The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Tatev Monastery Complex
The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator was built by Prince Philip of Syunik in 848 on the south side of the previously built Church of the Holy Cross. In 1046, the church was completely burned down during the invasion and then rebuilt. The church collapsed during the Gandzak earthquake in 1138 and was completely rebuilt in 1295 during the reign of Bishop Stepanos Orbelian. In 1931, the church was damaged for the time third time after the Zangezur earthquake. It was restored in 1982. The current appearance of the church is the result of restoration work from the 13th century. The composition of the church is a single-nave vaulted hall with a semicircular altar and a gable roof. Despite its modest size, the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator has slender proportions and a very expressive and elegant appearance. Particularly noteworthy is the west entrance facade, where even the drawing of the inscription is inscribed into the ornamental composition of the façade. Measurements of the church were taken in 1979: a restoration project was drawn up under the direction of the architect Avetisyan in 1980 and completed in 1984. This work, similar to the restoration of the Church of St. Paul and Peter, cannot be considered as high-quality. Rainwater seeps into the hall, destroying structures and leaving traces of salt on the roof and walls. In many places on the southern wall, the height of the stones was corrected by trimming the edges of the sculpted stones, which is unacceptable.
The restoration project, developed in 2014–2016, provides for:
- renovation of the church roof.
- restoration of the semicircular wall of the altar to eliminate vertical cracks.
- elimination of one step at the entrance added during the 1980s.
- attachment of newly designed lamps inside the church on the southern and northern walls as well as the design of a new altar curtain.
- replacement of the current church door with a copy of the original door.
