Martvili (Chkondidi): a Monastery of Frescoes and a Scriptorium

The Chkondidi Church of All Saints is located in the town of Martvili. It was built in the first half of the 7th century.

After the establishment of the Chkondidi Diocese in the 10th century, the Martvili church became the Dormition Cathedral. In 1104, David the Builder granted the Archbishop of Chkondidi the title of prime minister (mtsignobartuhutsesi).

The monastery housed a scriptorium. The manuscripts created here are housed in the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts. The Martvili Church is an early cross-in-square structure similar to the Jvari Church in Mtskheta. The Turkish and Arab invasions inflicted significant damage on the church. As a result, in the 10th century, the Abkhazian King George II (923-957) extensively reconstructed the church. A new domed drum was erected, new walls were added to the exterior, and an eastern gate was added. At the behest of the rulers of Odishi in the 16th-17th centuries, the church was decorated with frescoes. To the north of the main church, on the fence, stands a miniature three-story cross-in-square church, "Chikovani," built of hewn stone. According to the chronicle "Kartlis Tskhovreba" ("Life of Georgia"), the King of Georgia, Bagrat IV (1027-1072), is buried in the Martvili Monastery.

In ancient times, Chkondidi was a center of pagan and religious worship. A "pedestal" for cult objects stood on a high pillar—a huge oak tree. It symbolized the pagan place of worship of Kapunia, the patron of fertility, childbirth, and family well-being, revered by the local population. Local priests, the chkondars, sacrificed infants to him. It was on the site of the oak tree that the first Christian church was built, dedicated to St. Andrew the First-Called, who preached Christianity in Samegrelo.

In 2007, monastic life was revived in Martvili. A men's monastery named after St. Andrew the First-Called and a women's monastery named after St. Nino were founded.