Anapastanats Monastery stands on high ground northwest of Meghri’s Mets Tagh quarter. The monastery appears in written records as early as the thirteenth century. The surviving church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, dates to the seventeenth. In front of its entrance are the remains of a porch whose three open arches once sheltered the passage from the courtyard into the church.
Inside, two pairs of piers divide the hall into three aisles and carry the central dome. Local basalt forms the walls, while brick was used for the dome. The drum that supports it is circular inside and twelve-sided outside. Small chambers flank the sanctuary at the eastern end.
The wall paintings record two later moments in the life of the building. Researchers have identified work from 1745 and 1793. Foliage and mounted saints survive from the earlier campaign. Two images of the Archangel Michael, one on either side of the sanctuary, belong to the later one. During the virtual visit, look at the sides of the piers as well as the sanctuary walls to see how the images extended into the congregation’s space.