Church of Surb Hovhannes & Zhamatun

 church, ruins, bell tower

Church of Surb Hovhannes (Armenian: Սուրբ Հովհաննես, English: St. John) donated by the Armenian King Smbat III (1020-42), the narthex is larger than the nave itself.

Inscription over the west door of the zhamatun (belltower):

"In the 487th year of the Armenian era (1038) I, Hovhannes shahanshah, son of Gagik shahanshah, donated my orchards in Kulp to my church Surb Hovhannes, which I built with this zhamatun in the monastery of Horomos. Also I granted one hundred loads of salt each year, free of all duty, during the patriarchate of lord Petros and the prelacy of this congregation of father Hovhanness. Now if anyone after us opposes this decree and my grant - he shall be responsible for my sins before God, and shall be cursed in life and in death by the 318 patriarchs who gathered at Nicea. And those who abide by this decree shall be blessed by Christ."

The Hovhannes mentioned in the above inscription is King Hovhannes-Smbat, ruler of Ani between 1020 and 1042. The church of Saint John, the main church of the monastery, was a rectangular domed-hall type. The semicircular dome had a cylindrical drum supported by pendentives, and had a conical external roof. The interior was very plain - however, there were traces of paintings, probably from the 13th century. There were twin windows in the apse, an archaic feature generally found in much earlier churches. The exterior wedge-shaped niches in the north, south, and east facades indicate that the church was intended to be a free-standing structure, unencumbered by the later additions. The absence of these niches in the west facade, together with the very plain appearance of the western doorway, suggest that the zhamatun addition was intended from the outset.
Starting during the 10th century, but mainly from the 13th century onwards, zhamatun extensions began to be added to the western end of Armenian monastic churches. The word zhamatun means "church-house" and they were used as meeting places and as a place to bury the dead (it was forbidden to have burials inside churches).
The zhamatun of the church of Saint John is the most important surviving structure at Horomos, and it is a significant building in the history of Armenian architecture. It is a very early example of a zhamatun, being constructed at roughly the same time as the church and before the 1038 date mentioned on the doorway inscription. It also has a quite exceptional plan and decorative features for this time period, as it is of a design type common from the end of the 12th century.
The roof of the zhamatun is supported by rows of heavy, round arches. These cross the room in both directions and are carried on four massive columns. These columns are thick and squat, have plain, bulbous capitals and bases, and rest on octagonal plinths. The arches divide the ceiling into nine rectangular compartments. The arches over the central axis are taller, giving the interior an east-west emphasis and the appearance of a central nave flanked by aisles.
The ceilings over the "nave" are flat octagons, with the transition from the square bay accomplished via squinches. For the middle compartment the flat ceiling is replaced by an octagonal pyramidal vault ending in an oculus skylight. The oculus is capped externally by a lantern dome set on tall, slender columns. This lantern served as a bell tower. The pyramidal vault resembles an eight-sided funnel, and the flat surfaces of this funnel contain a set of very richly decorated panels, covered in sculpture in low relief. The panel facing east is the most interesting. It is divided into two sections. On the upper half, God is depicted seated, framed by an arched canopy, (Lynch identifies this figure as that of the Virgin Mary). On either side of His head is an angel, and beside Him are depicted the symbols of the four Evangelists: an eagle, lion, bull, and human. In the lower half of the panel are two rows of four human figures - an inscription between the rows identifies the upper four figures as representing Saint Gregory the Illuminator, his two sons Aristakes and Vrtanes, and Yusik, the son of Vrtanes.
The ceilings to the north and south of the central aisle are flat and are also richly decorated. In the centre of each ceiling is a cross whose head faces east. Between the angles of each arm of the cross is a bowl-shaped rosette incised into the stone and framed by a concentric moulding.
The interior of the zhamatun is now very dark and gloomy, due to the blocking of all the windows and most of the doors (the building is now used as a shelter for sheep). The walls and arches are covered in Armenian inscriptions, particularly under the lantern.

Links: virtualani.org/horomos/index.htm