Video: Katskhi Pillar: a church on an impregnable rock in Georgia
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
There are many different churches that can be called unique for one reason or another. A church without a single nail, a church on an island, a church made of living trees, a church on a cliff … however, the church on the Katskhi pillar in Georgia stands out because it stands on a 40-meter monolith, which was simply impossible to climb for many years.
Of course, like any structure in such an unusual area, the church on the Katskhi Pillar is surrounded by legends. The first mention of this monolith is in the records of the Georgian prince Vakhushti Bagrationi (1695 - 1758), and even then there was a temple on it. Unfortunately, it is not known who and when exactly built it, it is assumed that the church was built somewhere between the 6th and 8th centuries. The locals believed that this pillar helps to get closer to God, but for them the pillar was the personification of the god of fertility. The church was built after the arrival of Christianity - prayers and religious rituals were organized in it. Then, along with the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, the church was destroyed, but its foundations have survived to this day.
The first full-scale exploration of the area in our days was a visit to the pillar by an expedition led by climber Alexander Japaridze and writer Levan Gotua. They managed to climb to the very top of the pillar, where they discovered the ruins of the temple. The news was received with enthusiasm by the locals, and a pilgrimage began to the mountain. In 1993, the monk Maxim came to the rock, who spent the whole winter at the foot of the pillar. Donations for the construction of a new church began to be brought to Maxim. However, it became possible to start building only after funding from the state: for ten years archaeological research took place, and only after 2009 the new church was finally built.
The new church is named after Maxim the Confessor. It completely repeats the outlines of the first temple. It is a simple stone hall, 3.5 meters high and 4.5 meters wide. A little to the side is a small crypt, which was once a tomb. The Bolnisi cross is installed at the foot of the monolith.
From a distance, the Katskhi Pillar still looks impregnable, but on one side there is now a suspended staircase, which, although it looks dangerous, has been serving for more than 70 years. You can climb up using a suspended staircase, which was installed after the first expedition in 1944.
Justo Gallego Church It is also worth noting - for 55 years it has been built by a single person - and the scale of its structure is truly enormous.
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