The monastery complex of Surb-Khach is a monument of national importance, it has been registered with the state since 1963.

The foundation of the monastery and the establishment of the Diocesan See of the Armenian Apostolic Church in it dates back to the middle of the 14th century. Researchers attribute this event to the mass migration of the Armenian population from indigenous Armenia to the Crimea and the religious policy of the Genoese aimed at catholicizing the subjects of the Genoese Gazaria, of which the Armenians made up a significant part.

The Turkish invasion of 1475 did not interrupt the spiritual, cultural and educational activities of the monastery. In the 17th-18th centuries, the monastery was rebuilt several times, which is most fully reflected in the building inscriptions preserved on the walls of the monastery buildings. The monastery becomes one of the main centers of pilgrimage for the Armenian Church in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. In the middle of the 18th century, the borders of the diocese, centered on the monastery, reached Moldavia and the Balkan Peninsula. In 1778 the clergy left the monastery and at the head of the flock moved from the Crimea to the Lower Don.
At the end of the 18th century, through the efforts of the clergy of the Armenian Church, the monastery was revived. Although the diocesan throne in the monastery of Surb-Khach was not renewed, the monastery traditionally retains the importance of the largest spiritual center of the Crimean Armenians

In 1925, by a decree of the Soviet government, the monastery of Surb-Khach, as a spiritual institution, was liquidated. After the closing of the monastery, the buildings of the monastery were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Crimean Ohris and on its territory until the Great Patriotic War, a pioneer camp was located. During the war years, the buildings of the monastery were seriously damaged by hostilities and looting. In the post-war period, the buildings of the monastery were abandoned and, despite some restoration work, were actively destroyed. In the late 80s - 90s of the XX century, restoration work was carried out in the monastery. In 1994, divine services were resumed in the Surb Nshan temple. In 2002, by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the ARC, the monastery was returned to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The complex of buildings of the monastery includes:
1. Church of Surb-Nshan (Holy Signs), 1358[2]
2. Refectory of the monastery, 18th century, completed at the end of the 19th century. second floor;
3. Cells (fraternal building), 1694;
4. Two fountains and stairs in the monastery garden, XVIII-XIX centuries.

The Church of Surb-Nshan (St. Signs) is the central building of the monastery, located in its eastern part and stands behind the monastery fence. The construction of the temple dates back to 1358 according to a poetic inscription made on the upper part of the drum of the dome of the church. The inscription reads: “This divine temple of glory, on earth is the paradise of the tree of life: it is the likeness of the mountain sky, the abode of the Trinity. From the birth in the flesh of Christ in 1358, having begun, he was erected in the name of St. Signs of the zeal of his servant Hovhannes the monk and his brothers and in the spirit of the sons ... ". The remains of medieval paintings have been preserved in the temple.
The refectory is located to the west of the temple, they are separated by the inner monastery courtyard. Under the building of the refectory, basements were arranged. The refectory itself consisted of two halls of a rectangular shape. In the northern hall of the room there is a fireplace with an arched lintel and a stove. A two-flight staircase, arranged in the northwestern corner, led from the southern hall to the basement. The second floor above the refectory was intended for hotel premises; it was built on at the end of the 19th century.

The building of the fraternal building is L-shaped in plan, two-story. On the first floor there were eight rooms covered with semicircular vaults. The cells of the second floor had access to an open balcony-gallery at the level of the interfloor ceiling, which rested on wooden columns, from which stone bases were preserved in the courtyard pavement. At first, a staircase from the eastern edge of the courtyard led to the entrance to the balcony-gallery, and later an entrance was also arranged from the landing of the stairs leading to the hotel above the refectory.
Separately, to the south of the fraternal building, there is a one-story stone building of the monastery hotel. It was built in the second half of the 19th century, when, in connection with the revival of the spiritual and educational activities of the monastery, the number of pilgrims visiting it increased. To the west of the hotel, a retaining wall was built, under which there was a spacious area for horse-drawn transport. The hotel building was destroyed in the 40s of the XX century and recreated on the preserved foundations in the 80s of the XX century.
Two fountains and a staircase leading to them are located in the garden to the southwest of the monastery complex. All fountains were built according to the same principle - it is a rectangular structure with a decorated facade and blank walls, with a well-cistern adjacent to it from the back. Water was supplied to the fountains through water pipes made of ceramic pipes from water sources located higher up the slope. The garden of the monastery was laid out in several terraces on a gentle mountain slope. A five-flight staircase led from the refectory, from the level of the external open courtyard of the monastery, to the garden, to the lower fountain. In this part of the estate, four terraces with retaining walls made of rubble stone have been preserved. The bed of the road section near the monastery and the open courtyard of the complex were paved with rubble stone.

Surb-Khach Monastery is the only surviving monastic complex of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the XIV-XIX centuries on the territory of Ukraine.