Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Tsalenjikha ( Georgian წალენჯიხის მაცხოვრის საკათედრო ) is a medieval church in the city of Tsalenjikha , Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti region , which is in Georgia .
The Cathedral is administered by the Zugdidi and Tsaish diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church . Tsalendzhikhsky Cathedral is known for a unique cycle of murals , made in the so-called Palaeologovskom style invited master of Constantinople [1] .
Content
Geographical position
The church is located in Western Georgia, on the territory of Samegrelo and the Zemo-Svaneti region, 30 km from Zugdidi , on the banks of the Tskhenistskali river, on a low hill, in the city of Tsalenjikha .
History and architecture
Built in the XII-XIV centuries, the Tsalenzhikh Cathedral is a cross-domed temple with a narthex and three arcade galleries , of which two located on the southern and northern sides of the temple were transformed into the family chapel of the Dadiani family, the rulers of the Megrelsky principality . The church is surrounded by a wall with a two-story bell tower in the northwest corner. In the western corner of the courtyard, the ruins of the Dadiani Palace are preserved. To the west of the church dug an underground passage, 40-50 meters in length and 3-4 meters in height. In the XIX century, laid a new floor. Between 1960-1980, the church was partially renovated, and the frescoes in disrepair were mothballed.
Murals
A bilingual Greek - Georgian inscription on the southwestern pillar of the temple says that the temple is painted by Manuel Eugenikos , a Byzantine artist from Constantinople, hired by Vamek Dadiani (reigned 1384 - 1396 ), a high-ranking Georgian official ( Mandaturrukhutsesi - Minister of the Interior ). In the Georgian inscription on the northwestern pillar, two other persons are mentioned - Maharobeli Kwabalia and Andronic Gabisulava - sent to bring the Greek artist to Georgia. In the 17th century, the old frescoes were painted on the orders of Bishop Evdemon Jayiani , while under Levan II Dadiani the interior of the chapel adjacent to the temple was covered with new frescoes. Of these late pictorial additions, only fragments have survived to our time, among which is a portrait of the Levan Dadiani family on the southern wall of the chapel.
The painting of the master Eugenicos is one of the best examples of the late Paleological Renaissance [2] . The iconographic program of the church wall painting is complex and very interesting, including many themes that are not usual for medieval Georgian painting. Along with the Greek inscriptions, the frescoes on the arches are signed in Georgian. Apparently, local artists helped the famous Greek master.
Now the frescoes are endangered and in need of emergency protection and restoration [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Eastmond, Antony (2004), Art and Identity in Thirteenth-Century Byzantium: Hagia Sophia and the Empire of Trebizond , p. 135. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., ISBN 0-7546-3575-9 .
- ↑ Monuments of the Byzantine World. The Church of Savior at Tsalendjikha. Institute for Information Technology (ICS) of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH). Figures for October 11, 2007.
- ↑ Tsalenjikha on the information portal “Tourism and Rest in Georgia” (Eng.) - data as of October 11, 2007.