Lost Sacred Geometries

In this extraordinary book, Setrak Isnar uncovers a long-lost world of architectural design and meaning, used continuously for 1,300 years, that has lain hidden in the ruins of ancient Armenian churches and monasteries since the late 1800s.

When these medieval churches were constructed, their architects and builders worked with an elaborate architectural language of symbols, relationships and proportions. The heritage of Armenia, the first Christian nation, preserves both an architectural and a faith tradition. Lost Sacred Geometries explores the relationship between the rich religious symbolism and the complex architecture that characterized and conveyed the nation's Christian beliefs.

Through rich, colored drawings, the author explores the symbolic properties of the architecture of many churches, from base to vault. He invites the reader into the lives of medieval architects and priests in their creation of churches and monasteries and explores the various components of their spiritual and architectural designs, which were instrumental in allowing most of these structures to stand for more than 1,000 years.

Subjects and ideas covered in the fascinating book include:

• Development of the Armenian Church and national identity
• New architectural typology and its sacred geometry
• Visual codes and their origins
• Main features and common patterns
• Celestial city of Ani
• Language and purpose of medieval Armenian sacred geometry
• Precarious state of the ephemeral.

Unfortunately, many of the sites covered in this book are threatened with destruction through neglect, war or deliberate attempts to erase all traces of ancient Armenian culture and heritage. One of the primary goals of the books is to encourage the preservation of these magnificent examples of architecture and human culture for Armenians and the world.