Situated on the left-side upland plateau of Debed Canyon in the Lori province, Odzun is one of the largest villages in Armenia. Several ancient manuscripts have been uncovered in Odzun and nearby caves. In 1998, a monument to St. Hovhan Odzneci, created by sculptor Grigor Nahapetyan, was erected in the center of the village.
The place name “Odzun” is believed to have been derived from the Armenian wordotsel, meaning “anoint,” as Thomas the Apostle anointed Armenian clergymen here in the first century A.D. Alternatively, the name may come from the wordodz, as the area is crawling with snakes, which were worshipped in pagan times. According to the Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, Odzun was formerly known as Otsun, Ozun, Adzun, Avdzun, Udzun and Utsun (Volume 12, Yerevan 1986, p. 540).
St. Astuatsatsin Monastery, perched at a sky-high elevation, dates back to the fifth to eighth centuries. Originally constructed with wood, its base was anointed by St. Grigor the Illuminator in the fourth century. In the eighth century, Catholicos Hovhan Odzneci reconstructed the monastery. St. Astuatsatsin was once known as St. Nshan, St. Hovhannes, Khachgond and Khachgund. The name Khachgund, which was widely used in the 13th century, means “victory” and derives from the name of a prominent priest, buried near the monastery. It is a three-naval basilica, made from local light brown felsite stone.
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According to tradition, a piece of Jesus Christ’s Holy Cross is preserved under the altar. In front of the monastery, an unusual arrangement of stones suggests that one was removed and replaced. This stone features a high relief of the Holy Virgin Mary with Jesus Christ in Her arms. At present, it is placed on the left side of the altar, in the baptismal alcove.
The monastery’s walls are adorned with unique reliefs. The right-side wall depicts Jesus Christ’s second advent, surrounded by angels—a rare image in Armenian church architecture. On the left-side wall, a relief that shows grapes with a man in the center—possibly Catholicos Hovhan Odzneci. Finally, the back-wall relief depicts Jesus Christ holding John’s Gospel, along with the archangels Michael and Gabriel and date-palm branches.
Dating to the fifth century and standing 2.4 meters high, the Odzun monument-gravestone is located on the left side of the monastery. It is believed to mark the tomb of King Smbat I Bagratuni (892-914 A.D.) who was martyred in Dvin. The monument resembles a book, in which one may read the whole history of Christianity. The front columns depict the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, along with scenes of the Annunciation and Baptism. The rear columns depict St. Sargis and St. Gevorg, followed by Armenian princes and princesses on the right and King Abgar, Trdat III and St. Grigor the Illuminator on the left.
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In the surrounding yard, there is a mausoleum field where notable bishops, priests and teachers are buried. Prominent priests Khachik and Husik are interred under black basaltkhachkars, or “cross-stones.” Sitting in the yard of Odzun Monastery imparts harmony on the heart. The majestic monastery nearby seems to embody an unattainable divine eternity of light, peace and power.
Ardvi village
Perched on a high elevation in the Alaverdi municipality of Armenia’s Lori province, Ardvi is surrounded by three forested mountains: Shekaghbyur, Totkadjur and Tsnkoyaglukh, as well as the Vishapadzor canyon. According to theDictionary of Toponymy of Armenia and Adjacent Territories, Ardvi was formerly known as Ardu, Artvi, Melikgyugh and Melikkyand (Yerevan 1986, pp. 415-416).
Following the Manazkert meeting of 726 A.D., Catholicos Hovhan Odzneci settled in his hometown Odzun. Later, he relocated to Melikgyugh and renamed it Artvi, meaning, “I took (Arm. առա) Melik and gave (Arm. տվեցի) Odzun.” Another tradition suggests that Ardvi derives from the name of Hoghomos’ valiant wife. Ardvi has been home to two royal families, the Loris-Melikyans and Kalantaryans, as well as two eminent scholars, agrochemist Papa Kalantaryan (1887-1942) and archeologist and historian Ashkharbek Kalantaryan (1884-1942).
