Armenian Cathedral of Tbilisi, Armenian monastery in Tbilisi, Georgia
The Vank Cathedral, also called Pashavank, was a triple-nave Armenian basilica of solid brick with equal naves, barrel vaults under saddle roofs and three cupolas above the east spans, the central one tallest. Its dodecagonal drums had twelve long windows under blind arches, and conical umbrella-style domes topped them. Hovnatan Hovnatanian painted the interior in 1789.
Founded in the 14th century by the grandsons of Baron Umek, who had come to Tbilisi from Karin in the 13th century, the church was restored in 1480 and more extensively in 1789. An inscription below a window records its erection by Ghoulants Khodja Giorgi in the reign of Vakhtang VI (1719–24). It served as the seat of the Armenian archbishop in 1914 and was demolished by the Soviets in 1930.
The name Pashavank comes from a legend recorded by John Buchan Telfer in 1876: Georgians said a Turkish pasha who converted to Christianity built the church. The Armenian name Vank means simply "monastery". The interior was painted in 1789 by Hovnatan Hovnatanian, and the church was the seat of the Armenian archbishop in 1914.
The cathedral no longer stands: it was demolished in 1930 and the site is now occupied by secondary school No. 104 at 3 Giorgi Atoneli Street. Only the bell tower survived and can still be seen beside the school. Look for it from the street; there is no church interior to visit.
The cathedral was demolished in 1930 on Beria's orders during Tbilisi's socialist reconstruction; only its bell tower survived and still stands beside School No. 104 on Giorgi Atoneli Street. The site is now occupied by the school building.
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