1237 to the Tavush region of northeastern Armenia. There he settled in the Anapat monastery, which was renamed Nor Varagavank. In 1318, the Mongols invaded the region and ransacked the monastery. All the churches were destroyed except St. Hovhannes, which had an iron door and was where the monks hid. Between 1320 and the 1350s, the monastery was completely restored. Modern period The Safavid emperor Tahmasp I ransacked the monastery in 1534. In 1648, along with other buildings in the region, Varagavank was destroyed by an earthquake. Its restoration began immediately thereafter by monastery father Kirakos who found financial support among the wealthy merchants in Van. According to the 17th-century historian Arakel of Tabriz, four churches were restored and renovated. The architect Tiratur built a square-planned gavit (narthex) west of Church of Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) in 1648. It functioned as a church during the 19th century, called Surb Gevorg. To the west of the narthex was a 17th-century three-arched open-air porch; to the north was Church of Surb Khach (Holy Cross); while to the south was the 17th-century Church of Surb Sion. Urartian cuneiform inscriptions were used as lintels on their western entrances. Suleyman, the prince of Hoşap Castle, invaded the monastery in 1651, looting it of its Holy Cross, manuscripts, and treasures. The cross was later repurchased and it was added to the Tiramayr Church of Van in 1655. The monastery declined in the late 17th century and, in 1679, many of its treasures were sold due to economic difficulties. Archbishop Bardughimeos Shushanetsi renovated the monastery in 1724. In 1779, father Baghdasar vardapet decorated the narthex walls with frescoes of King Abgar V, Theodosius I, Saint Gayane, Hripsime, Khosrovidukht, and Gabriel. According to Murad Hasratyan, the unknown painter had fused together the styles of Armenian, Persian, and Western European art. 19th century A wall was built around the monastery in 1803 and, fourteen years later, the Church of Surb Khach (Holy Cross) was completely renovated and converted into a depository of manuscripts by archbishop Galust. In 1832, Tamur pasha of Van robbed the monastery's treasures and strangled the father Mktrich vardapet Gaghatatsi to death. In 1849, Gabriel vardapet Shiroyan restored the Church of Sion, which had been destroyed by an earthquake, and converted it into a wheat warehouse. Mkrtich Khrimian, the future head of the Armenian Church, became father of Varagavank in 1857 and made the