Timotesubani ( ka, ტიმოთესუბანი) is a medieval

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

Christian monastic complex located at the eponymous village in the

Borjomi Gorge Borjomi Gorge ( ka, ბორჯომის ხეობა) is a picturesque canyon of the Kura River in central Georgia. The gorge was formed as a result of the Kura River cutting its path through the Lesser Caucasus Mountains where the Tri ...

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 Samtskhe-Javakheti

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 ...

. The complex consists of a series of structures built between the 11th and 18th centuries, of which the Church of the

Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

is the largest and artistically most exquisite edifice constructed during the "

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

" of medieval Georgia under Queen Tamar ( r. 1184–1213). A contemporary inscription commemorates the Georgian nobleman

Shalva of Akhaltsikhe Shalva Akhaltsikheli ( ka, შალვა თორელი-ახალციხელი) (died 1227) was a Georgian military commander and court official in the Kingdom of Georgia. He held the offices of ''Mechurchletukhutsesi'' (Lord High T ...

as a patron of the church. The church is a domed

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 ...

design built of pink stone, with three

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 ' ...

s projecting on the east. Its dome rests upon the two freely standing pillars and ledges of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. Later, two portals – the western and southern – were added. The interior was extensively frescoed no later than the 1220s. The Timotesubani murals are noted for their vivacity and complexity of

iconographic Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...

program.Eastmond, Antony (1998), ''Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia'', p. 211.

Penn State Press The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. Established in 1956, it is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State University ...

, . These frescoes were cleaned and studied by E. Privalova and colleagues in the 1970s and underwent emergency treatment and conservation with aid from the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training ...

and the

Samuel H. Kress Foundation Samuel Henry Kress (July 23, 1863 – September 22, 1955) was a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian ...

in the 2000s.Preservation of Medieval Monuments: the Church of the Virgin in Timotesubani
''The Georgian Arts & Culture Center'', April 2007

References

13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Georgian Orthodox monasteries {{Georgia-EO-church-stub