With the town of Eudocia (or Doceia) – Evtoguia [Tokat] – is associated the name of one of the most revered Church Fathers, Saint John Chrysostom (Surp Hovhan(nes) Osgueperan), bishop of Constantinople († 407), whom the Empress Eudocia had exiled to Cucusa – Goguisson [Göksum] – in the Anti-Taurus and who was to end his days not far from Eudocia, at Comana – Gomana [Gümenek] – on the border between Lesser Armenia and the Pontus, on the road of a second exile. Saint John Chrysostom has been particularly honored in Armenian tradition, which credits him with a panegyric to Gregory the Illuminator and a tomb not far from Eudocia, in the vicinity of the village of Bidzar [Bizeri, Akbelen]. With the installation of the Ardzrunid king Senek‘erim-John (see nos 17 and 70) at Sebastia, an Armenian monastery grew up around this sanctuary. This monastery (Hovhan Osgueperani Vank‘) was a major pilgrimage site until the 20th century; but naturally enough, the Greek Orthodox Church also had a chapel there, where their clergy officiated. This circumstance explains why the episcopal see of Evtoguia/Tokat, a city that had always had a large Armenian population, was not established there but was based at another monastery, that of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne, whose priors were usually the titular bishop. This monastery stands southeast of the city, at 40°16'N and 36°28' E, on the side of Mount Yalacık, overlooking the village of Bisguen [Biskeni, Dereyaka] and the plain of Ğazova, through which the Iris [Yeşilirmak] River flows. The attribution of its foundation to the Apostles of Armenia but also to Saint Andrew suggests that it was originally a Greek monastery.
The monastery was certainly a flourishing concern in the 15th century. The inscription on an old door conserved there, dated 1497, mentioned renovations undertaken by Archbishop Gregory (Krikor) on the initiative of the late catholicos of Sis [Kozan], Garabed I of Eudocia (Garabed Evtoguiatsi, 1444-1477). The door was the work of the monk James of Jerusalem (Hagop Erousaghematsi). The monastery’s dedication to saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Virgin Mary, may stem from a desire on the part of Garabed I, the first catholicos of the new Cilician line, to strengthen ties between his home diocese and the patriarchal convent of Sis, itself placed under the protection of Saint Anne (n° 73). The History of the monastery adds that it underwent episodes of destruction in 1562-1564. Nevertheless, under the abbotship of Doctor James of Zeyt‘un (Hagop Zeyt‘untsi) around the turn of the 17th century, the poet Stephen of Tokat (Sdep‘anos T‘okhatetsi) described it as an active monastery. Despite its demolition ordered by a pasha in 1654, the monastery seems to have already been rebuilt in 1673. Unfortunately, if it was once again restored in 1720 by the monk Mardiros, known as the Builder (Mardiros Chinogh, † 1721), a 1723 authorization to renovate an Armenian church in town unleashed the fury of fanatics who, after having demolished the church set upon the monastery, which they plundered before burning the outbuildings.
In 1828, immediately after the earthquake of 1827, the monastery of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne would be completely restored. This was the work of Archbishop Kevork (George) Zmurniatsi (of Smyrna [Izmir], † 1832), who reconstructed the church, together with the dwellings, courtyard wall and buildings outside the walls, in jointed stone. His program was continued by Father Kalusd Bonjukian (1832-1833, 1838-1841, 1848-1861), who added to the church a domed narthex built over the tomb of his predecessor, and extended the monastery’s hydraulic system. It fell to Bishop Hagopos Seropian to establish a school there, in 1848 – an earlier one having operated from 1834 to 1838 – which would be replaced in 1883 by a seminary. This primate twice patriarch of Constantinople (1839-1840, 1848-1858) would first successfully complete the restoration of the Saint John Chrysostom monastery, which he endowed with a new church. One of his successors, Mardiros T‘okatetsi, would alternate between serving as superior of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne and of Saint John Chrysostom. The last prior of the monastery of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne was Father Nerses Mgrditchian, who died in deportation in 1915.
The monastery of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne includes:
• The church, dedicated to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary, a small edifice with no free-standing supports, built in 1828 on the site of an earlier church that had been reconstructed after 1654 and restored in 1720. An even older church had been rebuilt or renovated before 1478 and then rebuilt again in the 1560s. The altar had a baldachin with domes, and motifs featuring flowers and rays. On either side of the altar were two paintings, which had been slashed during an incursion into the monastery in 1897: they represented Saint Nicholas and Saint John Chrysostom.
• A narthex with two domes built in front of the church in 1838-1839. It contained the tombs of the two builder-priors, Kevork Zmurniatsi and Kalusd Bonjukian.
• A courtyard wall restored in 1720 and 1828, with two doors, on the north and west sides; against the wall were built, to the east and on two levels, wooden housing for the monks and pilgrims; to the south, the prelate’s house; to the north the school, refectory, kitchens and storerooms; at the northeast corner, a wooden bell tower. A fountain stood in the courtyard.
• Farm buildings near the north gate, a mill and further uphill a sheepfold.
• A graveyard, where one could see a tombstone dated 1468 and another dated 1314, originally from the church of Saint Nicholas, destroyed in 1645.
The monastery owned plow lands, grazing lands and shops in the town.
Confiscated after the Great War, the monastery of Saint Joachim-Saint Anne and its domain were turned into a military camp. Today part of this domain contains a hospital center. The old buildings are reported to be preserved in part.
Alboyadjian, 1952, 730-738. Akinian, 1961, 963-964. Oskian, 1962, [viii], 10-2. Aznavorian, 1978, 33-51. Gulessérian, 1990, 49. Dzovagan, 1993, 281-284.