The Kala church of Saints Cyricus and Julitta ( ka, კალას წმინდა კვირიკესა და ივლიტას სახელობის ეკლესია, tr), locally known as Lagurka (ლაგურკა), is a medieval church in the
Mestia Municipality
Mestia ( ka, მესტიის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Mesṫiis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Its main town is Mestia.
It has an area of 3,045 km2 and h ...
in
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 ...
's
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი ) is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center ...
. The area is part of the highland historical and cultural region of Upper Svaneti where Lagurka is regarded as the principal Christian shrine, its designation deriving from the name of Cyricus in the local
Svan language
Svan ( ''lušnu nin''; ka, სვანური ენა, tr) is a Kartvelian languages, Kartvelian language spoken in the western Georgia (country), Georgian region of Svaneti primarily by the Svans, Svan people. With its speakers variously ...
. It is a
hall church
A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...
, adorned with frescoes painted by Tevdore in 1111/1112, one of the high points of medieval Georgian monumental art. The church is inscribed on the list of the
Cyricus and Julitta
Cyricus and his mother Julitta are venerated as early Christian martyrs. According to traditional stories, they were put to death at Tarsus in AD 304.
Cyricus
Some evidence exists for an otherwise unknown child-martyr named Cyricus at Antio ...
, who are venerated as the patron saints of the Kala community. Lagurka itself is considered to be the holiest shrine by the Svans, their most binding oath being on the icons preserved at the church. The church hosts an annual all-Svan festival and pilgrimage, ''kvirikoba'' ("the day of Cyricus"), held annually on July 28. In the words of the historian
Ekvtime Taqaishvili
Ekvtime Takaishvili (sometimes anglicised as Euthymius Takaishvili, also spelled Taqaishvili, ; 3 January, 1862 – 21 February, 1953) was a Georgian historian, archaeologist, public benefactor and Eastern Orthodox saint.
Born in the village of L ...
, for the Svans Lagurka is what
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
was for the ancient Greeks—the symbol of their unity.
Layout
The exact date when Lagurka was constructed is not known. Judging by its style, the extant church is dated to sometime between the late 10th or early 12th centuries. Lagurka, measuring 5 x 2.70 m, is built of yellowish
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
blocks. It is a
hall church
A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...
, with annexes built at a later date on the south and north. To the west attached is a two-storey
bell-tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towe ...
which also serves as the
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
. Originally the church had three entrances, on the south, north, and west. The building can now be accessed only through a doorway cut in the south annex. The building was enveloped by a high toothed stone wall, which now stands in ruins. Other buildings such as
refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
and cells are built down on the mountains slope. In the interior of the church, a semicircular
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 ' ...
is separated from the nave by a stone tripartite
iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
. Its
barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
rests upon a single supporting arch. The longitudinal walls are each sectioned by a pair of arched
pilasters
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
. The church is lit with two windows, cut one each in the apse and west wall; daylight through them is directly shed on the extensively frescoed west and east walls.
Frescoes
The church is completely frescoed, with numerous explanatory inscriptions in Georgian. Some of them have faded away. One partially damaged inscription, that on the west wall, dates the paintings to 1111 or 1112. It names the donors—the ''
aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility.
History
The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, co ...
'' of the Kala community—and mentions a painter whose name is reconstructed—through the analogy with the two Svan churches of Iprari and Nakipari—as Tevdore. The paintings in the conch and iconostasis, damaged by an earthquake, were restored at a later date by the certain Giorgi, son of Anton, as revealed in an inscription on the south pilaster. The sanctuary
conch
Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...
is adorned with the
Deesis
In Byzantine art, and in later Eastern Orthodox iconography generally, the Deësis or Deisis (, ; , "prayer" or "supplication") is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a book, and ...
, where Christ holds a scroll with a text from John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness". There are four more
Christological
In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
,
Baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
, and the
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
on the south and north walls. The iconographic program also includes depictions of several saints such as Barbara,
Catherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
,
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
George
George may refer to:
Names
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
People
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE
* George, stage name of Gior ...
, and
Theodore Theodore may refer to:
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* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
* Theodore, Queensland, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
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* Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan
People
* Theodore (gi ...
, and two scenes of the martyrdom of the church's titular saints—Cyricus and Julitta. The paintings are noted for their emotional expressiveness and carefully conceived positioning. The distribution of the frescoes follows the architectural sectioning of the interior and suggests a symbolic relationship between various scenes and images.
Lagurka contains a rich of collection of various church items from different periods of time. These include manuscripts, crosses, icons, and utensils, both locally produced and brought from elsewhere in Georgia or abroad. Highly venerated is the so-called Shaliani icon, a Byzantine repoussé icon of the Crucifixion.