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The village boasts Karmir Vank Monastery (10th-13th centuries), a chapel, a medieval mausoleum, the Navel of the Snake natural monument and St. Hovhannes Monastery (8th-13th centuries). St. Hovhannes (Srbanes) Monastery, the gem of the village, is built from gray reddish basalt and features a domed bell tower. In front of the church altar is St. Hovhan Odzneci’s mausoleum. Behind the monastery lies the Kalantaryan royal family cemetery. On a hill overlooking the monastery stands a medieval cemetery adorned with colorful stonekhachkars and tombstones with unique imagery. According to historian Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi, the choice of colorful stones reflected Catholicos Odzneci’s aesthetic taste in construction.
The renovation of the bell tower of St. Hovhannes Monastery was initiated in 2018 by Vahe Karapetyan, president of the “Tashir” charitable foundation. A statue of St. Odzneci in Ardvi was erected in 2017 by Russian philanthropist Artak Evoyan.
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The Navel of the Snake is a natural rocky monument in Ardvi. According to tradition, St. Odzneci was delivering a liturgy when dragons approached the village along the mountain slopes. Odzneci made the sign of the cross, and the dragons became still. He struck them with his crozier, and a spring of pure water emerged. Many attest to the healing power of the water. A signboard installed in Ardvi village reads, “A huge snake attacked the village. Seven followers of Hovhan Odzneci came to help villagers, but they were killed by the monster. Hovhan cursed the snake to become a stone, and the healing water flowed out from his body. People believe the spirit of Holy Hovhan protects the village.”
Ardvi is also famous as the site of two Armenian films:We and Our Mountains, directed by Henrik Malyan with a screenplay adapted by Hrant Matevosyan, and*The Color of Pomegranates,*directed by Sergey Parajanov. It is also the village where St. Hovhan Odzneci spent the last years of his life as a hermit monk.
The life and legacy of St. Hovhan Odzneci
One of the 12 sanctified Catholicoi of the Armenian Apostolic Church, St. Hovhan Odzneci was born into a noble family in Odzun in the 650s A.D. He apprenticed under Archimandrite Teodoros Cartenavor Vardapet, studying the Bible, philosophy, grammar and oratory. Known asImastaser (the Philosopher) for his intellect, adaptability and eloquence, Odzneci was elected Catholicos of all Armenians in 717 A.D., becoming the 34th Armenian Catholicos and serving for 11 years in the city of Dvin.
Odzneci inherited the throne during a turbulent time in Armenia’s history. The nation had lost independence and was under the reign of the Arabs. Smbat Byuratyan Bagratuni governed without the confidence of the Arabs after participating in a revolt in 703 A.D. In 428 A.D. the Armenian kingdom had collapsed with the fall of the Arshakuni dynasty. Arab raids devastated the country and imposed high taxes on Armenians. The Byzantine Empire, on the other hand, attempted to bring Armenia on its side based on their shared religion, while Chalcedonians and other sectarian movements gained traction.
Historians Kirakos Gandzakeci, Vardan Areveltsi and Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi each provide detailed accounts of Hovhan Odzneci’s life and work. Gandzakeci described him as tall and handsome, noting that even affluent Arab men were left in awe of Odzneci’s majestic presence. Vardan Areveltsi portrayed him holding a crozier topped with a cross, drawing parallels between Odzneci and Grigor the Illuminator—comparing the latter’s endurance among snakes to Odzneci’s voluntarily engagement with the “venomous” Arabs.
Draskhanakertsi characterized Odzneci as broad-shouldered, of high stature and a bright face. He crumbled gold into small pieces with a file, blended it with fragrant incense and blew through his gray beard, which reached the pockets of his clothes. In another description, Odzneci kissed the soldiers’ heads, his long beard falling on their heads as a blessing.
Hovhan Odzneci was the first to have embarked on regulating the existing church meetings, decisions and rules. He createdKanonagirk Hayots (Book of Armenian Rules), the first collection of church rules encompassing 32 chapters and 1500 rules. He also wroteGirk Tghtots ( Book of Correspondence ), Against the Pavlikyans (Arm. Պավլիկյանների դեմ), Against Phantasmals (Arm. Երևութականների դեմ), On Church Orders, Atenabanutyun and more.
