, infobox_width = , image = საფარის მონასტერი.jpg , alt = , caption = Sapara Monastery, St. Saba church , map_type = Georgia#Samtskhe-Javakheti , map_size = 275 , location = , coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

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

, rite = , region = , state = , province = , territory = , prefecture = , sector = , district = , cercle = , municipality = , consecration_year = , status = , functional_status = , heritage_designation = , leadership = , website = , architecture = yes , architect = , architecture_type =

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, architecture_style = , general_contractor = , facade_direction = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = Church: 9th century,
renovated ?.
, construction_cost = , specifications = yes , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , height_max = , dome_quantity = 1 , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , materials = , nrhp = , added = , refnum = , designated = Sapara Monastery ( ka, საფარის მონასტერი) is a Georgian Orthodox monastery in the

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region ('' mkhare'') of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a l ...

District of Samtskhe-Javakheti region,

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 ...

History

It has existed from at least the 9th century, and has numbered among its monks many important figures in Georgian ecclesiastical history. At the end of the 13th century Sapara became a possession of the Jakeli family, whose leader, Sargis Jakeli, was adept at staying on good terms with the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, which enabled Samtskhe to enjoy a peace unusual for the time. When he grew old, Sargis took monastic orders and changed his name to Saba. His son Beka built the largest of the 12 churches here, St Saba's Church, named after the saint whose name his father had adopted, one of the most architecturally important churches of its time. The 14th-century frescoes inside are of high quality. From the end of the 16th century until the beginning of the 17th century the Sapara Monastery became empty due to the expansion of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

policy into Samtskhe and during this process the monastery's icons and other treasures were taken to more protected areas of Georgia. Sapara monastery 1

Architecture

Set in a green forested canyon, the monastery is contrastingly distinguished by its pink and yellow stones. The ensemble is composed of church buildings and remnants of a palace and fortifications walls. The most important is the

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome plan was the dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome. The first cross-in-square chu ...

temple of St. Saba. Another significant church is St. Mary's Assumption Church.

St. Mary's Assumption Church

This was the earliest church in the ensemble, built, probably, in the 10th century. The large hall church has two entrances: original, western, and northern, which was opened after the construction of St. Saba's Church. The western part, unusually for hall churches, has two floors. Its eastern part contains the apse with the conch. The fragments of frescos date to the beginning of 14th century. The facades are decorated by reliefs.

St. Saba's Church

Best example of the 13th century temple architecture in Georgia, this church also survived in rather good condition till modern times.Zakaraya, P. (1983) Pamyatniki Vostochnoi Gruzii. Iskusstvo, Moskva, 376 s. onuments of Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian) Ordered to be constructed by

Beka I Jaqeli Beka I Jaqeli ( ka, ბექა I ჯაყელი) (c. 1240 – 1306) was a Georgian ruling prince (''mtavari'') of Samtskhe (1285–1306). His principality included Samtskhe, Adjara, Shavsheti, Klarjeti, Lazia (Chaneti), Tao, Kola, Artaani ...

, it was built by architect Peresasdze. His name can be found on the western window arch of the portal. Due to complex relief and little space he had to built a wall from the southern side. The church probably had three entrances. Currently only the northern and western remain. The eastern facade is distinguished by contrastingly produced square altar part. Within the church 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''. ...

is flanked by the prothesis and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

on the ground floor, and the

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...

s on the upper. An archaic feature is the presence of

choirs A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

in the upper floor of the western part. The upper floor is connected with the entire space by the arches. The interior is illuminated rather weakly by four windows, one in each arm of the cross, and eight windows in the dome

tholobate In architecture, a tholobate (from el, θολοβάτης, tholobates, dome pedestal) or drum is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. In the earlier Byzanti ...

. The mural have signs of development through the church history: variation in the manner, colours, width of contours. The murals of the southern wall are probably the oldest, from the 14th century. Generally following the traditions of that period, special accent is made on space and tonality with a number of planes. The lower part of the southern wall depicts St. Saba and Jaqeli rulers of Samtskhe: Sargis I, Beka I, Sargis II and Kvarkvare. Above them the Great Feasts, also depicted on the northern wall. The western wall contains numerous Biblical scenes. Among them healings, miracles and the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

. The apse, in addition to bishops and deacons, depicts the Deesus and

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

. The vaults are decorated by the medallions of evangelists. Further up, the tholobate contains eight disciples. Above them, in the dome, the Ascension. The exterior decoration is rich as well. Polychromatic red-violet cladding is typical for the period, as well as the dipped window decorations. It is rather hard to explore the eastern facade, hanging over a precipice; thus poor decoration. Southern facade has ornamentation around the entrance and the windows, particularly the central window. Entering from the northern portal, its tympanum contains a cross with two medallions, carrying birds. An ornamentation flanks the entrance. The eastern portal and the upper facade both have rich and harmonic ornamentation. The heavy

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

contains sixteen windows on the

- eight true and eight false, a feature that will become common in later churches. Its

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

is one of the oldest built in Georgia. Its cubic first floor contain depictions of the members of Lasuridze family, and, thus, served as their tomb. The belfry is on the upper floor.

References

External links