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| Monastery of the Holy Sign of Sebastia Սուրբ Նշան վանք Սեբաստիո | |
|---|---|
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| Province | Sivas Province |
| Region | Central Anatolia Region |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Destroyed by the Turkish army |
| Status | Ceased functioning as a monastery in 1915 |
| Location | |
| Location |  Turkey |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Coordinates | 39°50′27″N36°56′33″E / 39.840861°N 36.942373°E /39.840861; 36.942373 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Church |
| Style | Armenian |
| Completed | 10th century |
TheMonastery of the Holy Sign (Armenian:Սուրբ Նշան վանք Սեբաստիո) is a former Armenian monastic complex near the city ofSivas inTurkey.
Sourb Nshan monastery was established by princeAtom-Ashot, the son ofKing Senekerim. The monastery was named after a celebrated relic that Senekerim had brought fromVaragavank monastery, and which was returned there after his death.[1] This was one of notable center of enlightenment and scholarship ofLesser Armenia duringByzantine,Seljuk Sultanate of Rum andOttoman reigns until theArmenian genocide in 1915. In 1915 the Holy Sign monastery was the main repository of medieval Armenian manuscripts in the Sebastia region and at least 283 manuscripts are recorded. The library was not destroyed during the Armenian Genocide and most of the manuscripts survived. In 1918 about 100 of them were transferred to the holdings of theArmenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
The monastery today is entirely destroyed and a sprawling military base occupies the site. The date of the destruction is uncertain. The monastery stood on a low hill overlooking Sivas and was surrounded by a plain and undefended outer wall. On one side of that enclosure wall, encircled by a wall of mud brick, was a large garden containing fruit trees and vegetable plots. Several farms were also attached to the monastery.
The monastery had three churches – their names wereSurb Astvatsatsin (Armenian:Սուրբ Աստվածածին) (Holy Mother of God),Surb Khatch (Armenian:Սուրբ Խաչ) (Holy Cross), andSurb Hovhannes Karapet (Armenian:Սուրբ Հովհաննես Կարապետ) (St John the Precursor).
