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The Monastary St Garabed 4th century Armenian church fully destroyed in 1915 - Photo Collection of Bodil Biorn
Surb Karapet Monastery (Մշո Սուրբ Կարապետ վանք) was an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the historic province of Taron, about 30 km northwest of Mush, in present-day eastern Turkey.
Surb Karapet translates to "Holy Precursor" and refers to John the Baptist, whose remains are believed to have been stored at the site by Gregory the Illuminator in the early fourth century.
The monastery subsequently served as a stronghold of the Mamikonians—the princely house of Taron, who claimed to be the holy warriors of John the Baptist, their patron saint.
It was expanded and renovated many times in later centuries. By the 20th century, it was a large fort-like enclosure with four chapels.
Historically, the monastery was the religious center of Taron and was a prominent pilgrimage site. It was considered the most important monastery in Turkish (Western) Armenia and the second most important of all Armenian monasteries after Etchmiadzin. From the 12th century, the monastery was the seat of the diocese of Taron, which had an Armenian population of 90,000 in the early 20th century. It attracted pilgrims and hosted large celebrations on several occasions annually. The monastery was burned and robbed during the Armenian genocide of 1915 and later abandoned.
Its stones have since been re-appropriated by local Kurds for building purposes. Surb Karapet Monastery (Armenian: Մշո Սուրբ Կարապետ վանք, Msho Surb Karapet vank,[A] also known by other names) was an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the historic province of Taron, about 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Mush (Muş), in present-day eastern Turkey.
Surb Karapet translates to "Holy Precursor" and refers to John the Baptist, whose remains are believed to have been stored at the site by Gregory the Illuminator in the early fourth century. The monastery subsequently served as a stronghold of the Mamikonians—the princely house of Taron, who claimed to be the holy warriors of John the Baptist, their patron saint. It was expanded and renovated many times in later centuries. By the 20th century, it was a large fort-like enclosure with four chapels.
Historically, the monastery was the religious center of Taron and was a prominent pilgrimage site. It was considered the most important monastery in Turkish (Western) Armenia and the second most important of all Armenian monasteries after Etchmiadzin. From the 12th century, the monastery was the seat of the diocese of Taron, which had an Armenian population of 90,000 in the early 20th century. It attracted pilgrims and hosted large celebrations on several occasions annually. The monastery was burned and robbed during the Armenian genocide of 1915 and later abandoned.
In 1827 Kurdish gangs seized and looted the monastery, destroying the furniture and manuscripts. However, the monastery prospered at the beginning in 1862 when Mkrtich Khrimian became its father superior and, simultaneously, the prelate of Taron. Khrimian sought to reform the way donations were handled by establishing a council which would finance community projects.
During the Armenian genocide of 1915 the monastery housed a large number of Armenians escaping the deportations and massacres. Turkish forces and Kurdish irregulars sieged it, but the Armenians within resisted for more than two months.
According to contemporary reports, around five thousand Armenians were massacred "near the wall of the monastery", while the monastery itself was "sacked and robbed". According to the American missionaries Clarence Ussher and Grace Knapp, the Turks slaughtered three thousand men, women, and children, gathered at the courtyard of the monastery "on command of a German officer"! — Aleksandr Nazaryan.
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