Kanonagirk Hayots ( Book of Canons ) refers to church rituals, clergymen’s duties and behavior, religious holidays, church sacraments, relations with sectarians, marriage and marital relations. It addressed law and order for social-economic relations, the independence of the Armenian church and preservation of Armenian identity, playing a crucial role in the development of Armenian legal and managerial thought. In the spirit of Friar Makar Hakobyan, St. Hovhan Odzneci’s legal legacy and thinking laid the theoretical groundwork for the greatest medieval legal texts:Datastanagirk (Book of Law) by Mkhitar Gosh andDatastanagirk by Smbat Gundstable.
Notably, Odzneci refused to accept crosses that had not been anointed, stating: “Do I rely on the stone or gold when I see a cross made of stone, gold or see its image? Inanimate materials can’t come in handy if God didn’t live in them.” He emphasized the distinction between God’s temple and idols, stating that the latter were built to embody human greed, anger and other vices, whereas churches were built by God-loving believers, longing for piety.
Extensive scholarly research published inEtchmiadzin andArarat journals has explored Odzneci’s legal legacy; diplomatic skills in negotiating with Arabs; struggle against the Pavlikyans and Chalcedonians; semantic, morphological and syntactic features and the imagery of his aesthetic language; and the themes and structure of hissharakanner (church hymns). Odzneci systematized Armenian church hymns, prayers and sermons performed during the divine services.
“He not only embedded and stabilized the Cycle of Canon in the Armenian Chant, but also composed or re-sang over 30 hymns dedicated to the Saints’ Day. The latter displayed all the types of Armenian hymns, including florid style songs, which are unique due to their modal, rhythmic and other stylistic features,” stated musicologist Hasmik Harutyunyan from the Shirak Center for Armenian Studies in the scholarly article, “The Stylistic Peculiarities of Hovhan Odzneci’s Embellished Hymns.”
Khoren Palyan, a connoisseur of Armenian church hymns and rituals, pedagogue and philologist, reckoned that the hymn Ընդ երկնային (“To Divine”) composed by Odzneci is the most beautiful in terms of its surprising unity of melody and artistic speech.
Diplomacy and miracles
Beyond his religious and intellectual contributions, Odzneci played a key role in reconstructing dilapidated churches. The scholarly article“Hovhan Ozdneci Imastaser” by Prof. Garnik Shakhkyan brings to light his construction work on Odzun Monastery, St. Hovhannes Monastery and other sanctuaries. Hovhan Odzneci made substantial contributions to the early medieval religious-cultural, national heritage and the formation of Gugark’s medieval architectural school.
Providing an account of St. Hovhan Odzneci’s sacred life and works, it is of paramount importance to shed light on his meeting with the Arab caliph. Historians Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi, Kirakos Gandzakeci and Mkhitar Anetsi have rendered a detailed account of this meeting. Maghakia Ormanyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (1896-1908 A.D.), dated this encounter to 719 A.D., identifying the caliph as either Heshm or Omar.
An Armenian policeman named Vlit happened to see Hovhan Odzneci and told the Arab caliph about Odzneci’s majestic appearance. The caliph expressed a desire to meet with the Armenian Patriarch. Seeing his splendid look, the caliph asked, “Jesus Christ is said to have been meek and humble; he loved poverty… And why have you adorned yourself so luxuriously?” In response to the caliph, Hovhan Odzneci said, “You possess nothing more from your servants than the royal crown and the garment. This is why everyone fears you and reveres. Our forefathers worked wonders and were on their best behavior. Their submissive people feared them and obeyed their orders. And we are not like our forefathers; that’s why we adorn ourselves with the outfit and jewels so that our orders are not ignored.”
Hovhan Odzneci opened his bosom and showcased the goat’s coarse hair cloth he wore underneath. Having prickled all over his body, it had made holes and wounds. Hovhan Odzneci’s humble words and behavior made a deep impression on the caliph, who honored him. Signing an agreement with his ring, the caliph assured him that the Christian Armenians would be relieved of taxes and could freely perform their religious services throughout the country. With great rewards and troops from the caliph, Odzneci returned to Armenian land.
