Aghjots Vank, Medieval monastery in Ararat Province, Armenia
Aghjots Vank is a monastic complex in Ararat Province consisting of two churches and a partially collapsed vestibule. The structures sit in a river valley along a tributary of the Azat River within the Khosrov State Reserve.
Local tradition credits Grigor Lusavorich with founding the monastery on the spot where Stepanos, a companion of Saint Hripsime, was martyred around 301. The standing complex was commissioned in 1217 by Prince Grigor Khaghbakian and his wife Princess Zaz, and their son Prince Vasak built the Church of Saints Paul and Peter in 1270. Persian troops sacked it in 1603, the 1679 earthquake ruined it again, and the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–1906 left it permanently in ruins.
The name comes from the abandoned village of Aghjots beside the site. Local tradition holds that Grigor Lusavorich founded the monastery where Stepanos, a companion of Saint Hripsime, was martyred. Inscriptions cover the churches and gavit, and khatchkars from the 12th to 17th centuries stand here, some set into the walls.
Access requires following a dirt track through Khosrov Reserve along the Azat River, roughly 5 km from the entrance at Baiburt. Proper footwear is essential since the path is unpaved and winds through river valley terrain.
The bas-reliefs of Saints Peter and Paul flank the west portal of the Church of Saints Paul and Peter, built in 1270 by Prince Vasak, son of Prince Grigor Khaghbakian and Princess Zaz. They are counted among the exceptional examples of medieval Armenian sculpture.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,690 contributors worldwide.