Anchiskhati Basilica in Tbilisi

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comments 5

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  Rameez Ahmed Sayad

  :: 28 April 2018 01:35:31

  The church was very near to Old Tbilsi Gate, it's just beside Marionette Clock , I really love the street , it's serene and calm. The church is nice , has some good views , one can view presidential palace. There will be sometimes beautiful paintings, books outside the church for sale.

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  osama manzar

  :: 25 April 2018 21:48:38

  Very well kept heritahe place in the old town of Tbilisi

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  Hayk Ghazarian

  :: 21 April 2018 09:38:17

  Anchiskhati basilica is the first church in Tbilisi. According to a legend an icon imprinted with the face of Jesus Christ was kept here. It is a must-see place if you are interested in the history of Tbilisi. Getting there is easy and fast.

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  Donara Demurishvili

  :: 10 February 2018 11:25:04

  ccording to the old Georgian annals, the church was built by the King Dachi of Iberia (circa 522-534) who had made Tbilisi his capital. Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was renamed Anchiskhati (i.e., icon of Ancha) in 1675 when the treasured icon of the Savior created by the twelfth-century goldsmith Beka Opizari at the Ancha monastery in Klarjeti (in what is now part of northeast Turkey) was moved to Tbilisi so preserve it from an Ottoman invasion. The icon was preserved at the Basilica of St Mary for centuries (it is presently on display at the Art Museum of Georgia). The Anchiskhati Church, 1890 The basilica was damaged and rebuilt on several occasions from the 15th through 17th centuries due to wars between Georgia and the Persians and Turks. The brick belfry near the Anchiskhati Basilica was built by Catholicos Domenti in 1675. The look of the structure was drastically changed in the 1870s, when a dome was added. During the Soviet period, all religious ceremonies at Anchiskhati Basilica were halted, and the building transformed into a museum for handicrafts. It was later used as an art studio. From 1958 to 1964 restoration works took place in celebration of the 1500th Jubilee of the founding of Tbilisi, which changed the view of the church back to the seventeenth-century version, however, it was not until 1991, after the independence of Georgia was restored, that the basilica reverted to religious use. The Anchiskhati Choir based out of the Anchiskhati Basilica is the world's leading exponent of Georgian polyphonic choral music

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  David Tevzadze

  :: 08 December 2017 21:26:07

  The Anchiskhati Basilica of St Mary (Georgian: ანჩისხატი) is the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, Georgia. It belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church and dates from the sixth century. Architectural type: Church. Completed: 6th century. According to the old Georgian annals, the church was built by the King Dachi of Iberia (circa 522-534) who had made Tbilisi his capital. Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was renamed Anchiskhati (i.e., icon of Ancha) in 1675 when the treasured icon of the Savior created by the twelfth-century goldsmith Beka Opizari at the Ancha monastery in Klarjeti (in what is now part of northeast Turkey) was moved to Tbilisi so preserve it from an Ottoman invasion. The icon was preserved at the Basilica of St Mary for centuries (it is now on display at the Art Museum of Georgia).