The meeting between Hovhan Odzneci and the Arab caliph is peppered with other details in ethnographer, archaeologist and folklorist Yervand Lalayan’s account. He maintains that Hovhan Odzneci went to the caliph of Baghdad to ask for assistance. When the Armenian Patriarch showed the goat’s cloth, a drop of blood fell on the Arab calph’s blind eyes, and he immediately regained sight. Next, Hovhan Odzneci took to his bosom the caliph’s leprous hands, and they were cured.
After returning from Damascus in 719 A.D., the Catholicos summoned an ecumenical meeting in Dvin, which ratified 32 rules. In 726 A.D., he summoned the Manazkert ecumenical meeting, which fortified the unity between the Armenian and Assyrian churches.
The antagonism between Odzneci and the Byzantine Greeks is illustrated in two complementary stories. In one, a Byzantine delegate named Vasid visited Odzneci with threats and accusations. After handing over the letter, he fell ill. The doctors were unable to cure him, and Vasid turned to Odzneci for assistance. If cured, he promised not to return to the Byzantine Emperor and to adopt Armenian beliefs. Odzneci laid his hands on Vasid, who was on the verge of breathing his last breath, yet sprang to his feet at once. After this miracle, he became a friar and led an ascetic life in the cave leading from Odzun to Danushavan. Visiting Vasid in the cave and seeing that he lacked water, Odzneci made the sign of the cross, and a spring of water emerged from the nearby Tndots cave. Formerly, Armenians referred to Greeks ashorom, and the stemayr meaning “cave.” St. Nshan Church of Horomayr Monastery was built in the cave where Vasid lived as a hermit monk.
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Horomayr Monastery consists of two monastic complexes: the upper Horomayr (10th-13th centuries) located on top of the canyon, and the inner Horomayr (seventh century) situated deep in the canyon, under a breathtaking rocky landscape. The upper Horomayr was renovated by the regional governor Artur Nalbandyan and Ashot Shakaryan in 2017. However, the inner Horomayr is still in urgent need of renovation. The walls are damp, and in the summer, vegetation grows on the dome of the preserved church.
Standing atop the canyon, it seems impossible to reach the inner Horomayr, along a narrow winding path from Tsaghkevank (Tsiranavor) Monastery (fifth century). A long path deep in the canyon leads to Kobayr Monastery (12th century). Here, the Lori canyon bears a tint of lush green and yellow, effusively welcoming visitors to an abode of nature, filling the heart with the joys of spring, the chirping of birds and the swishing Debed river. Here, one feels divine peace and the immense power of Lori province’s nature, which once inspired Hovhannes Toumanyan, “the writer of all Armenians.”
The antagonism between Hovhan Odzneci and the Greeks is also observed in another story. Catholicos Odzneci was once held as a prisoner by the Greek Patriarch, who threatened to throw him into boiling water. Odzneci prepared a pot of boiling water and asked the Patriarch to take out a cross inside it. When the Patriarch’s hand was scalded, Odzneci safely removed the cross, proving divine intervention. Seeing this miracle, the Greek Patriarch moved to Armenia and devoted himself to an ascetic life. A Greek tombstone near Odzun Monastery is believed to mark his grave.
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“Hovhan Odzneci is a Catholicos who preserved Armenian and national identity,” wrote Maghakia Ormanyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (1896-1908 A.D.) in the work “Azgapatum.” Born in Odzun, enthroned in Dvin and later retreating to Ardvi as a hermit, Odzneci’s religious, philosophical, legal, cultural and architectural contributions were profound. He led a well-balanced policy with prudence and foresight, protecting Armenians from all kinds of feasible attacks and alleviating the high taxes imposed by Arabs. Odzneci’s splendid look gave him grandeur and grace. He always rose to the occasion and made persuasive speeches in diplomatic negotiations for the sake of his country and countrymen. The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates St. Hovhan Odzneci on April 17.
Gayane Barseghyan
Gayane Barseghyan is a lecturer at Brusov State University in Yerevan, Armenia. The scope of her research comprises studies in Linguistics and Romano-Germanic Philology.
Gayane Barseghyan