Ս. ԴԱՎԻԹ ԱՆՈՒՆԸ ԿՐՈՂ ՍՐԲԱՎԱՅՐԵՐԸ ՊԱՏՄԱԿԱՆ ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԻ ՏԱՐԱԾՔՈՒՄ

Abstract

SANCTUARIES BEARING THE NAME OF ST. DAVID ON THE TERRITORY OF HISTORICAL ARMENIA A group of sanctuaries are known thus far bearing the name of St. David. There are about ten sanctuaries of the kind but often it is impossible to clear up who that St. David was, to whom the given sanctuary is devoted. The most prominent sanctuary of Western Armenia devoted to St. David (the monastery Apranits, XVII century, known as St. David of Dvin) was in the historical region Derjan, on the territory of which two well-known huge (5-6 m of height) khachkars were erected. Within the boundaries of the contemporary RA there are two most popular sanctuaries named St. David. One of them is situated in the vicinity of the village Getazat of Ararat region and is devoted to St. David of Dvin. This is one of the rare cases when it is certain who the saint of the sanctuary is. The second one is in the village Nor Armavir (Armavir region). That is a prominent pilgrimage site and is mentioned since the beginning of the XIX century. The both over mentioned sanctuaries are significant and beloved pilgrimage sites both for Armenians and for Assyrians of Armenia. The pilgrimage holiday for the both is the Sunday following Easter. In our days these sanctuaries maintain their mass pilgrimage in the frame of which versatile rites having special purposes are executed. A different case is the chapel Ardar (Righteous) David of the village Parpi, in the case of which it is not quite clear if it bears the name of the ogre described in legends. Nevertheless, in Parpi a different legend is told about the brave warrior Righteous David.