All tourist routes of Georgia lead to Mtskheta – the ancient capital. Everything in this city is connected with the Christianization of Kartli and precious religious artifacts: the tunic of Jesus and the cross of St. Nino. Not far from Mtskheta, on the mountain there is the monastery of Jvari (Cross), which tourists enjoy visiting. The temple is built in such a way that it is visible from any place in Mtskheta.
Jvari Temple – history and interesting facts
Since time immemorial, even in pagan times, high places, be it a mountain or a hill, were used by priests. Pagan temples were built on them, where sacrifices were made. The tradition of building temples on high places was also transferred to Christianity. The place where the Jvari Monastery is now located was used for pagan rituals in the pre-Christian period.
The history of the monastery is directly connected with Saint Nino, allegedly a distant relative of St. George the Victorious. She was the “baptizer” of Georgia. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, being a nun, fled with 38 novices and the abbess Repsime to Armenia from the persecution of Diocletian. In Armenia, the abbess and novices were executed, but Nino managed to miraculously escape.
From grapevines and her hair, she made a staff in the shape of a cross (that is why the Georgian cross has downward-curved edges) and set off on a journey north. Now this cross is a shrine of Georgia and is kept in the Tbilisi Sioni temple. Through the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Nino reached the former capital of Georgia, Mtskheta, where she preached Christianity and lived under a blackberry bush, next to which the Samtavro temple was built.
The baptism of the Georgian royal family: King Mirian and Queen Nana, was marked by the installation of three worship crosses:
- On the top of Tkhoti (mountain with Jvari).
- In the fortress of Ujarma.
- On the site of the temple near Mtskheta.
With her sermons, the enlightener reached Kakheti, where she spent the last days of her life. She died in the place where the current Bodbe Monastery is now located (not far from Sighnaghi), where she is also buried.
Two centuries later, after the installation of the worship cross on the site of the pagan shrine of Armaziu in Mtskheta, they built the “Small Temple”, the ruins of which can be seen today. The large temple in the form of a tetraconch was erected later, in the first half of the 7th century. It was specially built so that the cross installed by the holy missionary Nino would be in the center of the structure.
During another invasion, foreigners burned Jvari and took away the worship cross that was kept there. Medieval historian Leontiy Mroveli mentions this incident in his “Chronicle…”. He writes that the invaders who took the cross with them were overcome by a serious illness, they returned the shrine back and erected it in its original place. The cross that now stands on the pedestal was installed in recent years and has nothing in common with the first worship cross, traces of which have been lost.
Due to its strategic location, the area around the monastery was used as a military facility by Russian troops for a long time. Traces left by vandals can still be seen on the walls of the temple.
No other significant events took place around the temple until Lermontov described a monastery at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura in “Mtsyri”.
The monastery of Jvari and Mtsyri by the Russian poet Lermontov – where is the truth and where is the fiction?
Mikhail Lermontov is one of the greatest Russian poets who visited Georgia. Popular rumor firmly connects Jvari with Lermontov’s work – Mtsyri.
The legend is beautiful, but most likely it is just a legend. The fact is that Lermontov mentions the monastery. But apart from a line in a work of art (this is important!) there is not a single mention in the chronicles. Which is rather strange considering the significance of this location since ancient times.
What versions can be assumed on this account:
- For the sake of beauty of sound, Lermontov changes the temple to a monastery in the text. After all, the goal of writing a historically accurate work was not set.
- The Jvari Monastery is true. For example, it was a monastery of one monk at a temple. Or it was on the site of a temple, but did not exist for long.
- We are talking about another place. In 1924, during the construction of the Zemo-Avchala hydroelectric power station, the riverbeds were changed. Previously, the confluence was closer to the Svetitskhoveli temple. Remember its fortress walls and how fortifications were built before – either on a mountain or near the water. So that it would be more difficult to capture. In this case, we could well be talking about the monastery in Svetitskhoveli or even Samtavro. And it was down below that one could hear how “merging, making noise, embracing, like two sisters, the streams of the Aragvi and Kura.”
The following lines also speak in favor of this version:
“And daily wipes the dust that clings
To tombs, of which the letterings
Of glories past speak and of things
Of like note. Of a tsar one such
Tells who by his gold crown was much
Weighed down, and did of Russia gain
The patronage o’er his domain.”
We are talking about the grave of King Irakli II, who signed a treaty of friendship with the Russian Empire. Which is located in Svetitskhoveli.
Mtskheta is a place with a large number of ancient temples and monasteries. Too many versions can be thought up for such a figurative and allegorical text as in Mtsyri.
I suggest leaving the debates about the “correct” version to historians. And we just enjoy this amazing place, remembering that nothing is unambiguous in this world.
Surprisingly, the combination “Jvari Monastery” has become so firmly entrenched in people’s minds that most people search for it in search engines in this way. Although 99% of the time this is an incorrect phrase.
Architecture of the Jvari Temple (Mtskheta)
Jvari is considered one of the oldest Christian churches, although it has been restored and rebuilt several times.
The architecture of the temple – a tetraconch – undoubtedly testifies to the Byzantine influence of that time. The beginning of the construction of the temple dates back to the end of the 6th century, approximately 590. The construction was completed at the beginning of the 7th century, approximately 604 (according to other sources, in 663). At that time, Georgian temples, as a rule, were basilicas without domes.
An almost exact copy of Jvari is the Church of St. Repsime in Vagharshapat (Echmiadzin). The Byzantine influence on the construction of Jvari is also proven by the flat dome of the temple. Its interior decoration is a square with an inscribed cross. The dome in the form of a sphere rests on the octagon of the walls.
Everything in the temple is strict and ascetic, some fragments of decorations in the form of patterns or bas-reliefs have been preserved. Frescoes in Georgian temples appeared later, in Jvari only fragments of mosaics that once decorated its walls have been preserved. Such a design is not typical of Georgian temple architecture.
Around the church, ruins of towers and fortress walls are also visible.
Those tourists who are interested in ancient temple architecture will be surprised by the presence of tromps. Tromps are arches that serve as a supporting structure for corner domes. Similar architectural solutions are typical of Byzantine temples; they are no longer found in Georgia.
Confluence of the Aragvi and Kura
Jvari is located on the top of a mountain, which offers a wonderful view of the ancient capital Mtskheta and the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers. Most tourists come here for photos against this beautiful backdrop.
The Jvari observation deck offers an excellent view of Mtskheta and the river valley.
Two photos from the observation deck, 10 years apart. The bottom one was taken in December 2023.
Jvari: how to get there
The church is located just half an hour away from the center of Tbilisi. It is impossible to visit the temple by regular transport, as neither buses nor minibuses go there. There are several ways to get there:
- By car. Here is Jvari on the map for planning the route.
- Taxi from Tbilisi or Mtskheta: expensive, but fast and convenient.
- Take public transport to the foot of the mountain, get off at the highway, and walk up the steep slope of the mountain; this was previously the only way to get to the temple.
- You can take bus #11 from the central stadium of Tbilisi to the ZAGES, from there it is 5 km along the road to the temple, if you go straight through the fields – 2 km.
- Excursion. For example, an inexpensive group excursion to Mtskheta.
My name is Vitaly Kibitlevsky, I am a tour guide and creator of unique quests in Batumi. If you want to walk around the city with a fascinating storyteller or plunge into an exciting adventure, write to the mail: vitkibit@gmail.com
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