A Can’t Miss Story for People Travelling to Kyrgyzstan
Armenian monastery at Issyk Kul Lake high in the Kyrgyz mountains houses the greatest relic of Christianity. According to Catalan Atlas of the 14th century, Saint Matthew, the Apostol and Evangelist is buried here.
Issyk Kul, a lake enigmatic in it beauty. Framed by Tien Shan Mountains, caressed by the sun and the winds, Issyk Kul has a striking, living presence. Perhaps due to the water color changing fast, playing a gamma of shades from pale green to turquoise blue…
It is not surprising that people would create stories, most unimaginable, to honor such a beauty. Treasures of Chengiz Khan and the Scythians are said to be buried here. However a discovery in 2005 renewed interest in our story.
To find out more about this, we will first travel to Jerusalem at the time of Christ, then to Majorca Island and Armenian Cilicia of the 14th century. Then back to our day. A deep dive into history is due now.
Matthew the Apostle
Matthew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists. Matthew was a collector of taxes. He became a disciple of Jesus and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus.
Matthew wrote the first Gospel in Hebrew and preached it. He died as a martyr in Syria and his relics were kept there for 150 years. His followers escaping from persecutions brought the relics of the Apostle to the “depths of Asia”, believed to be what is now Central Asia. How do we know that?
The Catalan Atlas
“The spot is named Isikol. Here is a monastery of Armenian brethren, which is said to possess the relics of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist”,
reads the caption to a building in the oriental part of the atlas connected to Jerusalem by a straight line.
The so-called Catalan Atlas was produced in the Majorcan cartographic school. The author was Abraham Cresques, a Jewish book illuminator, self described as a ‘master of maps of the world’. The atlas was in the royal library of France since the time of King Charles V. It consisted of six parchment leaves. The first two contained texts covering cosmography, astronomy and astrology.
The four remaining leaves make up the actual map. They illustrate the knowledge about the world and the travel literature of the time. Marco Polo’s Book of Marvels was among the sources. The prominent structure with the caption above is a Roman basilica with a pyramidal roof. It stands on a lake with long contours reminding Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. But how does an Armenian monastery appear in this remote part of Tien Shan mountains? Read on, more mysteries are on their way.
The Armenian brothers
A thriving Christian Armenian community existed in Kyrgyzstan since the 1st century. Many artifacts were found in Chuy Valley, linked with Issyk Kul via Boom Gorge. For example, an engraved stone with a cross, carrying an Armenian inscription, “Jesus Christ Our Lord” was excavated in Tarsakent, a medieval Christian town. A Syrian inscription under the cross read, “This is the grave of Johan, the Armenian Bishop”. And a date, 772 by Armenian chronology, corresponding to 1323.
In 1980s Nikolay Pantusov, a Russian official for special assignments travelling in Chuy Valley, found more than 600 gravestones in Tarsakent. He sent the samples to Saint Petersburg. They were identified as Christian epitaphs in Armenia and Syrian.
How did the message about the monastery at Issyk Kul reach Europe?
In the early 14th century Pope John sent a catholic mission to Eastern Armenia and Iran. The aim was the establishment of an Archbishopric. A university was founded and famous theological books were translated into Armenian. The message about the Armenian monastery at Issyk Kul could reach the Dominican friars here through Armenian merchants on the Silk Road. They in turn made sure the news reached Europe.
But the news could have reached Europe even earlier. In 1254 Hetum, the King of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, travelled to the court of the Great Khan of the Mongols. He traveled the Great Silk Road which at that time lied along the southern shore of Isyyk Kul. On his return, he shared the wonders he saw on his travels. Papal legates and members of knighthood living in Syria, Italian merchants trading in its ports, could have became the messengers of Hetum’s stories to Europe.
Issyk Kul, located at the crossing of Indo-Aryan and other nomadic routes, has many secrets. A recent archaeological dig proves the existence of an advanced civilization 25 centuries ago. Archaeological expeditions yield sensational finds. These include a 2,500 year-old ritual bronze cauldron of amazing craftsmanship, bronze mirrors, horse harnesses and gold wire rings, the world’s oldest extant coins.
One of the villages on the shore of the lake, Svetly Mis (Bright cape) is part of this dramatic history. Nestorian Christian and two Armenian monasteries stood here in the medieval time. In 1888 Russian Tsar Alexander ordered the foundation of a Holy Trinity Orthodox monastery at the site of the churches. In less than 30 years, the Trinity monastery was in ruins again, following the October revolution․
At the end of the 19th century Baron Kaulbars, a general in the Imperial Russian Army and an explorer of Central Asia, traveled here. He wrote,
“It is worth noting that not far from the Trinity Monastery, at the confluence of rivers Tyup and Koy Su, ruins of an ancient town are found under water. The town hosted the Armenian monastery guarding the relics of Saint Matthew.”
In his book Land of the Descendants of Patriarch Turk: Spiritual Heritage of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir, Metropolitan of Bishkek and Central Asia writes,
“There are reasons to believe that Kyrgyz land, particularly Lake Issyk Kul, became the home of the greatest Christian shrine, reliquary of Matthew the Apostle.”
Discoveries of our day
- During the construction of a student dorm at Svetly Mis, workers stumble upon human remains. One of the bodies has richly embroidered robes and a silver orthodox cross.
- The archaeology team of Vladimir Ploskikh, Vice President of Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, proves the existence of an underground town in Issyk Kul. It went underwater due to regular shifts in water level, some gradual, others sudden and disastrous.
- In 2005 Kamyshev, Associate Professor of the Academy, finds caves with a Christian religious complex at Kurmenty village. The rock-hewn complex is hidden in a hillside and consists of a 2-meter corridor and thirty monastic cells. The construction principles and architectural details (graceful arches and vaults) are reminiscent of medieval Armenian monasteries.
These give Vladimir Ploskikh a reason to believe that Kurmenty complex on the eastern shore of Issyk Kul is indeed the legendary Armenian monastery.
Is the reliquary there? More research is needed but archaeologists think it’s highly unlikely. The monastery has been abandoned due to danger or other reasons and monks most probably took away the reliquary. In search of a new, safer place. But where? Somewhere near or far? Or maybe the relics were divided and buried in different places?
Conclusion
The truth about Matthew’s death and the place where he was buried are still an ongoing controversy. Among the contenders are two Italian cities, two cities in Germany, even Iraq.
Like with many other mysteries in history, discoveries lead to more questions. Could the reason for our inability to find it be that a shrine like this has a will of its own? Will it only reveal itself to the world when the time comes? Should we continue to look for the relics of the Apostle and insist on clear answers?
Perhaps not. We already got more answers than expected. We used to know the Silk Road as a route facilitating exchange of goods: carpets, silk, spices. Now we know it is more than that. Ideas, energy and symbols traveled the Great Silk Road. Nomads and sedentary cultures met here, clashed and mixed in most unexpected of ways. We now see the Silk Road as a fascinating corridor in time and space.
Is this not what we’re after? More knowledge and understanding of our world? The delight of the discovery is not marred by the fact that we were looking for something and found something else, is it?
Travel the Silk Road, take a deep dive in Issyk Kul. Think about the treasures waiting for you to be found. Only you, no one else but you.
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