Nor Varagavank, a monastic ensemble, on the territory of the village of Varagavan, district of Berd, region of Tavush, is being renovated. Norayr Khachatryan, the owner of Ideal System, chain stores, donated the money for renovation. According to certain information, a large sum of money has been donated for that purpose, about $1 million. The construction is ordered by the Ministry of Culture; 120 million drams has been given for the first phase of renovation. The renovation has been done poorly, and in that regard, there have been complaints from the district of Berd. The chief of the village of Varagavan, Samvel Manucharyan, said that the renovation had started 4-5 months before and would last for a few years. I asked him about the quality of construction work, distortion of the famous building’s ancient appearance. “Well, architects come and go. I know nothing about
architecture,” the village chief replied. I asked him which organization carried out the renovation. “There are builders from different places; there are from our region, also, from Yeghegnadzor,” Samvel Manucharyan said. Let us note that Serzh Sargsyan came to the monastic ensemble on April 26, 2012, during his visit to the region of Tavush and discussed the issue of its renovation. The monastery was built in 1193-1198 by King David II Kyurikian; later on, his grandson, Vasak II, expanded the monastic ensemble in 1234-1237. It was named “Nor Varagavank,” because Varagavank, a renowned monastery, had been destroyed by Mongols. In 1213, Ghukas, the Abbot of Varagavank, brought here holy relics kept in Varagavank, including a piece of the True Cross brought to Armenia by holy virgins Hripsime and Gayane.
Voskan SARGSYAN
