Gergeti Trinity Church ( - ''Gergetis Samebis Eklesia'') is a popular name for the Holy Trinity Church near the village of

Stepantsminda Stepantsminda ( ka, სტეფანწმინდა; formerly Kazbegi, ) is a townlet in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of north-eastern Georgia. Historically and ethnographically, the town is part of the Khevi province. It is the center of t ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The church is situated on the right bank of the river Chkheri (the left tributary of the river Terek), at an elevation of , under

Mount Kazbek Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi, , romanized: ''q'azbegi''; ; ; ; is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus Mountains, Caucasus, located in Georgia (country), Georgia, just south of the border with Russia. Lying ...

History

The Gergeti Trinity Church was built in the 14th century by an unknown architect, and is the only cross-cupola church in

Khevi Khevi ( ka, ხევი) is a small historical-geographic area in northeastern Georgia. It is included in the modern-day Kazbegi district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region ( mkhare). Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, i ...

province. The separate belltower dates from the same period as the church itself, but built somewhat later. Its isolated location on top of a steep mountain surrounded by the vastness of nature has made it a symbol for Georgia. The 18th century Georgian author Vakhushti Batonishvili wrote that in times of danger, precious relics from

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა} ) is a city in the Mkhare, region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia (country), Georgia. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is locat ...

, including Saint Nino's Cross were brought here for safekeeping. During the

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, all religious services were prohibited, but the church remained a popular tourist destination. The church is now an active establishment of the

Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

. The church is a popular waypoint for trekkers in the area, and can be reached by a steep 1.5-hour climb up the mountain.

Architecture

The church ensemble includes the church itself, the belltower and the surrounding wall. The church is a

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. Architecture Archite ...

temple with three rectangular and one rounded (containing the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

) arms, and two entrances, from the south and from the west. Each arm has a window. Additional five windows of the

tholobate A tholobate (), also called a drum or tambour, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. The name derives from the tholos, the Greek term for a round building ...

provide sufficient illumination. The tholobate is rather stumpy, slightly narrowing in the upper part. The facade is clad in dark-grey stone. Only traces of the original murals remain. The outside decorations can essentially be found only around the doors and windows. The northern wall is the most simply decorated one: short-armed cross above and rounded ornamented stones below the narrow window. The southern wall, in addition to the cross, has ornamented quadrangles and an arch above the window. The western wall is rather similar, but with simple ornamentation of the window. Rather complex composition is found on the eastern wall. Its window has a quadrangular frame and a large cross above it. The cross itself has quadrangles at the base of each arm. In addition to the central window, there is a rounded window to left and a square window to the right. Both southern and western portals have rich decorations around the doors: the

astragal An astragal is a Moulding (decorative), moulding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes (Annulet (architecture), fillets). An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus. It can be an architecture, a ...

, ornamented stripe, rosettes and quadrangles. Each of the ten windows of the dome also has an arch frame, made of astragal. The belltower, standing to the south of the church, consists of a

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

on a cubic base, which also contains the entrance to the church ensemble. The walls have various small ornaments, as well as a figure of an unknown person on the western side.

References

*Rosen, Roger. ''Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus.'' Odyssey Publications: Hong Kong, 1999.

External links

Georgian government site
{{Georgian Churches Churches in Georgia (country) 14th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Buildings and structures in Mtskheta-Mtianeti