After restoration, Armenia opens Haghartsin Monastery of the 9th century

On October 19, Armenia held a solemn opening ceremony of the 9th century Haghartsin Monastery, situated in the Tavush Region; its restoration began back in 2008. The works worth 5,000,000 US dollars were paid by Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasim, the Prince of the Emirate of Sharjah and a member of the Main Board of Arab Emirates. When the Sheikh visited Armenia, he was fascinated by Armenian churches and their architecture.

The previous restoration works in the Monastery were undertaken back in the 1950s. The present works were based on the pieces of stones; some of them were found in the ravine near the monastery complex.

According to the architect Mary Danielyan, for many centuries the monastery complex had been destroyed by wars, earthquakes and people's immoral attitudes, especially in Soviet years.

According to official data, the territory of Armenia has registered 24,250 historical and cultural architectural monuments, of which 2339 ones are churches. Of these, 190 churches have been transferred into the ownership of the Holy Etchmiadzin; and all the maintenance expenses of these churches are covered by the Armenian Apostolic Church. The rest of the churches are under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture.

Armen Abroyan, the head of the Agency for Conservation of Historic Monuments, has noted that most of the churches are in need of restoration; however, due to lack of funds allocated by the state to implement the programme, the Ministry of Culture of Armenia is forced to pay attention primarily to those temples, which are in dire need of restoration. Apart from financial problems, there is a shortage of skilled professionals for performing the works of this sort.