Photos of the Medieval Georgian Jvari Monastery Georgia

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Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Georgian Jvari Monastery Georgia ,(country) near Mtskheta. 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 Medieval Georgian Jvari Monastery Georgia, Georgia (country).

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Photos of Jvari Monastery, a 6th century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern Georgia. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Historic Jvari Monastery

The historic church of Jvari Monastery overlooks Mtskheta, former capital of Georgia. Jvari is an outstanding example of medieval religious architecture in the Caucasus. It shows the high artistic and cultural level attained by the ancient kingdom of Iberia.

Jvari Monastery is situated on a sheer bluff of a rocky mountain top overlooking the confluence of the river Mtkvari and Aragvi at the town of Mtskheta.

Jvari Monastery Founded by St Nino

Local legend believes that in the early 4th century Saint Nino, a female missionary, converted King Mirian III of Iberia to Christianity. She came to a pagan temple on the site of present day Jvari Monastery and erected a wooden cross. It is told that the cross was able to work miracles and became a centre of pilgrimage for pilgrims from all over the Caucasus.

In 545 a small church was erected on the site known as the “Small Church of Jvari”. The deeds of Saint Nino, are documented by Georgian, Armenian, Greek and Roman historians, and the 6th-century church in Jvari Monastery remains the most sacred place in Georgia.

Jvari Monastery Historic Tetraconch Church

The small church was replaced by the “Great Church of Jvari” around 590 by King Erismtavari Stepanoz I. The new Jvari church was built tetraconch style, with four apse’s in the shape of a cross. The Jvari church is believed to be one, if not, the first example of this floor plan which became a model for many churches throughout Georgia and the Byzantine Empire. Whether the tetraconch four apse design originated in Georgia or Armenia is hotly debated by academics from both countries.