Religious pride of Georgia. The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple of Jvari. The history of the temple. What the Georgian monastery and temple of the first half of the 7th century looks like.

The composition of the facades is deeply thought out, the development of each of them corresponds to their functions and meaning. The eastern facade is especially interesting. There are three windows on the triangular ledge of the altar apse, one on each side. Above each window there is a relief arched pommel connecting the window openings. In addition, above the three central windows there are relief images of the rulers: Stephanos, Demetrius and Adarnase. Highlighting the most important part of the building, the altar apse, they, together with the windows and window hangings, connect the entire facade into a single whole.

There are inscriptions made directly by the builders. There are four of them and they are all numbered from left to right:

● The first is the inscription above the southern entrance: "Cross of the Savior, have mercy, Stefanos Patrikoz Kartli". Stephanos is usually understood as King Stephen I.

● On the eastern apse there are inscriptions 2, 3 and 4, and the texts of these inscriptions are as follows: "Saint Michael the Archangel, have mercy, Demetrius Ipatos",

● "Saint Gregory the Archangel, have mercy, Adarnassus Ipatos",

● "Saint Stephen, have mercy, Stephanosa".

The font used to write these inscriptions is called "Asomtavruli".

The composition of the "Ascension of the Cross" is placed in the tympanum of the southern facade, and the figure of an unknown person, possibly the architect, is carved on the edge of the dome drum.

If you go inside, the first thing that catches your eye is a certain elevation in the center of the temple, on which there is a cross. There is an opinion that this stone elevation is significantly older than the temple itself and has been preserved almost since the time of Saint Nino.

The inner space of the temple is balanced, calm, majestic. The ratios of the parts of the proportions are harmonious.

On the feast of the "Presentation of the Lord" before the liturgy, candles are consecrated in Georgian churches. Georgians either make these candles at home themselves, or buy them in the temple and then give them for consecration.

The custom of consecrating candles for the "Presentation of the Lord" has been preserved in the Georgian church since ancient times, when Christianity was just emerging and everywhere coexisted with paganism. In early February, ancient idolaters celebrated the passing of winter and the beginning of spring by performing dubious rituals, some of them taking place at night. Christians, wanting to prevent this, took lighted candles and walked around the streets of the city singing prayers. Such processions with candles symbolically indicated that Christ had conquered the darkness of paganism and the light of the gospel should now shine everywhere.

In modern Georgia, solemn processions with candles are not practiced, but the custom associated with them has been preserved.

After the liturgy, Orthodox Georgians visit the graves of their deceased relatives, part of the way they go with lighted candles. The burial places are cleaned, put in order, and then consecrated Candlemas candles are stuck into the grave mound with a prayer for the enlightenment of the souls of the deceased by the light of God's grace.

Another Georgian name for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord is "Amparia" or "Day of Lighted Torches" — this is also a remnant of the ancient tradition of night peasant processions with candles. "Amparia" is observed today only in villages. After dark, all the villagers gather together and bring one log with them. A common festive bonfire is formed from logs. The villagers sit next to him, dance, and are treated to national dishes. Then competitions are held to see who will throw the lit torch next. Georgians believe that whoever throws the torch further than the others will receive a special blessing from the Lord.

According to the church calendar, the holiday is celebrated on February 15, this is the first day of the pre-celebration and February 16 is the first day of the celebration, what is it? These are the days after the holidays, in which prayer and chanting are used at the divine service. But on February 15, we were at the monastery of Tsminda Sameba, where Elijah II congratulated the faithful on the feast of the "Presentation of the Lord".

There were quite a lot of people at the service, including children, regardless of age, the children behaved very culturally.

In January 1989, worship was resumed in the church, and in 1992 the territory of the pioneer camp in the neighborhood was transferred to the church and cells were made there for the monastery. Now there is an asphalt road leading to the temple, but it was built recently. In past epochs, people climbed the path from Mtskheta to the temple. This trail still exists, it starts from the autobahn and climbs the mountain quite steeply, about in the middle of the trail there is a small grove and a spring. It is believed that it appeared through the prayers of Nino herself and that its water has useful properties. A chapel and a caretaker's house have now been built near the spring, there are several tables and a bench. Tourists rarely visit this place, so the main visitors are locals on weekends. In a dry year, the spring almost dries up and oozes drop by drop. The caretaker usually manages to collect a bottle overnight, so they pour water already from the bottle

It is believed that the water from the spring helps those who do not have children.