THE CHURCH OF MOTHER OF GOD IN METEKHI (KARTLI)

The Church of the Mother of God is located in the village of Metekhi, in Kartli Province. Legend attributes its foundation to the fifth-century Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali, although there is no archaeological or architectural evidence to support such an early date. The extant church was built in the first half of the thirteenth century and restored several times in the late Middle Ages and Modern times.

Metekhi Church from the north-west

The church is constructed as a cross-domed structure using well-cut stone blocks. On the eastern side, a deep sanctuary is flanked by two oblong rooms serving as a diaconicon and prothesis. The dome rests on two free-standing piers on the western side and the projections of the apse walls on the eastern side. There are two entrances to the church- one from the west and another from the south.

Upper part of the southern façade

Each of the four façades prominently features large crosses at their central points. Notable details of the façade decoration include roundels adorned with various carved ornaments and small crosses. 

Ornamental roundel with a cross

Many elements of the exterior decoration have been lost due to subsequent restorations. The dome of the church underwent a complete reconstruction between 1527 and 1556 under the patronage of King Luarsab I of Kartli. The tapered shape of its drum and the modest adornment of its windows serve as evidence of architectural decline during that period. In 1687, the southern wall of the church was repaired by Catholicos Nicholas IX. The last significant renovation of the church was done in 1891, when the damaged facing masonry was replaced with new stones.

Dome

During one of the later restorations, a small stone slab depicting the Dormition of the Virgin was inserted into the tympanum of the western door of the church. This image, distinguished for its high artistic quality, is presumed to date back to the eleventh century, indicating that it may have been transferred from another building.

Tympanum of the western door, with an inserted stone slab depicting the Dormition of the Virgin

The church courtyard is surrounded by a low stone wall with two towers. In the nineteenth century, an arched belfry was built above the round tower standing to the east of the church.

Metekhi Church of the Mother of God was closed in the Soviet period and reopened in the 1990s.