The church of Saints Kvirike and Ivlita stands in Zarati in Tskaltubo Municipality and is one of the active churches of Imereti. The hall is laid of cleanly hewn blocks of yellowish sandstone on lime mortar and set on a terrace.
The plan is rectangular and closed on the east by an apse with a tapering arched window, an altar stone standing below it and niches cut on either side. The triumphal arch of the conch rests on brackets, and a wooden screen and a single step solea stand before the altar. Two tier pilasters divide the long walls, decorative arches spring from the lower tier, and the vault rests on the capitals of the upper one. There are two entrances, west and south, both arched inside and framed by an architrave outside.
The real treasure is inside: the church is painted throughout, with the murals set out in four registers. The Saviour is shown in the conch, frontal figures of saints run below, a crucifixion fills the south wall, and the lower register of the north wall carries portraits of lay people, possibly the family of the donor: three men, a woman and a child. Sources place the building in the span from the 10th to the 15th century.
💡 Tip
- Murals in four registers with the Saviour in the apse conch
- Portraits of lay people, possibly the family of the donor
- A church of Saint George stands in the same yard
🚗 Getting there
- Zarati village, Tskaltubo Municipality, Imereti
- The Build Route button will take you to the spot
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