Katskhi Cathedral

The Katskhi Cathedral, an architectural monument dating to the turn of the 10th–11th centuries, is located in the village of Katskhi, Chiatura Municipality. It is erected in the center of the village. According to an inscription on the southwestern entrance, its construction was completed between 1010 and 1014. The cathedral is a large, polygonal domed structure, featuring six apses internally. From the outside, it is enclosed on three sides by a gallery, which was built approximately 30 years later.

There are three entrances. The altar sanctuary is elevated by a single step. The floor is paved with dressed stone slabs. The interior of the church is plain, almost entirely devoid of ornamentation. The exterior is faced with cleanly dressed, yellowish limestone.

The cathedral is surrounded by a pentagonal defensive wall. In its northwestern corner stands an old belfry, which also functioned as a gateway. The building was richly ornamented. In the eastern bay of the ambulatory, one of the significant examples of Georgian plastic art is preserved—a relief sculpture depicting the symbolic scene of the Elevation of the Cross by four angels, enclosed within an ornamented circular frame.

According to written sources, a monastery formerly existed here, which functioned until the 19th century. The Katskhi Cathedral changed its name several times; in 11th-century sources, it is referred to as the Trinity, while in the 16th–18th centuries, it was known as the Cathedral of the Savior. In 2016, restoration and rehabilitation works were carried out on the church and monastic complex (architect M. Gelashvili).

Literature: ბერიძე ვ., კაცხის ტაძარი, «ქართული ხელოვნება», ტ. 3, თბ., 1950; მისივე, ძველი ქართული ხუროთმოძღვრება, თბ., 1974; საქართველოს სულიერი საგანძური, წგ. 1. კაცხი, თბ., 2005; ციციშვილი ი., ქართული ხელოვნების ისტორია, თბ., 1995.