Tradition relates that the convent of the Ordeals was built on the site where Gregory the Illuminator was tortured before being thrown into the Deep Well or Pit of Artaxata (see n° 39); it was originally dedicated to the Mother of God, in accordance with a tradition handed down in the books of martyrs which says that the Illuminator had later built a church on this site in honor of the Virgin. The church is located southeast of Erznga [Erzincan], above the village of Meghussig [Yalınca], on the left bank of the Merjan [Mercan] River, at 39° 35' N and 39° 41' E, at the foot of Mount Doujig [***], one of the peaks in the Mntzur [Munzur] chain. It has also been called the Little Convent of the Illuminator (P‘ok‘r Loussavortchi Vank‘ ), to distinguish it from the Great Convent built on the upper slopes of Mount Sebuh [Kara Dağ] (n° 45).
In the Middle Ages the convent was a scriptorium, mentioned as such in 1272 and 1477, but it fell into decline in the 16th century after the Ottoman conquest, as was the case of most of the monasteries in this part of Upper Armenia; in the 17th century, it was ravaged by companies of jelali. The convent remained a pilgrimage site, enriched by a relic of the Illuminator and some nails that had been used in his torture, but also by venerated parchments, which, together with various gold and silver objects, constituted its treasure. In the 19th century, it was run by a dynasty of secular priests, which included the superior, Ghevont, killed in 1895 when the convent was attacked and plundered. Administration of the convent was entrusted to a board made up of representatives from the four villages that comprised its jurisdiction: Meghussig [Yalınca], Akrag or Medz Akrag [Konakbaşı], Gharat‘uch [Karatuş] and Janjigue [Çağlayan].
Built on a spit of land along the stream, the convent of the Ordeals comprises: the church of Saint Gregory, a barrel-vaulted single-vessel nave 14.6 x 9.9 m, with transverse arches and outside buttresses, and a projecting rectangular apse rebuilt in the 1850s; a thick rammed-clay yard wall 60 x 41 m, with watch towers at the corners of the north side, against which were built dwellings, a kitchen, refectory, storeroom, stables, barn and beehives; an inner garden with a fountain and pool. It also had orchards and fields, as well as arable land that extended to the Chochgants plateau, on the right-hand side of the river.
Confiscated after the Great War, the convent of the Ordeals today lies in ruins. All that is left of the church of Saint Gregory is the apse and a section of the north wall. The fountain and pool have disappeared, and the outbuildings have collapsed. Although severely eroded and lacking its superstructure, the yard wall is partially preserved.
Ghazandjian, 1886, 25-26. Surménian, 1947, 94-96. Oskian, 1951, 101-103. Thierry, 2005, 78-80.