Bolnisi Sioni ( ka, ბოლნისის სიონი) or Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

in the Bolnisi village of Bolnisi District, Georgia. The cathedral was built in 478–493. It is the oldest extant church building in Georgia. Bishop David was the overseeing church leader for the construction of Bolnisi Sioni. Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral is known for its Georgian inscriptions. These are one of the oldest historical documents of the

Georgian alphabet The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, their letters share the same names and alphabetical order and are written ...

. This church is the first Georgian building to have a completion date on the exterior. Bolnisi Sioni’s decorative scheme was a Sasanian style. The southern and central parts of the church are adorned with curling vine scrolls, arabesques, and foliate motifs. Uniform masonry blocks were used to build on to the original building’s

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...

remnants on the southern façade. The country of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

was in contact with

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

during the time of Bolnisi Sioni’s construction. Evidence of this is in the decoration of the building. The sculpture and embellishments of Bolnisi Sioni and other surrounding Georgian churches are influenced from Iranian, Armenian, and Near Eastern art and architecture. The hunting depictions and sculpture are similar to Iranian 4th and 5th century art and architecture. File:Bolnisi Sioni church. Belltower.jpg, Bolnisi Sioni bell-tower. File:Bolnisi Sioni church.Facade (Photo by A.Muhranoff, 2010).jpg, Church façade and exterior portal. File:Bolnisi Sioni - Georgian inscription.JPG, Early inscription File:The interior of Bolnisi Sioni.jpg, Interior of Bolnisi Sioni.

Bibliography

* V. Beridze, Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, 2, Tbilisi, 1977, p. 454 * Sh. Amiranashvili, History of Georgian Art, Tbilisi, 1971, pp. 113–118 * V. Beridze, Bolnisi Sioni // fresco, No. 2, 1968, pp. 23–25

References

External links

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Bolnisi Sioni, Dzeglebi.ge

Bolnisi Sioni
National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia {{Georgian Churches Georgian Orthodox cathedrals in Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox church buildings 5th-century churches Buildings and structures in Kvemo Kartli Bolnisi Tourist attractions in Kvemo Kartli