Khuchap Monastery – Lori Province, Armenia

Khuchap Monastery is located in Lori Province, Armenia, on the wooded slope of Mount Lalvar in the vicinity of the village of Privolnoye. The earliest structures of the monastery are dated back to the 9th-10th centuries AD, though accounts tell us that the monastery was established in the 8th century. The oldest building of the monastery is a one-nave basilica.

Initially, Khuchap Monastery served as a tenement for men. During the reign of the Zakaryan princely dynasty in the 8th century, Khuchap was turned into a monastery. Chroniclers write that the main church of the monastery was built in the 8th century north of the one-nave basilica.

The church was built from felsite, but the interior masonry was executed with bricks. The 8-edge pylons of the church are built from whole stone. On both sides of the altar apse stand two-level chapels. The right-hand side chapel features fragments of ancient frescos. The church is crowned by a 12-edge dome, each of the edges featuring a narrow window. The interior furnishing of the church is particularly remarkable.

Three entrances lead into the church from the south, north, and west. The western entrance features a vestibule, while the southern and northern entrances boast arched halls.

The one-nave basilica was renovated in the 8th century, at the same time when the main church was being built. Apart from the church and the basilica, a dilapidated chapel to the north of the basilica, as well as ruins of household and residential buildings stand in the territory of the monastery.