Gelati Monastery

Gelati was founded in 1106 by King David the Builder, at the height of the Georgian golden age, and it was conceived as more than a monastery: an academy stood beside the church, teaching philosophy, astronomy and rhetoric, and contemporaries called it a new Hellas and a second Athos. The main church of the Virgin holds a great mosaic of the Virgin and Child in the apse, unusual in Georgia and made by craftsmen who knew the Byzantine tradition, and around it the walls carry layers of fresco painted from the twelfth century through to the eighteenth, so you can follow the changing style around a single interior. The complex sits on a wooded hillside with wide views over the Imereti valleys, and David's own grave lies under the gate, where he asked to be buried so that everyone entering would step on him.

History

King David IV began the monastery in 1106, when Kutaisi was the capital of Georgia, and its main church of the Virgin was completed in 1130 under his successor Demetrius I; David himself is buried here, near the ancient Gates of Ganja that Demetrius brought back in 1138, and the smaller chapels date from the 13th century. It was built as an academy as well as a monastery: David gathered Georgian scholars, many of them trained in Orthodox monasteries abroad such as the Mangana in Constantinople, among them Ioane Petritsi, known for his commentaries on Proclus, and Arsen Ikaltoeli, and its scribes copied important works, so that contemporaries called it a new Hellas and a second Athos (Wikipedia, Gelati Monastery).

The main sights

• The apse mosaic - the Virgin and Child, rare in Georgian church decoration.
• The fresco layers - six centuries of wall painting in one interior.
• The academy building - the hall of the medieval school beside the church.
• David the Builder's grave - the tomb set into the gateway floor.

When to go

April to October is the mildest for the drive and the hillside setting; the interior is dim year-round, so a bright day helps considerably. Services take priority over visits. It is an easy half-day from Kutaisi and pairs with the Motsameta monastery on the same road.

What to expect

It is an active monastery, so shoulders and knees must be covered and women are usually expected to cover their heads, with scarves available at the door. Restoration of the roofs caused controversy and some interiors have been affected by damp. Photography inside is restricted. The frescoes are dim and hard to read without a guide or good light.

Nearby

Motsameta monastery is minutes away; Kutaisi and the Prometheus cave are close.

Key facts