The Samtsevrisi church of Saint George ( ka, სამწევრისის წმინდა გიორგის ტაძარი, tr) is an early medieval
Georgian Orthodox
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
church in the village of Samtsevrisi,
Kareli Municipality
Kareli ( ka, ქარელის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Karelis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Shida Kartli. Some northern territories of the district are part of the self-proclaimed ...
, in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
's
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
Shida Kartli
Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , Sh ...
. It is a "free-cross" plan church and stylistically dated to the first half of the 7th century. The church is inscribed on the list of the
of Georgia.
Location and architecture
The Samtsevrisi church is built on a low hill on the left bank of the Dzama river, at the eastern end of the watershed plateau between the
Kura
Rúben de Almeida Barbeiro (born August 21, 1987 in Leiria), better known as KURA, is a Portuguese electro house music DJ and producer. Kura has released tracks through labels such as Hardwell's Revealed Recordings, Flashover Recordings, M ...
and Dzama valleys. Due to its commanding position, the church is visible from Georgia's main east–west highway and railway to the north.
Samtsevrisi is a small dome church built of hewn grayish-reddish sandstone blocks, with the dimensions of 9.6 × 8.8 m, rising to the height of 10.6 m. The general proportions are harmonious and complete. Its "free-cross" design, with a horseshoe
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
in a cross plan, stylistically dates to the early 7th century, with a bit of the 16th-century stonework—a single-nave funeral chapel—to the southwest. The dome rests on an octagonal base, supported by four large and eight smaller
squinch
In architecture, a squinch is a triangular corner that supports the base of a dome. Its visual purpose is to translate a rectangle into an octagon. See also: pendentive.
Construction
A squinch is typically formed by a masonry arch that spans ...
es and containing two windows, to the east and to the west. Three more window are found in the lower part of the building. The entrance to the church is from the south. The only decorations are the pommels and cornices around windows. The building was significantly damaged in an earthquake on 8 May 1940 and was subsequently repaired by a team of Georgian specialists between 1950 and 1953.
Two more interesting structures can be found in the vicinity. The mausoleum of Merab Panaskerteli is situated next, south to the church, with carvings, depicting Merab with his wife and the son. To the north-west down the mountain the
Samtsevrisi Castle and Monastery is visible.
Inscriptions
The church bears two Georgian inscriptions, both made in the medieval ''
asomtavruli
The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: #Asomtavruli, Asomtavruli, #Nuskhuri, Nuskhuri and #Mkhedruli, Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, their Letter (alphabet), letters share t ...
'' script: the one on the eastern façade commemorates the construction of a water canal in the 20th regnal year of
Constantine III of Abkhazia
Constantine III ( ka, კონსტანტინე III) was King of the Abkhazia from 894 to 923 AD. He was the son and successor of Bagrat I of the Anchabadze dynasty.
Life
Constantine's reign is marked as a constant fighting for the ...
, that is, , by Domnisos and Georgi Tualaisadze. while the other, on the southern façade, makes mention of the local nobleman, Merab Panaskerteli, who had renovated the church in the late 15th or early 16th century.
References
{{reflist
Buildings and structures in Shida Kartli
Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia
Georgian Orthodox churches in Georgia (country)
7th-century churches in Georgia (country)