Yereruyk Temple or St. Karapet Church is one of the most important monuments of the Armenian architecture of the early Middle Ages. The echoes of the ancient Sasanian and early Eastern Christian traditions are noticeable in the architectural, artistic and construction solutions of the church.
The architectural ruins of Yereruyk temple are located in the north-western part of the Republic of Armenia, in the south-western outskirts of the Shirak region, east of Anipemza village. According to the legend, the name "Yereruyk" originates from the verb "yereral" which in translation from Armenian means "to hover", "to swing". Another version of the origin of the name is associated with the hunting of herbivores common in this area (in Armenian - "yere"). The word "yereruyk" is also associated with the root "araruyk", which comes from the Armenian word "ararel" meaning "to create".
There is no chronicle information about the temple. The factual materials are also extremely scarce. The only mention of the temple is associated with its reconstruction carried out in the 11th century. According to the record, the wife of King Hovhannes-Smbat made a donation for the restoration of the temple. The temple stands on a stepped stylobate and is built of light orange Ani tuff.
The temple consisted of a three-nave chapel, a semicircular main altar on the eastеrn side, sacristies on its right and left sides, rooms in the two corners of the western facade and outer colonnades on three sides - southern, western and northern. The temple had three entrances, one from the west and two from the south, as well as many large windows.
The complex includes the remains of a number of structures. The basilica is in the center, a part of the wall is from its northern, eastern and southern sides, a grave field with many square pedestals (mostly children are buried here), residential premises, a barn, premises carved in the rock are in the southwestern side of the basilica. The complex also included an artificial reservoir, the remains of the dam of which were discovered during excavations.
The temple is decorated with rich ornaments and bas-reliefs. Particularly the lintels of the three entrances with luxurious and exquisite ornamentation are especially nice. The window niches, separated by numerous arches, are decorated with stylized ornaments and carved capitals.
A five-line Greek lithograph, which in translation means "To Your house, Lord, Belongs Holiness for Many Days", can be seen in the eastern part of the southern facade of the basilica, on the south-eastern sacristy. This is a line from the Psalter, which was read during the consecration of the temple, and such inscriptions were often made on the walls of churches in the 5th-7th centuries.
