Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Gelati Monastery Georgia

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Photos of the Beautiful Georgian Medieval Gelati Monastery Georgia, Georgia (country). Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful Georgian Medieval Gelati Monastery Georgia, Georgia (country).

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Photos of Medieval Gelati Georgian Orthodox Monastic Monastery & Cathedral near Kutaisi, Imereti Region, western Georgia (country). A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Gelati The Golden Age Monastery

On the lower southern slopes of the mountains of the Northern Caucasus, Gelati Monastery reflects the ‘golden age’ of medieval Georgia. Galati was built in a period of political strength and economic growth between the reigns of King David IV ‘the Builder’ (1089-1125) and Queen Tamar (1184-1213).

Gelati Monastery, eulogised as the “New Athens” and the “Second Jerusalem”, was one of the greatest spiritual, cultural & academic centres of Georgia in the Middle Ages.

Founding of Gelati Monastery

The Monastery was founded by King Davit Agmashenebeli (1089-1125), in 1106. At the monastery there functioned an academy, where there lived and worked outstanding Georgian scientists, philosophers and theologians. Since the 14th century Gelati has been an Episcopal Cathedral.

Gelati Monastery Church of the Virgin

The central building of the Monastery is the church of the Virgin Mary. Its interior is covered with fresco paintings from different periods. Above the altar the apse is decorated with brilliant mosaic composition of Theotokos, depicting the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and child, with archangels on her sides. This Byzantine mosaic dates from the 1125-1130.

Gelati Monastery Fresco Paintings

In the western narthex there are several murals dating from the 12th century depicting seven ecumenical councils. Most of the murals in the cathedral ere executed in the second half of the 16th century.

Other architectural monuments of the Gelati Monastery are of the 12th & 14th centuries. These are the Academy Church of St George. Its interior was painted in the 16th century. Also the two storied Bell Tower of St Nicholas, one of the oldest in Georgia. Gelati Monastery was the burial place of Medieval Georgian Kings.

Gelati Monastery Academy

Gelati Monastery was also an academy of science and education in Georgia. King David IV employed many Georgian scientists, theologians, and philosophers, many of whom had previously been active at various Orthodox monasteries abroad. Among Gelati’s notable scholars were Ioane Petritsi, who translated several classics of philosophy and is best known for his commentaries on Proclus. Arsen Ikaltoeli, known for his Dogmatikon, a book of teachings influenced by Aristotle. The Gelati Academy employed scribes to compile manuscript copies of important works.

Since 1994 Gelati Monastery has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.