- Collection: The Early Christian Architecture of Georgia
61 Items
Breti
The village of Breti is believed to have been where one of the lesser-known (As)Syrian Fathers, Piros Breteli, founded a monastery in the sixth century. There are no traces of this presumed early foundation left today but a new religious community have now established a monastery around what they believe to be his tomb in the centre of the village. This is a friendly and welcoming monastery with a small church with new frescoes and the tomb is located in a small chapel to the north of the main nave. Above the grave is a fresco of the thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers and Piros Breteli is distinguished by the red writing in his halo.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Breti, C21st, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Monastery, Piros Breteli, Shida Kartli, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Tomb
Confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers and general view of Mtskheta
Mtskheta is the ancient capital of Kartli and believed by Georgians to be the first place in the country to accept Christianity in the C4th. It is the location of the national Cathedral, Svetiskhoveli, which is named for the miraculous 'life-giving' pillar at its heart. The confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers can be seen most clearly from the hill of Jvari. This confluence is remarked upon as the waters of the two rivers are very different colours and this is clearly visible from above.
Type: Landscape
Tags: Aragvi, Georgia, Landscape, Mktvari, Mtskheta, River, Shida Kartli
Davit Gareja
Davit Gareja is the name given to a complex of monasteries in the semi-desert on the Georgian-Azeri border. It refers specifically to the largest and most important of the monasteries, the Lavra, which has been re-established since the fall of communism. The Lavra dates from the C6th onwards and is associated with Davit Garejeli who is considered the most important (and possibly the leader of) the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Architecture, C6th, Davit Gareja, Desert, Georgia, Kakheti, Lavra, Monastery, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers
Dmanisi
The C6th basilica in Dmanisi has been substantially altered over time, notably with the addition of a medieval narthex, and is located beside the citadel of the now abandoned city that once stood on this site. Older elements have been reused in buildings surrounding the church and there is an Arabic inscription on one of the gravestones in the vicinity.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Arabic, Arabic Inscription, Architecture, C6th, Church, Dmanisi, Georgia, Grave, Inscription, Kvemo Kartli, Middle Ages
Dubi, Kvareli
Dubi Monastery on the eastern edge of the town of Kvareli lies south of the road out to Kvareli Lake. The church is a standard Kakhetian three church basilica that was excavated some years ago and dated to the seventh century. Today the church is the heart of a modern convent which has led to a few changes being made, but these have generally been sympathetic to the monument's original state. The most obvious alteration has been the extension of the small east window in the central nave to allow a great deal more light into the main body of the church. Interestingly in this case the north and south aisles are asymmetric with the south aisle being significantly narrower than that of the north side. As at Eniseli, the north aisle is truncated so that a pastophorion, entered from the central nave of the church occupies the eastern part of the northern aisle. However in this case the remainder of the aisle was apsed at the east end - and this segment of the building is now ruined. On the south side the aisle was originally barrel vaulted, but this has now been lost and most of the aisle is open to the elements although a small chapel with a flat east wall is enclosed at the eastern end. Originally the building functioned as a parish church but today is primarily the preserve of the nuns, although they are well integrated within the local community and are welcoming to all visitors. Dubi remains a relatively small example of the three church basilica.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basilica, C7th, Church, Convent, Dubi, Georgia, Kakheti, Kvareli, Monastery, Three Church Basilica
Dzveli Gavazi
Dzveli Gavazi is the name given to a church dated to the sixth century in the village of Alkhalsopeli at the foot of the Caucasus near Dagestan. The church has been changed since the sixth century, especially with the addition of an ambulatory that wraps around three-quarters of the building. The church was restored in 1852 and an inscription raised to commemorate this, and has also undergone restoration by the National Agency for the Cultural Preservation of Georgia. On the initial visit to the site in 2013 the church was locked and it was not possible to access the interior, however on a return in 2017 accompanied by Professor Nodar Bakhtadze, it was not only possible to locate the keyholder but also possible to take interior photographs of the building. This proved to be extremely interesting as each corner of the dome had a semi-circular rubble-built column at the junction between two lobes of the quatrefoil. The pendentives spring above these columns without an intervening capital making a clumsy transition that suggests a degree of experimentation. Interestingly the other quatrelobed monument in Kakheti, Ninotsminda in Sagarejo has its dome supported by the same arrangement of pendentives springing from columns without the intervening unifying element of a capital. Here we encounter the problem of the uncertain dates of both monuments. Dzveli Gavazi is attributed to the sixth century and the ambulatory which wraps around the exterior of much of the church is ascribed to the eighth century without any definitive reason for assuming these dates. Ninotsminda was believed to be an early monument, but recently there has been a move to suggest that it is not as ancient as previously assumed - although once again this discussion has been based on relatively nebulous typological grounds rather than being based on an archaeological or serious architectural resassessment. Given the ubiquity of the Kakhetian three church basilica in this region, Dzveli Gavazi represents a fascinating anomaly that requires further exploration.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Akhalsopeli, Architecture, C6th, C8th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Dzveli Gavazi, Georgia, Kakheti, Ninotsminda, Sagarejo
Dzveli Shuamta
Dzveli Shuamta ('Old Shuamta') is a complex of three churches in wooded hills in Kakheti above the town of Telavi. The basilica dates from the C5th and is beside two centrally-planned churches of different sizes that both date to the C7th
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C5th, C7th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Dzveli Shuamta, Georgia, Kakheti, Telavi, Three Church Basilica, Triple Basilica
Gremi
Gremi in Kakheti is best known today for its extremely well-preserved complex of seventeenth century buildings, preserved from the time when the city was the regional capital. However beside the citadel lie the remains of an older city at the site and this includes three adjoining small early churches that have been built abutting each other and clumsily linked physically and given additional elements such as a dome in later periods.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C17th, Church, Georgia, Gremi, Kakheti, Late Antique, Medieval
Idleti
The small, centrally-planned church of St. John the Baptist in Idleti dates from C5th-C6th and is an unusual building suggesting the architects were experimenting with different forms as the dome, which is hemispherical on the interior, is in a square drum that rests on the crossing of the central space. This centrality has now been lost by the addition of a disproportionately large single storied narthex to the west.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C5th-C6th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Georgia, Idleti, Shida Kartli, St. John the Baptist
Ikalto
Ikalto in Kakheti is nationally revered because of its medieval academy. This institution is linked to the national poet, Shota Rustaveli, the author of "The Man in the Panther's Skin" and the ruins of the academy are medieval. However, they are in a walled complex with three churches; the Sameba (Trinity) church dates from the C6th, the smaller single-naved Kvelatsminda church is C7th and the large, centrally planned Gvtaeba (Transfiguration) church that dominates the group is C8th-C9th. Gvtaeba has recently been the subject of a partial excavation and restoration funded by Geocell, a mobile phone network, but the work has been poorly executed and the church still suffers from major structural instability.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Academy, Architecture, C6th, C7th, C8th-C9th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Georgia, Gvtaeba, Holy Trinity, Ikalto, Kakheti, Kvelatsminda, Middle Ages, Rustaveli, Sameba, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Transfiguration