Monastery of Shevakhan

The **monastery of Shevakhan** is a abbey located in the village of Khena Tsanig. It is the heart of the order of Shevakhan and hosts the seat of the Abbot of Shevakhan, upmost religious authority of the Agwosite faith. The current Abbot is Emoshe Tamganekh.

## History

### Founding

In 934, Ashem Katsun, an Agwosite monk from the now abandoned monastery of Akhigar, left the abbey along with a few fellow monks. This was due to theological differences: Katsun was strongly opposed to worshiping the gods of nature, a widespread practice at the time that was observed at Akhigar. After going from monastery to monastery for four years and a failed previous attempt at establishing a new abbey, the monks founded the monastery of Shevakhan near Khena Tsanig in 938. According to legend, Ashem Katsun, navigating the Eliman river downstream, saw peacock flying high overhead; he landed to follow it, and saw the peacock sat on the rock of Khena Tsanig, glowing of divine light. Interpreting this as a sign, the monks established their abbey there and Katsun became the first Abbot.

The next 149 years following the foundation of the monastery were relatively uneventful, and little is known about these times. It was razed in 983 by a nomadic raid, launched by an unidentified tribe. Sources are unclear about when the monastery was rebuilt, but it was already rebuilt by 1062, when it is mentioned in a trade document.

### Rise to prominence

Around the 10th century, a new heterodox religious movement appeared in xxx. Considered heretic by most other Agwosites, this movement was suppressed by the local religious authorities at the time. Led by Tsegan Baragekh, who gave his name to the heretics, the Tseganites rose up in 1087. The monastery of Etsareg, the most powerful and prominent abbey of the faith, was razed and the monks were massacred. Several more monasteries were destroyed, until it was crushed by a monastic and temporal coalition army.

Following this traumatic event, religious authorities realized their vulnerability and decided to enact reforms in order to decide upon theological dogma and organize the church. In 1094, most monasteries sent envoys to Ikhagash, where an assembly was held. Due to the power vacuum left by the destruction of Etsareg, a relatively minor abbey such as Shevakhan was able to rise. The Abbot at the time, Arimar Shamreg, was elected at the head of the faith.

### Order of Shevakhan

Shevakhan's rise to power at the head of the newly organized Agwosite religion was followed by a number of important reforms. An official dogma was instated, rituals and ceremonies were standardized, monastic hierarchy was reinforced and a new set of rules concerning monastic protocol were instated. These reforms, widely adopted, managed to unify and homogenize the faith as intended ; the last heterodox monastery of Tsagam was closed in 1109.

In 1106, Abbot Bioris Valashim founded the Order of Shevakhan. The mission of this order would be to spread the faith beyond Tsagam, extend the abbey's influence through the establishment of subordinate monasteries, and facilitate free commerce and trade in the valley and beyond. Nowadays, the Order's name has become almost synonymous with that of the Agwosite church.