The Legend of Gosh Monastery – Goshavank

In the times when lawlessness prevailed on this earth, archimandrite Mkhitar Gosh became an example of moral purity and perseverance for Armenians. He was honest and straightforward and also thoroughly educated.

Mkhitar was a frequent guest of Armenian princes, but even simple people were attracted to him. However, the Catholicos of Caucasian Albania disliked Mkhitar, which forced him to move to the ancient monastery of Nor-Getik. There, science and crafts immediately flourished under Mkhitar, with Nor-Getik becoming a true religious center.

The glory of the deeds of Mkhitar spread far beyond the monastery. Despite the ongoing wars, theologians and philosophers from foreign lands arrived here. Every day of Mkhitar was marked by some feat.

One day, the theologian-scholar felt that it was time for him to finally rest. However, an angel appeared to him in a dream and said:

“Listen carefully, Mkhitar, you will have a good harvest for seven years in a row. Stock up on bread because there will be drought for the following seven years.”

“People are correct when they ask you not to die early,” Mkhitar thought.

For seven years, the monastery stocked up on bread. And when the rains stopped and there was no harvest, Mkhitar made a round bowl called “gush” and distributed the collected bread with it.

The bread was enough to keep people well-fed for another seven years – equally and equitably. For this round bowl, Mkhitar was nicknamed Gush (or Gosh). And the monastery of Nor-Getik was named after him Goshavank (Monastery of Gosh).