Mount Ararat with the historic Khor Virap monastery visible at center-left

Khachkars

At the center of every canonical khachkar stands a cross identified with the Tree of Life (Armenian: Kensadaru): the cross base sprouts foliate forms linking Christ's resurrection to eternal-life symbolism. This Christ-Kensadaru fusion is the defining iconographic element from which all other khachkar components — interlacing borders, rosette programs, subsidiary figures — radiate.

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At the center of every canonical khachkar stands a cross identified with the Tree of Life (Armenian: Kensadaru): the cross base sprouts foliate forms linking Christ's resurrection to eternal-life symbolism. This Christ-Kensadaru fusion is the defining iconographic element from which all other khachkar components  interlacing borders, rosette programs, subsidiary figures  radiate. 

1127Khachkars