Close to Kutaisi are two important religious sights, Bagrati Cathedral and the UNESCO-listed monastery complex at Gelati.
Bagrati Cathedral is on the outskirts of Kutaisi and was commissioned by King Bagrati III in the year 1003 AD. Bagrati is buried in the cathedral. He is an important figure in Georgia as he was the first king of a united Georgia. The central dome is supported by four free-standing pillars. The western portico was added about thirty years after the original cathedral was completed with the southern and northern porticoes added in the twelfth century. Turkish forces destroyed the cathedral in 1691-92, leaving the cathedral roofless.
Bagrati was an impressive ruin and UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage List in 1994. However, in 2008, President Saakashvili reopened the place as a working church owing to the cathedral’s importance as a symbol of national unification because of the association with Bagrati III.
Once the restoration began, UNESCO placed the cathedral on its World Heritage Sites in Danger list. After the green roof and a tower on the north side were added, UNESCO removed the cathedral from the World Heritage List. The site is impressive and if I hadn’t known the history of the building, I would have assumed the interior was the original. The roof is obviously modern, but that didn’t detract too much from the atmosphere.
The Gelati monastery is in the hills about 10 kilometres to the north of Kutaisi. The main sight is the Cathedral of the Virgin built by King David the Builder in the period 1106-1125. Its interior is colourful with blue used as the predominant background colour and the plentiful light makes the imagery easy to appreciate. Of particular interest to me were the images over the west door with Pontius Pilate washing his hands and Judas Iscariot hanging himself, two images I’ve never seen in a church before.
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