Photos of the Georgian Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Georgia

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Photos of the Medieval Georgian Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Georgia,(country). The Cathedral of the Living Pillar a Georgian Orthodox Cathedral. 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 Medieval Georgian Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Georgia (country)

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Photos of the Svetitskhoveli Georgian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral (Cathedral of the Living Pillar) , Mtskheta, Georgia (country). A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was originally built in the 4th century during the reign of Mirian III of Kartli (Iberia). In 1029 the Georgian architect Arsukisdze deigned the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral that stands today. The Cathedral has been subjected to earthquake damage, as well as being sacked by Timur (Tamerlane). In the 20th century Soviet Russian subjugation of Georgia led to the whitewashing over and removed of frescoes from inside the Cathedral.

Today the surviving medieval artworks and frescoes of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral have been restored.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Robe of Jesus Relic

A medieval Ciborium covered in frescoes is supposed to house the robe Jesus was buried in. The story goes that in the 1st century AD a Georgian Jew from Mtskheta named Elias was in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. Elias bought Jesus’ robe from a Roman soldier at Golgotha and brought it back to Georgia.

Returning to his native city, he was met by his sister Sidonia who upon touching the robe immediately died from the emotions engendered by the sacred object. The robe could not be removed from her grasp, so she was buried with it. The place where Sidonia is buried with Christ’s robe is preserved in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

On the south side of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral naive there is a small stone church built inside the Cathedral. This is a symbolic copy of the Chapel of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Built between the end of the 13th and the beginning the 14th centuries, it was erected here to mark Svetitskhoveli as the second most sacred place in the world (after the church of Jerusalem). This was due to the Holy relic of Christ’s robe.

The Whitewashing of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral Frescoes

The cathedral interior walls were once fully adorned with medieval frescoes, but many of them did not survive. In the 1830s, when Czar Nicholas I was scheduled to visit Mskheta, Russian authorities painted whitewash over the frescoes. This incredible act of vandalism was meant to make the cathedral “tidier look”. To add insult to injury, in the end the Czar never even came.

Today, after much careful restoration, some frescoes have been restored, including a 13th-century depiction of the “Beast of the Apocalypse” and figures of the Zodiac.