The church of Tsromi ( ka, წრომის ტაძარი)is an early medieval church in village
Tsromi, in the vicinity of town
Khashuri
Khashuri ( ka, ხაშური ) is a town in the central part of Georgia and is the 9th largest settlement in Georgia. It is the administrative centre of Khashuri Municipality. It is located on the Shida Kartli plain, on the Suramula riversi ...
, in
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 , S ...
region of
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 ...
. It is situated at the center of the village, along the right side of the river
Mtkvari
The Kura is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus while its main tributary, the Ar ...
(
Kura).
History
According to the southern façade, the temple construction dates to the years 626–634, when it was built during the reign of
Stephen II of Iberia. The monument was strongly affected and got even worse during the earthquake in 1940. Now the temple is fortified.
Architecture
The domed temple represents a monument of Georgian architecture, distinguished by its complex composition. Its artistic importance is comparable with
Jvari Monastery
:''The name of this monastery translated as the "Monastery of the Cross". For the Georgian monastery in Jerusalem with the same name, see Monastery of the Cross.''
Jvari Monastery () is a sixth-century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, ...
in
MtskhetasaIt is the basis of the further development of Georgian church architecture of the Middle Ages.
The temple is a ″drawn-inside cross″ type; the basis of its plan is an equiangular cross. It is the first Georgian churct where the dome rests on four free pillars. It also gave freedom to walls and opened new perspectives in the
Georgian architecture.
[Zakaraya, P. (1983) Pamyatniki Vostochnoi Gruzii. Iskusstvo, Moskva, 376 p. akaraya, P. Monuments of the Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian)]
The exterior is modestly decorated. The eastern facade is cut with two deep triangular niches. Such niches by the side of the
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''. ...
appeared for the first time in Tsromi to later become characteristic Georgian temple decoration.
The interior is illuminated through high windows in the dome and each cross arm. The temple decoration is scant. The conch of the temple altar was decorated with contemporaneous mosaic, depicting
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and two
apostles, the reserved fragments of which are kept in the
Museum of Art of Georgia since 1930s. The
prothesis and the
sacristy are in eastern part, on the altar sides. Each of them has cross-shaped and octangular vaults.
The stairs in the northern corner lead to the choir above the
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
, meant for nobility, women and singers.
Literature
* Georgian soviet encyclopedia, volume XI, Tbilisi, 1974
* description of Georgian historical and cultural monuments, volume 5. pages:457-460; Tbilisi; 1990.
* Bedidze V, Old Georgian architecture, Tbilisi, 1974
* G. Chubinashvili, History of Georgian Arts, volume 1. Tbilisi, 1936.
* Ir. Tsitsishvili, History of Georgian architecture, Tbilisi, 1955.
References
{{Reflist
Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia
Buildings and structures in Shida Kartli