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St. Gevorg Church (Moughni)

The former village Moughni became one of Ashtarak's neighbourhoods. It is famous for its apricot gardens and the domed basilica St. Gevorg Church (1664-1669). This important Armenian sanctuary was of huge fame in the Middle Ages. The 'silver-plated and gilded' right hand of the all-Christian saint St Gevorg was, according to the legend, held inside the church. Part of the relics were later transported to the Georgian capital Tiflis where St Gevorg Church of Moughni was built. It was in this church that the famous illustrated manuscript dating from XI c. - the Moughni Gospel - was reserved. The monastery was a center of culture and script. In 2000, once again it become a functioning monastery and a site of pilgrimage. Its religious-cultural life was restored under the leadership of Mesrop Archbishop Ashtchyan.

The main innovation is the antenathex gallery. It is a unique combination of half of a four-column chapel and a belfry. The sequence of the dome and the colorful stones of the exterior, including the playoff black, red, yellowish-red tufa alongside the Kasakh Gorge from a beautiful landscape. The Monastery of Moughni is the fading echo of medieval Armenian architecture.