Samtavisi
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Samtavisi ( ka, სამთავისი) is an eleventh-century
Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
in eastern
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 ...
, in the region of
Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , S ...
, some 45 km from the nation's capital
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
, near Igoeti village. The cathedral is now one of the centers of the Eparchy of Samtavisi and Gori of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The church is a typical example and the founder of the Georgian interpretation of the
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 ...
churches. It was built in the period of decorative and artistic bloom in the architecture of Georgia.


History

The cathedral is located on the left bank of the Lekhura River, some 11 km of the town of
Kaspi Kaspi ( ka, კასპი) is a town in central Georgia (country), Georgia on the Mtkvari River. It is a center of Kaspi district, Georgia, Kaspi district, one of the four districts in Shida Kartli region. Founded in the early Middle Ages, the ...
. According to a Georgian tradition, the first monastery on this place was founded by the
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n missionary Isidore in 572 and later rebuilt in the 10th century. Neither of these buildings has survived however. The earliest extant structures date to the eleventh century, the main edifice being built in 1030 as revealed by a now lost stone inscription. The cathedral was built by a local bishop and a skillful architect Hilarion, the son of Vane Kanchaeli, who also authored the nearby church of Ashuriani. The Cathedral was heavily damaged by a series of earthquakes, when the dome and partially the western wall and the pillars collapsed. According to the inscription on the western façade, above the window, which says "The secondary builder of the temple was the daughter of king of the kings and the wife of Amilakhor, Gayane", the Cathedral was first partially reconstructed in the 15th-16th century. The noble Georgian family
Amilakhvari The House of Amilakhvari ( ka, ამილახვარი) was a noble house of Georgia which rose to prominence in the fifteenth century and held a large fiefdom in central Georgia until the Imperial Russian annexation of the country in 1801 ...
played significant role in the history of the church. In 1679,
Givi Amilakhvari Givi Amilakhvari ( ka, გივი ამილახვარი) (1689–1754) was a Georgia (country), Georgian nobleman (''tavadi'') with a prominent role in the politics of eastern Georgia in the first half of the 18th century. He waged a le ...
and his wife ordered new frescoes to be painted by Samtavisi bishop Meliton, as documented by inscription on the apse fresco. It was reconstructed again in the 19th century by the architect Ripardi, when part of decorations were lost. For example, one of the two
gryphons The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk o ...
on eastern façade. The masterly decorated eastern façade is the only surviving original structure. Other alterations included removal of portals, widening and deepening of connections between the façade quadras.Закарая, П. (1983) Памятники Восточной Грузии. Искусство, Москва, 376 с. akaraya, P. Monuments of Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian)


Architecture

The Samtavisi Cathedral is a prolonged rectangular 4-piered cruciform domed church. It illustrates a Georgian interpretation of the cross-in-square form which set an example for many churches built in the heyday of medieval Georgia. It currently has only southern portal, but presumably also had northern and western ones. The dome rests on the altar projections and two free pillars. In contrast to earlier Georgian churches, the drum of the dome is taller surmounted by a conical roof. The reconstructed dome
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 ...
is unproportionally narrow. It has twelve window, seven of them are real, other five imitated. Their original ornamentation, found currently on western façade, was richer than subsequently reconstructed. The central altar
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 ' ...
, the prothesis and the
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...
are in eastern part. The central nave is connected to the lateral naves in the western part through the arcade. The exterior is distinguished by the liberal use of ornamental blind arcading. The apses do not project, but their internal position is marked by deep recesses in the wall. Artistically, the most rounded portion of the church is its five-arched eastern façade, dominated by the two niches and enlivened by a bold ornate cross motif, which is a harmonic continuation of dynamic arcading. The central axis of the façade has a high cross, ornamented window and rather characteristic motif of two rombs, copied in later churches. The most elaborate decoration, a relief of
gryphon The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk o ...
can be found up in the right arch. The arcading is also spread on lateral façades. The southern façade has remnants of portal. The western façade is plain with two windows. Their ornamentation was previously on the former dome and look rather unharmonious on the wall. Western and eastern façades have inscriptions, telling about the construction year and the architect, and the subsequent reconstruction.


Frescoes

The original frescoes of the 11th century, found under the apse
plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
, are rather fragmentary. The 17th century frescoes, less monumental and less detailed than the earlier, remain only in the dome and the apse. The dome fresco depicts the
Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism. The Pantokrator i ...
with six-winged
seraph A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fif ...
s and evangelists. Prophets are found between 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 ...
s, and Mary with Jesus among them; below the windows the
archangels Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...
. Traditional
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 ...
is depicted in the altar
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 ...
. Multifigure
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
is found in the upper part of the apse, and below it, bishops with open scrolls and deacons. Dominant colors are dark brown, blue, yellow and dark grey.


Other structures

Beyond the main church, the Samtavisi complex includes a badly damaged two-storied bishop's residence, a small church (5.8х3.2m), and a three-storied bell-tower (5.7х7.3m) attached to the 3-5m high fence made of stone and brick. The bell-tower, built into northern wall, dates to the 16th-17th centuries. Its ground floor has a gate, the middle floor was for the guards and the upper the belfry. All other structures date to the 17th-18th centuries. Original wall, surrounding the cathedral, did not survive. The current wall includes a rounded tower with semicircular teeth.


References

*Alshibaia, G., ''Samtavisi''. Tbilisi: 1962. *Dan Cruickshank (ed., 1996), ''Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture'', page 314. Architectural Press, .
Samtavisi
''Georgia Department of Tourism and Resorts''. Accessed on August 11, 2007.


External links


Samtavisi photo gallery
''Monuments of Georgian Architecture''. Accessed on August 11, 2007.
Samtavisi description
{{Coord, 42, 00, 22, N, 44, 24, 33, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Georgian Orthodox cathedrals in Georgia (country) 11th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Buildings and structures in Shida Kartli World Heritage Tentative List Tourist attractions in Shida Kartli