The most beautiful places in Georgia are the Monastery of the Deity Martkopi, which is fifteen hundred years old.
The Monastery of the Deity Martkopi is one of the most ancient and significant religious buildings in the country, a landmark of Georgia that has survived all wars. It is located in the municipality of Gardabani. Martkopi Monastery was founded by one of the 13 Assyrian fathers
Visit the monastery of the Deity Martkopi⬇️
If you are wondering "What to see in Georgia", then this information will be useful to you. The monastery of the Deity Martkopi can be called quite large for a mountain monastery, especially considering its age. And he is already 15 centuries old. Not every building survives to this age.
Location: Kvemo Kartli region, Gardabani Municipality. The monastery is relatively close to the village of Martkopi, which is on the southern side of the Yalninsky ridge. If you get from Tbilisi, you will have to drive 25 km. But what is especially convenient is that the highway goes straight to the monastery.
The monastery was founded in the 6th century by one of the 13 Asirian fathers, St. Anthony of Martkopi. This is the name of the founders of Georgian monasticism, who came to Georgia from Syria, just in the 6th century and dispersed in different directions, becoming preachers.
Accordingly, this place is especially revered by the locals. By the way, it is worth noting that from here, from behind the trees, there is a view of the mountains, the fusion of nature and the creations of human hands. I can't believe it could be so organic. But let's return to the history that the monastery of the Deity is so rich in.
История
If you dig into the chronicles, you can find data that earlier, before the 6th century, the village was called Akriani, translated stone place. And even then there was a temple on this place, founded by Vakhtang Gorgasali. Father Anthony appeared and settled here only at the beginning of the 6th century and lived as a hermit or, in translation, as Martkopsky. This was the reason for the renaming of the village.
After some time, information spread that Anton Martkopel was a miracle worker. So his followers began to join him, which was the beginning of the monastic path of Martkopi. The decisive factor was the raid of Khan Berk and the "Golden Horde" in 1265, which destroyed the city of Rustavi - we had to move the Bishop's center from Rustavi to the village already known to us.
But the influence of the conquests on the fate of the monastery did not end there. In 1395, another invasion took place, already in Temur Leng, as a result of which the monastery was ruined and the "Miraculous Icon of the Savior", or in other words, the Deity, which was stored here, disappeared.
Its value consisted in the fact that Anthony personally brought it from Edessa. Therefore, the monastery itself was named after this icon. Later, the monastery resumed its activities and began to work both as a cultural and educational center.
So, a school was founded here, which worked regularly for several centuries, until 1752, when the attack of the Leks took place. But the monastery continued to function as a center of episcopal life until the beginning of the 19th century. Patriarch of All Georgia Kirion II lived here. Here he was killed on August 26, 1918, in his own cell.
Monastic life here was in full swing until 1934, when, for obvious reasons: the Communists closed it and founded a shelter for homeless children (1950-60-ies). A little later, the room was converted into a rest house of the 31st plant. In general, as soon as the monastery was not used. And so it continued until 1989. Since then, the monks have returned and now the Abkhazian diocese operates here.
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Architecture
It was not for nothing that it was said that the monastery is quite large. There are several temples located here: in honor of the Deities, the Mother of God, St. George and Father Anton. There is also a bell tower, various monastic and other outbuildings on the territory. Also, before the attack of the Leks, the monastery was surrounded by a wall with loopholes and a length of 1400 meters.
Now only ruins remain of it. The central building, of course, is the temple of the Deity, which was originally much larger. But history did not spare the building, various raids destroyed the church repeatedly, so now there is a new temple on the site of the old one, but already small in size.
There is also a tomb on the territory, which is located next to the main temple, the grave and column of Anton Martkopel have been preserved. It is said that the Syrian father spent the last 15 years of his life in this column. In general, this monastery is a real find and you can talk about it for a very long time. But it is better to come and see the most beautiful places of Georgia with your own eyes.
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