The Photo of the Broken Tombstone of St. Gregory is Old

Days ago, news spread on the internet claiming that the tombstone of St. Gregory, the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator, located in the Amaras Monastic Complex of Artsakh, had been destroyed by the enemy. In this regard, the "Lusik" Foundation, which has been engaged in the restoration of Amaras since 2019, issued a statement indicating that the photo circulating online is old.

The statement clarifies that the tombstone depicted in the photo was made in 1898 with the assistance of Armenians from Shushi by Shushi architect Mikhail Ter-Israyelyan. However, this tombstone was destroyed in 1990 by Azerbaijani special forces when the monastery came under their control. A replica of the tombstone was created at the Amaras Monastic Complex in the early 2000s and placed in the reliquary. Thus, since 2001, two tombstones of St. Gregory have been displayed in Amaras: the original tombstone made at the end of the 19th century has been permanently shown inside the church, near the entrance, while the new tombstone was placed in the tomb under the altar of the church.

Nevertheless, the foundation sadly notes that it cannot rule out the possibility that the Amaras Monastic Complex, now under Azerbaijani occupation, may be subjected to desecration or complete destruction by the enemy, similar to other Armenian religious sites and historical-cultural monuments that have become symbols of Artsakh, notably the Church of the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots in Shushi.

It should be remembered that according to the accounts of Armenian historians, the Amaras Monastery was founded in the early 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator, where St. Mesrop Mashtots opened the first school of Artsakh in the early 5th century. As is well known, St. Gregory’s grandson, St. Gregory, was captured by pagans, tied to horses, and dragged over coastal stones until his death. Khorenatsi and Buzand report that Gregory was martyred in a field called Vatnayan, located on the shore of the Caspian Sea. His disciples brought the saint’s body to the Amaras Monastery and buried him there.