The
Armenian cultural environment is impossible to imagine
without the khachkar: the khachkar acts as an indicator of
the location of spiritual complexes, an organizer and a
culturing agent of their surrounding natural environment,
accompanying the believer and pilgrims to holy places.
The roads and surroundings of holy places are dotted with
small chattels, khachkars, holy letters and springs. The
Armenian church had been following the rule referred to St.
Nerses which prohibited burials in a Christian temple. And
although starting from 10th century certain temples allowed
noble houses to have their own closed graveyards that were
attached to the western part of the churches, the tradition
of burials and the erecting of khachkars near churches was
practiced until the late middle ages. They not only enriched
the view of the structure but underlined the special
attitude of medieval Armenian society toward the deceased,
when society was perceived as a common society of alives and
the deceased. The khachkar was presented also as a detail of
three-dimension solution or framework of church structures
and other spiritual complexes; being used as building
material, or a part of the artistic decoration of a temple
or church. Often khachkars and carved pieces from
surrounding areas were collected and formed open air
galleries near the walls of spiritual structures.
The khachkar with its three-dimensionality and carving
solution displays architectural-practical feature that are
characteristic of a Christian temple. The outline of the
khachkar composition on the one hand presents external
rectangularity, and internally, the cross harkens to the
plan of temple and the rectilinear profile of dome temple.
Thirdly it is similar to the temple’s decorated, alter etc.
An examination shows that the khachkar matched the dual
measure of the church in its composition (west-east and
top-bottom), by this uniting ritual and ideological (which
in church structure remains to a certain extend divided),
which made the spiritual communication with the khachkar
more for the believer.
Khachkar and
Gravestone
The
biggest collections of khachkars originate from churches and
cemeteries, which served as a basis to consider a khachkar
as a gravestone. Researchers of khachkars are inclined to
move away from this “unfortunate portrayal”. But a
connection between the khachkar and a burial, in cases when
it is erected on a tomb leaves hardly any doubt. A khachkar
can be erected on any occasion that was not regarded as
contradictory to Christian world perceptions and morality of
the time, thus death in the middle ages was a main motive
for erecting a khachkar. The khachkar is in Armenian
medieval cemetery structure realized the function of the
rectilinear component. It is typical that in the middle ages
it was almost impossible that a cross composition be carved
on a plain gravestone.
Before the appearance of khachkar the upper portion of a
grave structure, as a rule, was either in the form of the
upper part of the rectangular parallelepiped with two
sloping surfaces upper (the model of ark or church basilica
structure) or just a plain horizontally placed slab. With
the appearance and individualization of the khachkar grave
structures acquired duality: a plain (or rectangular
parallelepiped) gravestone that was placed horizontally and
a rectilinear erected khachkar. Thus the cross as a common
negotiator absolutely assumed a rectilinear position (as
also the khachkar had), and with this the khachkar was
basically distinguished from any gravestone.
Khachkar and book
According
to several Christian and Armenian traditional perceptions,
on the Last day the deeds of humanity will be presented by
the help of the book of life, which is compiled by angels.
The top of the khachkar- the composition of Christ as a
Pantocrator on a Throne with images of saints and sometimes
begging mortals presents this trial. The book of life can be
filled by the believer or by his relatives - by inscribing
the good deeds, name and the image. Such a role was
delivered to hand written colophans, temples, decors and
ceramics presented to religious centers, generally - to any
surface, object of holy structure on which the writing of
the name and/or image can be left. In this list the role of
the khachkar is very crucial, which as a rule, was an
individual stele and gave an opportunity to present the
“deed” of a separate individual. In fact, the khachkar with
its plain-rectangular form (which recalls a book or a page
of a book), with its inscription (which is very similar to a
text in a book), with the depiction of mortals and, by its
monumentality, which is also important, appeared as a “book
of life”, which will represent the believer to the Last
Judgment.
The
Armenian cultural environment is impossible to imagine
without the khachkar: the khachkar acts as an indicator of
the location of spiritual complexes, an organizer and a
culturing agent of their surrounding natural environment,
accompanying the believer and pilgrims to holy places. 
The
biggest collections of khachkars originate from churches and
cemeteries, which served as a basis to consider a khachkar
as a gravestone. Researchers of khachkars are inclined to
move away from this “unfortunate portrayal”. But a
connection between the khachkar and a burial, in cases when
it is erected on a tomb leaves hardly any doubt. A khachkar
can be erected on any occasion that was not regarded as
contradictory to Christian world perceptions and morality of
the time, thus death in the middle ages was a main motive
for erecting a khachkar. The khachkar is in Armenian
medieval cemetery structure realized the function of the
rectilinear component. It is typical that in the middle ages
it was almost impossible that a cross composition be carved
on a plain gravestone. 
According
to several Christian and Armenian traditional perceptions,
on the Last day the deeds of humanity will be presented by
the help of the book of life, which is compiled by angels.
The top of the khachkar- the composition of Christ as a
Pantocrator on a Throne with images of saints and sometimes
begging mortals presents this trial. The book of life can be
filled by the believer or by his relatives - by inscribing
the good deeds, name and the image. Such a role was
delivered to hand written colophans, temples, decors and
ceramics presented to religious centers, generally - to any
surface, object of holy structure on which the writing of
the name and/or image can be left. In this list the role of
the khachkar is very crucial, which as a rule, was an
individual stele and gave an opportunity to present the
“deed” of a separate individual. In fact, the khachkar with
its plain-rectangular form (which recalls a book or a page
of a book), with its inscription (which is very similar to a
text in a book), with the depiction of mortals and, by its
monumentality, which is also important, appeared as a “book
of life”, which will represent the believer to the Last
Judgment.
