Unseen Armenia: Ushi/Oushi – Surb Sargis

Later, in 1654, the complex was surrounded by fortified walls. The monastery includes housing for monks, storage areas, a wine press, and other structures to support the monastic community and guests. Ownership of a number of villages provided financial support for the monastery. Earthquakes in 1769 and again in 1827 reduced the complex to ruins. Surb Sargis was an important cultural and spiritual site, which played an important role in Armenian history.

Culture

The first Armenian language book printed on a printing press was the Urbatagirk or Friday Prayer Book published in Venice by Hakob Meghapart in in 1512. The book consisted of 124 pages. Printing an Armenian Bible, however, would require many more pages and would be far more costly.

In the early 1600s, wealthy Armenian merchants from Nor Julfa in Persia offered to fund the printing of an Armenian Bible.

In 1630 both Catholicos Movses III Tatevatsi and the clergy of Nor Julfa in Persia sent letters to the Pope asking for permission to do so in Rome, but the Pope refused this and subsequent requests.

Hovhannes Ankiuratsi, a translator for the Venetian ambassador in Smyrna, suggested that it would be easier to print the Bible in Holland. Avedis Ghlijents, a wealthy Armenian merchant in Amsterdam, paid the expenses that had accumulated so far, and invited his brother, Vartabed Voskan Yerevantsi, a prior (official) of Surb Sargis in Armenia, to take charge of the printing.

Voskan Yerevantsi arrived in Amsterdam 1664 and with the help of some others, completed the job in 1668. He was also responsible for renovations to Surb Sarkis Monastery. Thus Surb Sargis played an important role in the publication of the first Bible in the Armenian language. Five thousand copies were published.

Excavations

In the 1830s visitors to Surb Sargis could view only ruins of the monastery poking through the surface of the soil that had accumulated over the site. Most intact was the small church containing the relic of Surb Sargis. Thanks to the patronage of Archbishop Shahen Ajemian, Dean of Yerevan State University’s Department of Theology, a project to excavate and study the site began in 1999 under the auspices of Armenia’s Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. The project’s lead archaeologist was Dr. Frina Babayan. Repairs to Surb Sargis church and other structures were made and finds documented. Some villagers in Ushi told this author that some government officials stipulated that Archbishop Ajemian should fund this project through them or their departments rather than directly. The archbishop refused, apparently lacking confidence that all the funds would be used for their intended purpose. Thus after three years the project prematurely came to a halt. This was reminiscent of a project I was involved in to help renovate and preserve the Shengavit Archaeological Site in Yerevan, a settlement dating to about 4,000 BC with a small museum sorely in need of refurbishing. When we refused to hand over funds collected from the Diaspora under the auspices of the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA), work on this project had to be halted.

Villagers in Ushi hoped that renovation and preservation of the site would have provided tourism revenue for the village. Plans were in place to widen the road to the monastery thus allowing access by small minibuses. Perhaps amenities could be made available for visitors as well. Intricately carved stones, which were previously excavated, now lie on the ground exposed to the elements. A tall wall near Surb Astvatsatsin is standing, braced up by wooden supports, which undoubtedly will decay and result in the collapse of the wall. This is an immensely impressive and easily accessible site. It allows visitors to visualize life in a medieval Armenian monastery and to look in amazement at wonderful stone carvings. The scenery towards Mt. Ararat is great, even when summer haze obscures the view a bit.

It is hoped that means can be found to resume the excavation, renovation, preservation, and study of Ushi’s Surb Sargis Monastery.

Documentation for this site is on the Internet; search for “Surb Sargis” or “Ushi”. Also Dr. Frina Babayan has published a very informative tri-lingual (Armenian, Russian, English) booklet about the site. It is available from Abril Books in California.