The monastery of Gelati and its Theotokos (Georgia)
The monastery of Gelati, on a forest hill near Kutaisi, is a Georgian Orthodox monastery founded in 1106 by King David IV the Constructor. His main church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin and was consecrated in 1130. It has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1994.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- In the apse shines the mosaic of the Theotokos (about 1125-1130): the Virgin with the Child on the background of gold, flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel - the only complete medieval musive set preserved in Georgia.
- David IV the builder founded Gelati as a dynastic pantheon and a center of wisdom; his grave is kept under a slab in the passage of the door of the enclosure.
- His academy brought together theologians and philosophers; the medieval chronists called it "second Jerusalem" and "new Athens."
- The monks were expelled in 1922 by the communist regime and the churches were reconsecrated in 1988; it retains the largest set of Byzantine murals in Georgia.
Natividad de la Theotokos (Gelati)
Gelati is an Orthodox sanctuary of the Mother of God: Christian Georgia put its golden age under the cloak of the Theotokos, whose mosaic among archangels continues to preside over the prayer of the monks.
"The Most Holy Theotokos, honored in Gelati, pray for the unity of all who veneration your Son.
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