Monastery of the Cross

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May refer to either of the twin Georgian monasteries (one in Mtskheta, Georgia, and the other in Jerusalem.)

The Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem, built in 11th century, is situated in the Valley of the Cross (Hebrew: עמק המצלבה‎ Emeq HaMatzlevah) ( 31°46'20.27"N, 35°12'30.96"E, 783m) overlooked by the Israel Museum and the Knesset.

Legend has it that the monastery was erected on the burial spot of Adam's head — though two other locations in Jerusalem also claim this honor — from which grew the tree that gave its wood to the cross on which Christ was crucified.

The monastery is currently occupied by monks of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

[edit] Lost artwork

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In the modern period the priest Petre Konchoshvili (1901), the Russian scholar Nikodim Kondakov (1904) and the German scholar Anton Baumstark (1908) published descriptions and photos of the wall paintings, many of which have since been destroyed or removed from the walls and sold in Europe.

Among the scenes attested in the scholarly publications and now lost are the following:

• In the sanctuary: Abraham Giving Three Branches to Lot, the Procuring the Cross by Queen Hellen.
• On the south pilaster of the sanctuary at the feet of the Christ Pantocrator there was the now partially ‘cut out’ figure of Georgian Queen Mariam (17thc).
• In the diaconicon - the Adoration of the Magi.
• The figure of Pantocrator in the dome. On the west wall, south of the west door - representations of St. Constantine and St. Hellen.
• On the west wall a row of Georgian donors were represented, among the Georgian kings: King Mirian (4th c.), King Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th c), King Bagrat IV (11th c).
• Above the western door Giorgi-Prochore Shavsheli, the Georgian abbot of the monastery in the 11th century, who built the existing church, was represented. On the sides of the west wall the Georgian nobelmen Paata and Khaikhosro Dsulukidze and a group portrait of the Georgian monks of the Holy Cross Monastery were depicted.
• On the south wall there was a portrait of Levan Dadiani, Prince of Samegrelo with his family. On the north wall, the Georgian noblemen and poets Euthymius Grdzelidze, Arsen Vachesdze, Ioane Chimchimeli (12th c) and Khaikhosro Choloqashvili (17th c) were portrayed.
• In the arch of the western arm four Syrian Fathers (Georgian saints of the 6th c) were depicted.

“Wisdom Has Built Her House” on the west side of the south-east pier. It was still in situ in the photos taken in 1960.^{[citation needed]}

• The east side of the south-east pier: St. Luke and St.Georgi-Prochore (Georgian clergymen of the 11th and 13th cc.; this image was removed in the 1980-es and sold on auction; now in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Georgia); The Christ’s Temptation by the Devil. . It was still in situ on the photos taken in 1960.
• On the south side of the south-east pier St. Sebastian (this image was removed in the 1980s and sold at auction; it is now in Georgia), at his feet Ioane Guruli (now lost). These images were still in situ in the photos taken in 1960.
• On the north side of the south-east pier two compositions: Elijah’s Ascension and the representation of St. Elijah and St. Elishah (this image was removed in the 1980s and sold at auction; it is now in the Sioni Cathedral, Tbilisi). It was still in situ in the photos taken in 1960.
• The votive representations of the following figures from Georgian history have also been totally destroyed: Maxime, the Catholicos of Abkhazia, Elise Tbileli and Nikiphore Choloqashvili (17th c).
• The copper disc with a Georgian inscription was removed from the floor pavement; the silver jeweled cross, donation of Nikiphoré Cholokashvili, is lost. The two silver crosses donated by the Patriarch of Georgia and the Georgian clergymen also disappeared.

The wall painting ensemble underwent considerable changes in the 1970s and 1980s. The Georgian inscriptions were painted over and replaced by Greek ones. For instance, in the 1901 photograph of the Council of Archangels there are Georgian inscriptions, but on the 1960 photographs the inscriptions are Greek; after cleaning the paintings, the Georgian inscriptions emerged again. The same happened in the case of the Anapeston. In many places (e.g. near the figures of St. Luke and St. Prochore) the outline of Georgian letters are clearly seen under the Greek inscription that is there now; in the 1980s the Greek Patriarchate had the frescoes ‘restored’ or, to be more precise, they were repainted very crudely with oil paints to acquire a more ‘complete aspect,’ as a result of which many features of the original paintings have been lost.

• An act of vandalism took place at the end of June, 2004. An unknown criminal scratched out the face of the votive portrait of the famous Georgian 12th c. poet Shota Rustaveli and part of the accompanying Georgian inscription with his name on the south-west pier.(BBC)

Holy Cross is also the name of the representational church of the Jerusalem Patriarchate in Setauket, NY.