The Tabakini Monastery of St. George () is a monastery located in western

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 upper part of Imereti, 7–8 kilometers from the city of

Zestaponi Zestaponi ( ka, ზესტაფონი, tr, ) is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia (country), Georgia. Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Im ...

History

The construction of the monastery has been dated between the seventh and eighth centuries. Tabakini is known for its special architecture, rich history and 16th-century murals. The monastery, which housed up to 70 monks at its peak, made a great contribution to the country's history. Here, an outstanding ascetic of the 19th century, Hilarion Kartveli, spent part of his childhood. Under the communist regime, the monastery was ransacked and destroyed. The old part consists of a church with two naves, a crypt, and a side chapel, built in the seventh and eighth centuries. The church was painted during the first half of the 16th century and has a bell tower from a later period. The monastery retains the image of King

Bagrat III of Imereti Bagrat III ( ka, ბაგრატ III) (1495-1565), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king (''mepe'') of Imereti from April 1, 1510, to 1565. He succeeded upon the death of his father, Alexander II, and faced repeated assaults from the Ottoman T ...

(1510–1565). In 1980–1986, the temple was restored. In the 1990s, a house for monks was built.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite web , url = http://www.ambioni.ge/tabakinis-wminda-giorgis-saxelobis-monasteri , title = ტაბაკინის წმიდა გიორგის სახელობის მონასტერი , last = ნოზაძე , first = სტატიის ავტორი: თეონა , date = 25 December 2013 , website = ამბიონი , language = ka , access-date = 6 August 2019

Literature

* Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 633, Tb., 1985. Georgian Orthodox monasteries