Surb Poghos-Petros Church

Surb Poghos-Petros Cathedral, dedicated to the holy apostles Paul and Peter, is the principal church of the Tatev monastic complex. It was built by Bishop Ter Hovhannes on the site of an earlier church destroyed in 895. Its construction after the end of Arab rule became a symbol of the strength and ambition of the revived Armenian kingdom. The names of its patrons are carved into the dome and the lower part of the eastern wall, including Prince Ashot of Syunik, his wife Shushan, Prince Grigor Supan I, his son Vasak Gabur, and Prince Dzagik of Baghk. The architects devoted particular attention to the decoration of the church, which served as the main cathedral of the Principality of Syunik. Its interior walls were covered with frescoes in 930, though almost all have since been lost.