Tkhoti Mountain

Tkhoti Mountain, a mountain situated on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, between the Rekhuli and Ksani gorges. It is a constituent section of the Kvernakebi ridge. Its elevation reaches up to 845 meters above sea level. It geographically separates the Mukhrani Valley from the Mtkvari riverside valley, known as Ashuriani. Historically, a pass leading toward Kaspi was located on Tkhoti Mountain.

According to the historical chronicle The Conversion of Kartli (Moktsevai Kartlisai) and the writings of Leonti Mroveli, during the 30s of the fourth century, amidst the missionary activities of Saint Nino in Mtskheta, King Mirian went hunting towards the Mukhrani region. During the hunt, the king resolved to exterminate the Christians. Upon his ascent of Tkhoti Mountain, the sun suddenly darkened, blinding him and making unable to find his way. Mirian initially appealed to his pagan deities; upon receiving no aid, he asked Saint Nino's God for help. Immediately, the light was restored, and the king came to believe in the power of Christ.

The very next day, Mirian and Nino dispatched a request to the Byzantine Emperor to send priests for baptizing the country. After the baptism of the inhabitants of Mtskheta, guided by divine instruction, three crosses made from a sacred tree were erected: one on Tkhoti Mountain, another in the city of Ujarma, and the third on the hill where the Jvari Monastery stands. As recorded by the eighteenth-century scholar Vakhushti Batonishvili, "Upon Tkhoti Mountain, King Mirian converted to Christianity. There presently exists a sign of the cross there, erected by Saint Nino, carved from the pillar."

Today, a seventh to eighth-century cross-shaped church dedicated to Saint Nino stands upon Tkhoti Mountain.

 

Sources: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 1, თბ., 1955; ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურის ძეგლები, I, თბ., 1964.

J. Gvasalia