⛪ The Cathedral of the Borjomi Diocese: What to Look For at St Nicholas Church

St Nicholas Church stands in the centre of Borjomi, in Merab Kostava Square, and serves as the cathedral of the Borjomi diocese. It is the principal church of the town.

Let me say at once what is usually left out: the building is modern. It went up in the early 2000s, so it is around twenty years old. In a gorge that holds churches of the tenth and eleventh centuries and older, it is the youngest major structure.

That shifts the interest. What is worth looking at here is not the mark of centuries but how classical Georgian architecture is reproduced today, and which parts of the old vocabulary of forms get chosen.

🏛️ Plan and volume

The church is cross-domed, with an apsidal projection on the east side. The classical Georgian scheme.

An eight-sided dome rises above the building, resting on a domical square. There is a window on each face, so the drum is pierced right round and the dome works as a light source from inside.

The plinth is two-tiered, and a cornice of ordinary form runs around the building.

There are two entrances, west and south. The windows are on the north, south and east sides.

✝️ The Bolnisi cross above the west entrance

Here is the detail worth walking up to.

Above the west door is a window in the form of an arch, and set within it is a sculpted Bolnisi cross.

This is not decoration but a specific reference. The Bolnisi cross is known from Bolnisi Sioni, a fifth-century church and the oldest surviving in Georgia. It became one of the symbols of Georgian Christianity and is still recognised instantly.

By placing it above the main entrance of a modern cathedral, the builders drew a line straight back to the beginnings of the Georgian church tradition, passing over everything in between. For a building twenty years old, that is a clear statement.

The doors of both entrances are wooden and carved with ornament. The south opening is further framed with reliefs, and the façades are covered with relief images.

🕯️ What the cathedral does

As the cathedral of the diocese it serves more than a liturgical function.

Church feasts are held here, lectures are given and introductory tours are run. It works as an educational venue as much as a place of worship.

Standing in Kostava Square puts it in the everyday life of the town: the square is central, and the church sits on the route of an ordinary walk rather than off to one side.

The usual conventions apply: covered clothing, a headscarf for women, photography inside by agreement. Check the times of services and tours locally.

🧭 What else to see in Borjomi

St Nicholas makes sense to see alongside the rest of the town, especially as it stands in the centre.

Borjomi Park with its mineral springs, the reason most people come.

The Church of St George at Sadgeri, seven kilometres away, a church of the fourteenth or fifteenth century with carved reliefs: a dragon, a stag and a tur in chains. The complete opposite of the Nicholas cathedral in age, which makes the pairing instructive.

The hermitage of Seraphim of Sarov in the forest above the town, recreated in the Georgian manner, with frescoes by Bishop Serapime himself.

Uznariani Fortress above Tsagveri and Akhaldaba Fortress, if you want medieval strongholds.

🚗 Getting to Borjomi

Borjomi is well connected, and reaching it from anywhere in Georgia is straightforward.

From Tbilisi, marshrutkas leave Didube station roughly every hour. The journey takes about two and a half hours through Gori and Khashuri. There is also a train.

From Akhaltsikhe, around an hour, with several departures a day.

From Batumi, about four hours, usually one morning departure.

From Bakuriani, roughly half an hour down the gorge, with regular marshrutkas.

The cathedral is in the centre, within walking distance of the bus station and the park entrance.

🧭 Where to stay

Borjomi is a spa town, and there is accommodation at every budget.

Been to St Nicholas Cathedral? Leave a review on Madloba: tell us whether you got inside, whether you took a proper look at the reliefs on the façades, and whether anyone showed you round.

Information is current as of August 2026. Times of services and tours at an active cathedral change, so check locally before you travel.

Read also

• Poti Cathedral
• The Ascension Cathedral of Akhaltsikhe: A Church in a Town of Four Faiths