“The Black Monastery” or “Sevan Holy Apostolic Monastery” on Sevan Peninsula was initially a complex of three churches, two still perfectly preserved.
When first completed, Lake Sevan’s water level was much higher than it is today, and the whole monastic complex is located on an island. The monastery was initiated by Catholicos Mesrop Eghivardeci and developed by Princess Mariam, the daughter of King Ashot I, in 874 of rough black and orange stones on the ruins of a 4th-century monastery destroyed by Arabs. St. Mesrop Mashtots had a vision of 12 figures walking across the Lake, who pointed him to the place where the church was to be erected.
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