By tradition Gregory the Illuminator founded Geghard in the 4th century at a spring in a cave sacred before Christianity. It was first called Ayrivank, the Monastery of the Cave. The name Geghard, meaning spear, refers to the spear said to have wounded Jesus, and it is first recorded in 1250.
The main church, the Kathoghike, was built in 1215 under the brothers Zakare and Ivane, generals of Queen Tamar of Georgia. Its cross plan is inscribed in a square, and a dome rises on a square base. The gavit, or narthex, was built between 1215 and 1225, partly free-standing and partly carved into the cliff. Four free-standing columns support its roof, and its stalactite dome is the best example of that technique in Armenia.
Rock-cut churches and tombs followed: the Avazan church in the 1240s, and the Chapel of the Proshians and Prince Prosh's tomb in 1283. UNESCO listed the monastery in 2000.
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