The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Poti is a historical landmark of Georgia built in the 20th century.

History

The decision to build the church was made in 1895. The Russian emperor issued an order stating the creation of a committee for the construction of the cathedral in Poti. The project was headed by the mayor of the city Niko Nikoladze, who was also a journalist and publicist. His idea was a church in the national architectural style, but there were objections from Russia because of the simplicity of the idea.

They believed that there should be a grand cathedral in this city. After the vicissitudes and disputes, it was decided to build a church that would be an exact copy of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople, but smaller in size. And they gave the name to the future church of St. Andrew the First-Called.

The church was built according to the plan of A. Zelenko and M. Marfeld. The architects created the project in the neo-Byzantine style. The decor with which the cathedral was decorated was brought from various Christian churches of the Middle Ages from the vicinity of the city of Trabzon (now it is the territory of Turkey). The foundation was laid in 1906 and consecrated by Bishop Guriy-Migrelsky Giorgi on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross.

The construction of the temple lasted only a year, and in 1907 a cross was erected on the dome. The cathedral was decorated with a painting, on which V. I. Dumitrashko worked. He was in the service of the Imperial Academy. The murals were created in different styles chosen for each wall. Some were written in the Greek-Byzantine style, others in the Georgian-Byzantine style, and others in the Russian-Byzantine style.

But the painting has not survived to our times. During the communist regime, the cathedral was given over to the theater. The bells were melted down, the building was reconstructed. In 1932, a theater was placed in the cathedral, and it was there until the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Orthodox Church of Georgia has been fighting for ownership of the cathedral for a long time, and only in 2005 it was decided to return the church building.

President Mikheil Saakashvili personally handed over the keys to the Cathedral to Ilya the Second Catholicos of Georgia. Restoration was carried out, which was carried out with the help of donations and support from the state budget. After that, the Cathedral rightfully took a place in the rating of “The most beautiful places in Georgia".

In order not to be bothered by the question of what to see in Poti, you definitely need to visit the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which all residents of the city are proud of.