Excursion to the holy city of Mtskheta

Tour to Mtskheta

During the tour we will climb the mountain to the Jvari monastery,

This unique monastery was built in the VI century on a mountain on the site of a pagan temple, which at one time by the prayers of St. Nino and was destroyed in a place with other pagan temples.

At this place, King Mirian put up a cross, after which the monastery was built. If you go down the slope, you can see the spring of St. Nina, which has healing properties.

After the monastery of Jvari, we will go up to the monastery of St. John of Zedazen.

Zedazeni.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, monastic life resumed. The monks were surprised to find traces of bears. During this time the monastery was not empty. The monastery offers a beautiful view of the southern Caucasus with snow-capped peaks and the entire district, and is also visible in the palm of Tbilisi and the Jvari monastery. On the other hand, there is a view of the Kazbeg glacier, in good weather of course:

Then we head to Mtskheta.

Arriving in Mtskheta, we first visit the monastery of Samtavro, where the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles King Mirian and Queen Hana rest, Queen Hana was healed by Saint Nino and baptized in 314. King Mirian hunted in the vicinity of Mtskheta, pitch darkness fell on the ground, and the king ceased to see anything. In desperation, he asked Nina’s god for help. At the end of the prayer, the light returned and Mirian was able to return to Mtskheta. On his return, he was baptized. King Mirian in 327 proclaimed Christianity the state religion of Iberia (Georgia), and forbade the worship of pagan gods. In addition to the Georgian Orthodox Church, Tsar Mirian is revered as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In Samtavro rest the relics of the elder and wonderworker of the XX century, Saint Gabriel the confessor and fool. By prayer and intercession of St. Even after his death, miracles are performed and many seriously ill people are healed from various diseases.

In the courtyard of the monastery already the 17th century the Blackberry Bush blooms, near which Saint Nina prayed. This place used to belong to Queen Nana, in whose garden Saint Nino lived.
After inspecting the monastery of Samtavro, we go to Svetitskhoveli (Temple of the Life-Giving Pillar). Svetitskhoveli is the greatest shrine of Georgia, which is why the city of Mtskheta is called the second Jerusalem, because the temple houses one of the greatest shrines of the Christian world - Chiton Christ. And also the cloak of the prophet Elijah, who was brought with him by the Jews persecuted by Nebuchadnezzar 26 centuries ago. The temple also has a life-giving pillar, which is why the temple is called Svetitskhoveli. Svetitskhoveli is the main cathedral of the country, where the kings of Georgia are buried. The temple of Svetitskhoveli is also amazing for its architectural style. No solution was used when laying stones. On the northern wall is carved the hand of the master Arsukidze (the legend says that the hand was cut off by order of the king, so that he could no longer build another similar temple).

This tour also includes a tour of Shio Mgwime monasteries.

St. Shio of Mgvim beat one of the 13 Assyrian fathers who, with their mentor John of Zedazen, entered Iberia (Georgia) to strengthen the Christian faith in the sixth century. After distributing the disciples to a place with other disciples, Shio descended from Zedazeni and settled in a cave near Armazi. After his name became known throughout the district, believers began to come to him to be baptized and take instructions.

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You will hear about this and much more when you visit the holy city of Mtskheta.