The Goshavank monastery complex is located in the village of Gosh, on the right bank of the Getik River, in the Tavush region. The complex was founded in the 12th century by the prominent Armenian thinker, philosopher and jurist Mkhitar Gosh on the site of the older Getik monastery, which was destroyed by the earthquake in 1185. Gosh called it New Getik, but after the thinker's death, the church was renamed Goshavank (Gosh Monastery) in 1213. Mkhitar Gosh received his education in Western Armenia and Syria, but his title was already a priest and no one knew about it. He wrote his Book of Judgments in the village of Haterk, Artsakh. Mkhitar Gosh himself was buried here, near the monastery complex he built. Having completed the construction of the church and the narthex, Gosh built a small chapel for himself, next to which, according to the testimony of Kirakos Gandzaketsi, he was buried. This small chapel is traditionally considered the thinker's cemetery. The Goshavank monastery complex includes the Church of St. Astvatsatsin, the church narthex, the Church of St. Gregory, the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, as well as bell towers, diocesan schools and a library. The main church of the ensemble is the Church of St. Astvatsatsin, built in 1191-1196, which is a typical domed cross structure with a semicircular altar in the eastern part. The church is built of local stone, which has a pink hue.
