Kobayr monastery

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title: "Kobayr monastery" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["eastern-orthodox-monasteries-in-armenia", "tourist-attractions-in-lori-province", "christian-monasteries-established-in-the-1170s", "oriental-orthodox-congregations-established-in-the-12th-century", "buildings-and-structures-in-lori-province", "1171-establishments"] description: "Monastery" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayr_monastery" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Monastery ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox religious building"]

Field	Value
building_name	Kobayr monastery
Քոբայր
image	Kobayr Monastery. Refectory and bell tower.jpg
image_size	275px
map_type	Armenia
relief	yes
map_size	300
location	near Tumanyan, Lori Province,
ARM Armenia
geo
religious_affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
architecture	yes
architecture_style	Armenian
year_completed	1171
::

| building_name = Kobayr monastery Քոբայր | infobox_width = | image = Kobayr Monastery. Refectory and bell tower.jpg | image_size = 275px | caption = | map_type = Armenia | relief = yes | map_size = 300 | location = near Tumanyan, Lori Province, ARM Armenia | geo = | religious_affiliation = Armenian Apostolic Church | region = | state = | province = | territory = | prefecture = | sector = | district = | cercle = | municipality = | consecration_year = | status = | functional_status = | heritage_designation = | leadership = | website = | architecture = yes | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = Armenian | general_contractor = | facade_direction = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1171 | construction_cost = | specifications = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = | nrhp = | added = | refnum = | designated = Kobayr () is a 12th-century Armenian monastery located in the village Kobayr, directly across the road from the town of Tumanyan, within Lori marz, Armenia.

History

The monastery was built on a brink of a deep gorge, in 1171, by the Kyurikid princes, a junior branch of the Bagratuni royal house of Armenia.

Kobayr was one of the famous spiritual, cultural and literary centers of Northern Armenia in the developed Middle Ages.

In the 1270s, the monastery was acquired by the Zakarians, a noble Armenian dynasty at the service of Georgian royals. The Zakarians converted Kobayr into a Chalcedonian monastery, as a result of which the monastery stayed under the tutelage of the Georgian Orthodox Church for some time. This explains several Georgian inscriptions found on the walls of the monastery, which exist alongside the monastery's original Armenian inscriptions. The monastery houses the tomb of Prince Shanshe Zakarian, son of Zakare II Zakarian. A bell tower in the middle of the complex was built in 1279 to house the tombs of Zakarian and his wife Vaneni. The monastery is currently undergoing renovation funded by the government of Armenia with the assistance of the government of Italy. The ruins of the main church in the monastery contain frescoes of Christ and the twelve apostles as well as the Church Fathers and other Christian figures.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Shahnshah's_Queen,_Shahnshah_and_kindred_in_military_uniform_as_donators,_Kobayr_Monastery_Chapel-Aisle.jpg" caption="Shahnshah]]'s wife Vaneni (left), her husband [[Shahnshah Zakarian]] (middle), and a kindred in military uniform (right), as donators at the [[Kobayr Monastery]] Chapel-Aisle."] ::

Mural paintings

Mural paintings, which previously likely covered all the inside walls of the monastery, now only remain in the Big Church and the Chapel/Aisle adjoining it from the north. The style is mainly Byzantine of the 11th century CE. Inscriptions indicate that the building was consecrated in 1282, by the monk George who was the son of Shahnshah, of the Zakarian family.

The family members of the Zakarian family, including Zakare, Ivane, Shahnshah or Khutlubuga, are thought to have been depicted in the murals of the Haghpat Monastery, and inside the arches at the Kobayr Monastery (1282). Khutlubuga in particular is directly attested through an inscription and a relatively well preserved mural, reinforcing the suggestion that other close members of the dynasty were also depicted with him.

Image:Kobayr Christ.jpg|Christ depicted in fresco. Church Image:Kobayr Monastery Fresco.jpg|Frescoes of Saints. Church File:Kobayr fresco (men in uniform).jpg|Kobayr fresco (men in uniform), Chapel File:Kobayr fresco 2.jpg|Fresco at Kobayr Monastery, painted in the 1270s. Chapel.

Gallery

Image:Kobayr-raffi kojian-DCP 4499.JPG|Church frescoes before reconstruction. File:1_Kobayr_Monastery,_Tumanyan,_Armenia.jpg|View of monastery from direction of Tumanayan File:Kobayr_monastery_9.JPG|View of the Chapel from the belltower File:Qobayr12.jpg|View of remainder of complex from belltower File:Kobayr_Monastery_09.jpg|Belltower, tomb of Shahnshah Zakarian File:Qobayr_2015_aug_pic_71.JPG|View of Tumanayan from belltower File:Քոբայրի_վանական_համալիր_4.jpg|View of belltower - Tumanyan in background Image:Georgian inscriptions (Kobairi) 1.jpg |Georgian inscriptions File:Armenian inscriptions in Kobayr monastery.jpg|Armenian inscriptions

References

გ. კალანდია, ქ. ასათიანი. ქობერის მონასტრის უცნობი ქართული წარწერები. «Art Palace» #3 (01) დაარქივებული 06.03.2016, საიტზე Wayback Machine. 29.07.2011.

References

1. Академия наук СССР. Институт истории материальной культуры. Сектор Средней Азии / Эпиграфика Востока, Выпуски 13-17 / Изд-во Наука., 1960 p.135
2. Л.Меликсет-Бек / Кобер и его армянские и грузинские надписи / Известия Тбилисского государственного университета, 1926 г.
3. (1979). "Фрески Кобайра". Советакан грох.
4. (2021). "The Frescoes of the Haghpat Monastery in the Historical-Confessional Context of the 13th Century". Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art.
5. (2021). "The Frescoes of the Haghpat Monastery in the Historical-Confessional Context of the 13th Century". Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art.
6. (2021). "The Frescoes of the Haghpat Monastery in the Historical-Confessional Context of the 13th Century". Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art.
7. (10 January 2022). "Art and Religion in Medieval Armenia". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
8. (1979). "Фрески Кобайра". Советакан грох.

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