The Church of the Virgin Mary of Vake

The Church of the Virgin Mary of Vake is a small single-nave church, 4–5 km from Tetritskaro Municipality, northwest of the village of Vake. According to the Asomtavruli inscription carved above the eastern window, it was built in 1341, during the reign of George V the Brilliant. Its roof is a cylindrical vault. To the east, it has a deep horseshoe-shaped apse ending in a conch. The entrance is in the western part of the southern wall. The inner walls are built of rubble stone. Structurally important places are carved out of cut stone. The interior was plastered and painted, the stone iconostasis is broken (kept at the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia). The facades of the church, erected on a single-tiered platform, were covered with beautifully arranged cut stone. The facades are simple, out of the 3 windows, only the eastern window is decorated with an original frame carved into the depth of the wall.

 

Literature: ა ს ა თ ი ა ნ ი  ნ.,  ჭიჭინაძე ი., ალგეთი, თბ., 1985; ზ ა ქ ა რ ა ი ა  პ., XIV საუკუნის ხუროთმოძღვრული ძეგლი სოფელ ვაკეში, «საქართვ. მეცნ. აკად. მოამბე», 1950, ტ. 11, №3.

 

P. Zakaraia