There are a great many monasteries and temples in Georgia, and perhaps the most famous of them - Samtavro Monastery - is located in the ancient capital of Mtskheta. This is one of the most revered places for Christians in Georgia. In the article we will tell you more about this monastery complex and its history.
Where is it?
Samtavro Monastery is located in a very beautiful place - at the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. It is located in the northern part of the small town of Mtskheta, which, in turn, is located near Tbilisi. In old sources, this city was called the second Jerusalem because of the abundance of religious monuments. From Tbilisi, you can get here by taxi or by train, which is less convenient.
From the history of the monastery
The conversion of Georgia to the Christian faith is associated with St. Nino of Cappadocia, equal to the apostles. Equal-to-the-Apostles in Christianity are called people who, like the twelve apostles, conducted preaching activities among pagan peoples, planting the true faith. Saint Nino was one ofsuch. Telling people about Christ, she reached the city of Mtskheta, which in ancient times was the capital of Georgia. There she lived for some time with the royal gardener, and later she built herself a hut under a blackberry bush on the northern outskirts of the city, and lived there. In the future, King Mirian III and his wife, Queen Nana, will build a temple of St. Nino on this site, otherwise - Makvlovani (translated from Georgian - "blackberry"). It was during these rulers that Georgia became a Christian power - this happened in 324. King Mirian built this temple after, according to legend, he visited the first Georgian cathedral - Svetitskhoveli. There he realized that he was too sinful to visit this beautiful holy place, and decided to create another temple, simpler. According to the chronicles, the temple was built with the participation of all the people for four years, from which we can conclude that the church was large-scale. Subsequently, the king and queen were buried in this church, which thus became the royal tomb. Since then, this place has been called the temple of Samtavro - translated from Georgian as "royal place".
Later, another church, the Transfiguration Church, was built near it, which became a cathedral church, as it was much larger, respectively, and accommodated more people.
Further history of the temple
The Temple of Samtavro was not lucky - it was destroyed more than once and then rebuilt again. It suffered during several earthquakes, from the attack of Tamerlane's troops. He formed his more or less modern look in14-15 centuries.
At the beginning of the 11th century, by decree of the then Catholicos - Patriarch of All Georgia Melchizedek - the temple was significantly enlarged. In addition, the southern gate was attached to it, and decorated with an ornament, which has no analogues in Georgia. In principle, the temple existed most of the time thanks to donations, and since it was the most revered holy place in all of Georgia, the temple flourished, was quite rich.
The Samtavro convent was founded in the 19th century by the Russian administration. The namesake of St. Nino, Nino Amilakhvari, the abbess of the monastery, played an important role in its development. She restored the temple and founded a women's religious school. According to contemporaries, it was a high-quality educational institution, and the girls who left it became good mothers and educated women in the future. Later, the school was transferred from the Samtavro monastery to the city of Tbilisi. The monastery itself was closed at the time of the establishment of Soviet power in Georgia.
Now the monastery is functioning, and about forty novices live in it, who are already on their feet at four in the morning and begin to read the prayer.
What to see in Samtavro Monastery?
Now the monastery complex includes preserved buildings, such as the Church of the Transfiguration and the Church of St. Nino - the same "blackberry". Both temples are typical examples of cross-domed architecture - the building is based on an imaginary cross. Georgian churches are, in principle, exemplary buildings of this kind. Preobrazhenskayathe church, as already mentioned, is larger, in addition, it is thinner and more elegantly decorated. But in general, both temples are distinguished by the severity of forms and the absence of decorative excesses.
In addition, among other buildings of the Samtavro monastery in Mtskheta in Georgia, you can see a tower of the Mongol era, which was built, apparently, at the very end of the 13th century. A similar tower can be found in the city of Vardzia. Still preserved tower-fortress, numerous frescoes dating back to the 12th century. In several gates of the monastery, oriented to different parts of the world, you can find churches - in the southern gate is the Church of the Archangel Michael, in the northern - the Church of John the Baptist and John Chrysostom.
However, usually the architectural features of temples and towers are not of great interest to tourists (as well as tour guides), because they do not have any interesting stories associated with them that attract visitors in the first place. However, people come here not for the sake of architecture and the beauties of nature. The main we alth of the Samtavro monastery is its shrines, and first of all, it is a place of pilgrimage.
Monastery shrines
In the Samtavro monastery in Georgia there are several shrines revered by the Christian world, such as the Iberian icon of the Mother of God, the relics of Queen Nana and King Mirian, who made Georgia a Christian country, an element of stone from the grave of St. Nino, a miraculous icon with her image, donated monastery by one of the Georgian kings. In addition, in the churches of the monastery there are the relics of Shio Mgvimsky,Georgian saint, and the grave of one of the ascetics of modern Georgia - Elder Gabriel.
Necropolis
On the territory of the monastery there is a cemetery where mostly nuns and abbesses are buried. A few years ago, Saint Gabriel was buried there, but we will talk about him later.
In the 19th century, between the monastery and the tract, an ancient burial ground was discovered, the lower tier of which dates back to the beginning of the Iron Age, and the upper tier includes the era of the birth of Christianity. In particular, coins from the reign of Emperor Augustus were found there. Modern Caucasians are not descendants of those whose skulls were found in the burial ground: they belong to dolichocephals.
Holy Ascetic
How is the history of Samtavro monastery and St. Gabriel connected? The man now known by this name was born in Tbilisi in 1929. In the world his name was Goderdzi Vasilyevich Urgebadze. From childhood, he believed in Christ and at the same time began to play the fool. He even managed to attend church and fast in the army, and after he served, he was recognized as mentally ill. In the courtyard of his parents' house in Tbilisi, he built a church with his own hands, which he restored several times due to destruction - it still exists today.
In 1955, Urgebadze took monastic tonsure under the name of Gabriel, and in 1965, at a demonstration, he publicly burned a portrait of Lenin, for which he was severely beaten and almost sentenced to death. However, the sentence was overturned due to the monk being diagnosed with mental illness.
For almost twenty years, St. Gabriel wandered through the ruinedchurches under the communist regime, and in 1971 he became the abbot of the Samtavro monastery. Gabriel was widely known in Georgia, was revered and had a reputation as a holy elder. He was perspicacious, he was considered a miracle worker.
In the last years of his life, the saint was seriously ill with dropsy and lived almost hopelessly in the tower of the Samtavro monastery in Mtskheta. After his death, his grave immediately became an object of pilgrimage, as during his lifetime, a large number of people visited the elder. In 2012, Rector Gabriel was canonized as a saint - this is the so-called kinotypic holiness, when a monk in his life tries to imitate Christ and lead a righteous life as much as possible.
Imperishable relics
In 2014, they discovered that the relics of the elder remain incorrupt. The body of St. Gabriel was solemnly transferred to the main cathedral of the country, Svetitskhoveli, and then back to Mtskheta. In the fall of 2015, a special stone building was built for the shrine with relics, which was made of Iranian onyx, in the northwestern part of the Samtavro temple.
