves into the gorge, one in an apricot-orange dress and one in red, and the youngest followed in white; Sargis became a hermit. Three churches at the gorge edge were named for the dress colours: Karmravor (red), Tsiranavor (apricot) and Spitakavor (white).
The church stands at the edge of the gorge in Ashtarak and is reached through the streets of the surrounding neighbourhood; it can also be seen from Surp Sarkis across the gorge. The building has no roof and its south wall is gone, so the interior is open to the sky. Restoration work in 1963-64 uncovered walls, piers, arches and a khachkar.
The name plaques at Tsiranavor and Spitakavor are swapped: Russian markers placed inside the two buildings were adopted by newer EU-sponsored information plaques, so the signs contradict what residents say. Locals hold that Spitakavor is the white 5th-century church and Tsiranavor the apricot-colored one, though sources also date Tsiranavor's construction to the 5th century with renovations between 540 and 557.
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