The church of Tsromi ( ka, წრომის ტაძარი)is an early medieval church in village Tsromi, in the vicinity of town

Khashuri Khashuri ( ka, ხაშური ) is a city in the central part of Georgia and is the 9th largest settlement in Georgia. It is the administrative centre of Khashuri Municipality. It is located on the Shida Kartli plain, on the Suramula river ...

, in

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 ...

region of

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 ...

. It is situated at the center of the village, along the right side of the river

Mtkvari The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari ( ), is an east-flowing transboundary river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of ...

( Kura).

History

According to the southern façade, the temple construction dates to the years 626–634, when it was built during the reign of

Stephen II of Iberia Stephen II ( ka, სტეფანოზ II, ''Step'anoz II''), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a Principate of Iberia, presiding prince of Caucasian Iberia, Iberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia (country), Georgia) from 637/642 to c. 650.The son and succ ...

. The monument was strongly affected and got even worse during the earthquake in 1940. Now the temple is fortified.

Architecture

The domed temple represents a monument of Georgian architecture, distinguished by its complex composition. Its artistic importance is comparable with

Jvari Monastery :''The name of this monastery translated as the "Monastery of the Cross". For other monasteries named after the cross, see Monastery of the Cross (disambiguation).'' Jvari Monastery () is a sixth-century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskhet ...

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 ...

saIt is the basis of the further development of Georgian church architecture of the Middle Ages. The temple is a ″drawn-inside cross″ type; the basis of its plan is an equiangular cross. It is the first Georgian church where the dome rests on four free pillars. It also gave freedom to walls and opened new perspectives in the

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

.Zakaraya, P. (1983) Pamyatniki Vostochnoi Gruzii. Iskusstvo, Moskva, 376 p. akaraya, P. Monuments of the Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian) The exterior is modestly decorated. The eastern facade is cut with two deep triangular niches. Such niches by the side of 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 ' ...

appeared for the first time in Tsromi to later become characteristic Georgian temple decoration. The interior is illuminated through high windows in the dome and each cross arm. The temple decoration is scant. The conch of the temple altar was decorated with contemporaneous mosaic, depicting

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

and two

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

, the reserved fragments of which are kept in the Museum of Art of Georgia since 1930s. 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, on the altar sides. Each of them has cross-shaped and octangular vaults. The stairs in the northern corner lead to the choir above 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 ...

, meant for nobility, women and singers.

Literature

* Georgian soviet encyclopedia, volume XI, Tbilisi, 1974 * description of Georgian historical and cultural monuments, volume 5. pages:457-460; Tbilisi; 1990. * Bedidze V, Old Georgian architecture, Tbilisi, 1974 * G. Chubinashvili, History of Georgian Arts, volume 1. Tbilisi, 1936. * Ir. Tsitsishvili, History of Georgian architecture, Tbilisi, 1955.

References

{{Reflist Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia Buildings and structures in Shida Kartli