Nativity of the Mother of God of Gelati, venerated in the monastery of Gelati

Marian Atvocation of Kutaisi (Imereti)

El monasteries de Gelati is an orthodox monastic complex dedicated to the Virgin Marylocated near Kutaisi, in the Imereti region, west of Georgia. It was founded by the king David IV de Georgia, called el Constructorin the year 1106in the Golden Age of medieval Georgia.

Main data

Origin and history

El monasteries de Gelati is an orthodox monastic complex dedicated to the Virgin Marylocated near Kutaisi, in the Imereti region, west of Georgia. It was founded by the king David IV de Georgia, called el Constructorin the year 1106in the Golden Age of medieval Georgia.

According to the documented history, the first church of the whole was precisely the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, whose construction was completed in 1125. The monastery became one of the main intellectual and cultural centers of Georgia, with a famous academy that brought together theologians, philosophers and scientists from other monasteries and the school of Mangan in Constantinople. The complex preserved numerous murals and manuscripts from the 12th to the 17th centuries. King David the Builder is buried in Gelati, which underlines his importance as a real pantheon and a place of national memory.

As regards tradition and legend, various news sources highlight Gelati as a symbol of the Georgian "Golden Age" and present it almost as an "Olympus" of education, science and religion, an expression that underlines its prestige but that belongs more to literary language than to strict historical description. The devotion to the Nativity of the Mother of God is implicit in the dedication of the main church, but there are no specific miraculous legends about a specific icon of the Nativity that have been formally collected by the Church in official documents accessible. Gelati was registered by the UNESCO as Patrimonio de la Humanidad in 1994, along with the Cathedral of Bagrati.

The image and the sanctuary

El Main shrine the complex is the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (or Church of the Virgin Mary), which is the original core of the monastery of Gelati. The monastery is located in a valley of the Tskaltsitela River, about 11 km north-east of Kutaisi, surrounded by walls and formed by three churches, a bell tower, the old academy and other monastic buildings of the XII-XIII centuries. It belongs to the Georgian orthodox rite, and one of its churches acts as a cathedral of the diocese of Kutaisi-Gaenati. It does not know that it has the title of minor basilica nor a specific ecclesial declaration as "national sanctuary" in the documentation consulted; rather, its rank is recognized for its historical importance and for the UNESCO declaration.

In the apse of the main church, a famous Byzantine mosaic of the Theotokos (Mother of God), one of the masterpieces of the sacred art of the Georgian Golden Age. The sources of travel and outreach are particularly important. wall and mosaic paintings of the Church of the Virgin Mary, described as "true artistic wonders." The central mosaic represents the Mother of God intoned with the Child, in the style of Byzantine iconography, surrounded by holy scenes and figures, as can be seen in photographic reproductions and descriptions, although specific iconographic details (inscriptions, exact disposition of secondary characters) are not systematically described in accessible sources.

It is not recorded in the consulted sources that the local advocation is officially called "Nativity of the Mother of God of Gelati" as a liturgical title distinct from the general name of the church ("of the Virgin" or "of the Nativity of the Virgin"); devotion is linked to the whole monastery and its character as a Marian sanctuary of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Sponsorship and coronation

El patronazgo of Gelati is, above all, of character national and historical: the monastery is one of the most venerated places in Georgia and a symbol of the country's Christian identity. It is located in the diocese of Kutaisi-Gaenati and in the region of Imeretibut the sources consulted do not mention a formal decree declaring it official patron of the city of Kutaisi, of a municipality or of the entire Georgian nation in ecclesial legal terms; it is rather a de facto patronage, because of its strong spiritual and cultural roots.

On a canonical coronation of the image of the Virgin of Gelati (in the technical sense that this expression has in the discipline of the Latin Catholic Church), does not contain a documented canonical coronation. There is no reference to an act of pontifical coronation or to a decree of the Holy See or a papal delegate applicable to this advocation in the sources consulted, which always refer to the monastery as Georgian Orthodox sanctuary and not as a Marian sanctuary crowned according to Roman Catholic use.

Party and devotion

En la Orthodox liturgical tradition, la Nativity of the Mother of God se celebra el September 8 (Gregorian calendar, where the revised or Gregorian calendar is followed in most local Orthodox Churches), as one of the great Marian parties. However, the specific sources on Gelati do not explicitly contain a "feast of their own" other than the general celebration of the Nativity of the Virgin, nor do they provide specific data on local processions or rites for that day. Therefore, beyond the logic of the monastery's connection to that Marian solemnity, does not contain a detailed description of the local party in the documents consulted.

As for the devoción popular, Gelati sigue siendo described as a living religious sanctuarythe place of pilgrimage of Georgian faithful and visitors from other countries. Recent travel chronicles and testimonies point to the constant presence of monks, the possibility of attending Orthodox trades and the regular influx of pilgrims and tourists, although without providing precise annual attendance figures. The custom of the Georgian Orthodox rite that women cover their heads to enter the church is mentioned, stressing the sacred character of the place. There are no unique popular traditions (specific miracles, famous exvotes, particular promises) clearly documented and exclusively linked to the Nativity of the Mother of God in Gelati, beyond the general veneration of the Theotokos and respect for the tomb of King David the Constructor.

Link to the Rosary

It does not contain a specific and documented link between the advocation of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Gelati y el prayer of the Rosary in the Latin Catholic sense. The monastery belongs to the Georgian orthodox ritewhere the main repetitive Marian devotional practice is not the Dominican rosary, but other forms of prayer, such as the recitation of liturgical hymns and, in some environments, the use of the Choki o string of prayer, focused on the prayer of Jesus.

From a broad Marian perspective, the mystery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary the joyful mysteries del Rosario: his birth prepares the Incarnation and anticipates Mary's "yes" in the Annunciation. To contemplate the Virgin in Gelati, surrounded by mosaics and frescoes who proclaim her divine motherhood, invites those who pray the Rosary to deepen Mary's place in the history of salvation, spiritually joining the veneration that the Georgian Orthodox Church tributes to the Theotokos in this sanctuary. Like this.