Zeda Vardzia ( ka, ზედა ვარძია, literally, "upper Vardzia") is an 11th-century

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

church, of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

, located in the

Aspindza Municipality Aspindza ( ka, ასპინძის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Aspindzis munitsipalit'et'i'') is a municipality in southern Georgia, in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 10,372 (2021). Its main town and a ...

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 southern

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 Samtskhe-Javakheti. The church is situated 3 km northwest of

Vardzia Vardzia ( ka, ვარძია ) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the sec ...

, the medieval rock-hewn complex. The church is inscribed on the list of the

Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance The Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance ( ka, ეროვნული მნიშვნელობის კატეგორიის კულტურის უძრავი ძეგლები) are buildings, structures ...

of Georgia.

History

The Zeda Vardzia church was constructed in the 11th century. An inscription on a basement wall stone mentions "Liparit, ''

eristavt-eristavi ''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgia (country), Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English language, English as "prince" or less common ...

''", probably

Liparit IV, Duke of Kldekari Liparit IV, sometimes known as Liparit III ( ka, ლიპარიტ IV II, was an 11th-century Georgia (country), Georgian general and political figure who was at times the most valuable support of King Bagrat IV of Georgia (1027–1072) ...

(died ). It was home to a monastic community which was moved to a new and much larger complex of rock-cut monasteries of Vardzia in the reign of

George III of Georgia George III ( ka, გიორგი III) (died 27 March 1184), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 8th King of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. He became king when his father, Demetrius I, died in 1156, which was preceded by his brother's revolt agains ...

(). After the Ottoman conquest of

Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) (Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the ...

—the province where Zeda Vardzia was located—in the 16th century, the monastery was deserted and the church building fell in decay. The church was brought to scholarly attention by the French student of the Caucasian antiquities,

Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. He worked mostly in Russia. Early life and first works Marie-Félicité Brosset was born in Paris int ...

, who visited the area from 1847 to 1848. In 1875, the Georgian scholar

Dimitri Bakradze Dimitri Bakradze ( ka, დიმიტრი ბაქრაძე) (26 October 1826 – 10 February 1890) was a Georgian scholar who authored several influential works in the history, archaeology and ethnography of Georgia and the Caucasus. He w ...

reported that Zeda Vardzia was used by the locally settled

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

as an

animal stall An animal stall is an enclosure housing one or a few animals. Stalls for animals can often be found wherever animals are kept: a horse stable is often a purpose-built and permanent structure. A farmer's barn may be subdivided into animal stalls ...

. Later, under the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

rule, the building was restored, from 1975 to 1978, by the architects R. Gverdtsiteli and T. Nemsadze. In 1997, the church was returned to a Christian use and settled by a community of nuns.

Architecture

The Zeda Vardzia church is constructed on an artificially flattened rocky surface in the upper Zeda Vardzia ravine. It is a two-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

design, with an open three-arch

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

attached to the south. The western extension is a later addition. The edifice is built of evenly hewn rectangular andesite tuff blocks. The main nave is taller and larger than its northern counterpart and terminates in a deep

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 ...

. The two naves are connected through arches rested on two pillars. The interior was once frescoed, but they have mostly faded or been obliterated. Both naves, covered with a pitched roof, are richly ornate on the exterior. Above the entrance there is a stylized Georgian inscription, 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, making mention of the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

Apridon Apridon or Afridon () was the 12th-century Georgian politician, a dependent "aznauri", who had been raised to the rank of '' msakhurtukhutsesi ("Master of Servants").'' In sharp contrast to old, frequently rebellious Georgian feudal lords, Apridon ...

, an important 12th-century dignitary. In a nearby rock there are a series of cave-dwellings for monks.

References

{{reflist Georgian Orthodox churches in Samtskhe–Javakheti Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia 11th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings