Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral
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The "Sioni" Cathedral of the Dormition is a Georgian Orthodox Cathedral in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It is commonly known as the "Tbilisi Sioni" to distinguish it from several other churches across Georgia bearing the name Sioni.
Located in the old part of the city, the Sioni Cathedral was initially built in the 6th-7th centuries. Since then, it has been destroyed by foreign invaders and reconstructed by Georgians several times. The current church is based on a 13th-century version with some changes from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The Sioni church had been the main Georgian Orthodox Cathedral as the seat of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia until the Holy Trinity Cathedral was consecrated in 2004.
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[edit] Architecture
The Tbilisi Sioni church is situated in historic Sionis Kucha (Sioni Street) in downtown Tbilisi, with its eastern façade fronting the Right Embankment of the Mtkvari River.
The cathedral is a typical example of medieval Georgian church architecture with projecting polygonal apses in the east façade. The yellow tuff from which the cathedral was built comes from Bolnisi, a town southwest of Tbilisi. North of the cathedral, within the courtyard, is a freestanding three-story bell tower dating from 1425. Largely destroyed by the Persians in 1795, it was restored to its present condition in 1939. Just across the street stands the other, also the three-story bell tower which is of particular architectural interest. Built in 1812 in commemoration of the Imperial Russian victory over Ottoman Turkey, it is one of the oldest examples of Russian Neoclassical architecture in South Caucasus.
[edit] History
Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the cathedral bears the name of Mount Zion at Jerusalem.
According to medieval Georgian annals, the construction of the original church on this site was initiated by Guaram, the presiding prince of Iberia (Kartli), in circa 575 and completed by his successor Adarnase in circa 639. This church was completely destroyed by Arabs, and was subsequently built de novo. The basic elements of the existing structure date to the 13th century. Although severely damaged, the cathedral survived the invasions by Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, Timur, Persians and Turks. In 1657, the Metropolitan of Tbilisi, Elise Saginashvili, substantially restored the cupola and added the southern chapel. The regent of Kartli, batonishvili (prince) Vakhtang, carried out restorations of the cupola and cathedral walls in 1710. The cathedral’s interior took a different look between 1850 and 1860 when the Russian artist and general Knyaz Grigory Gagarin (1810 – 1893) composed an interesting series of the murals, though the older Georgian frescoes were lost in the process. A portion of the murals on the western wall were executed by the Georgian artist Levan Tsutskiridze in the 20th century.
The stone iconostasis dates to the 1850s. It replaced the wooden iconostasis burned during the Persian invasion in 1795. To the left of the altar is the venerated Grapevine cross which, according to a tradition, was forged by Saint Nino, a Cappadocian woman who preached Christianity in Georgia in the early 4th century. King Vakhtang III gave the reliquary itself in the early 14th century.
The Sioni Cathedral has also entered history as the place where the Russian Imperial manifesto on the annexation of Georgia was first published. It occurred on April 12, 1802, when the Russian commander-in-chief in Georgia, General von Knorring, assembled the Georgian nobles in the Cathedral, which was surrounded with Russian troops, and forced them to take an oath to the Imperial crown. Those who disagreed were taken into custody.[1][2][3]
[edit] References
- ^ Klaproth, J. (2005), Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia. Performed in the years 1807 and 1808, by command of the Russian government, Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 1-4021-8908-7, p. 220 (Replica of 1814 edition by Henry Colburn, London)
- ^ Villari, L. (1906), Fire and Sword in the Caucasus, T. F. Unwin, London, p. 32 (Online version [1])
- ^ Lang, DM. (1957), The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy: 1658-1832, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 247
