Motsameta Monastery

Motsameta Monastery is a good example of a harmonious combination of nature and architecture. As the Russian geographer and poet Alexander Muravyov once said, "There is no better place for a monk's solitude than Motsameta Monastery".

And indeed, no matter how many monasteries, churches or general sights you have seen in Georgia, you will discover much that is new at Motsameta, both architecturally, scenically and historically.

Monastery complex

Cross-domed church
Bell tower
Monks' cells and dwellings
Entrance gate, open hall and bishop's house
Crypt, where the bones of Dawit and Constantine were buried until the 11th century

The name of the monastery

Motsameta means "martyr" and so the monastery was named because two brothers were martyred here in the 8th century and both martyrs are buried in the monastery. 

Name of the river and valley

The river and valley are called "Tskaltsitela", which means "reddish water" in English. There are two explanations for the origin of the name.

The first version has something to do with the sediments in the river that give the water a slightly reddish colour. The second version says that the water turned reddish because of the blood of the martyrs Dawit and Constantine after they were thrown into the river by the Arabs.

Motsameta is also spelled Mozameta or Mocameta.

The cross-domed church of Motsameta, dedicated to the Annunciation

The present dome church dates from the 19th century, but it is not a completely new building, but a rebuilt basilica.

The church has two entrances, one from the west and one from the south. The peculiarity of the church of Motsameta is that the altar is not in the east, but in the north.

This exception was allowed in Motsameta because the bones of the martyrs Dawit and Constantine are buried in the honourable place in the east. The altar has a wooden iconostasis depicting scenes from the New Testament and the lives of the saints.

On the eastern side, on a small rise, is the wooden Martyr's Shrine. Beneath the shrine is a narrow tunnel-like opening through which the faithful often kneel to pass.

The church has recently been frescoed with scenes from the New Testament and the lives of the saints.

The Bell Tower

The two-storey bell tower stands 1.5 metres south of the main church and is built of the same well-cut sandstone ashlars as the church. According to the inscription on the façade, the bell tower was built in 1845.

Monks' cells and dwellings

On the east side of the church, there are several small houses and a larger one with tiled roofs. These are the rooms for the priests, monks and guests of the monastery.

Entrance gate, open hall and bishop's house

The entrance gate is also the first floor of the tower built in the 16th century. The ruins of the tower stand on the west side of the monastery.

An open room or corridor is attached to the entrance portal. This room stands on the site of a bascule bridge that was still in use in the 19th century.

The Bishop's House, built as an angular tower, stands directly on the open corridor, on the west side of the church.

All three buildings were built in the 1960s.

Crypt where the bones of Dawit and Constantine were buried until the 11th century.

In front of the western door of the church is the crypt where the bones of the martyrs Dawit and Constantine were buried for several centuries. The crypt can be reached by descending a stone staircase, but it is now closed with an iron lid.

History of Motsameta monastery 

The place later called Motsameta was part of the Principality of Argweti in the early 8th century and the ruling princes of Argweti were the brothers Dawit and Konstantin Mkheidze. For strategic reasons, the brothers built a fortress in the valley above the river in Motsameta in the 8th century. A small church of the Annunciation from the 5th century already stood here.

Between 735 and 737, the Arab conqueror Marwan II (Murwan the Dove) invaded Georgia. After conquering large parts of Georgia, he reached the principality of Argveti. The princes Dawit and Konstantin were able to hold the region for a while, but after several fierce battles they were defeated by the Arabs and both brothers were taken captive.

The religiously motivated Arab, Marwan II, demanded that Dawit and Constantine convert to Islam in return for sparing their lives and giving them great wealth. Conversion of the princes to Islam would also have meant the Islamisation of the region, something the brothers did their utmost to prevent.

After 10 days of torture, the Arabs realised that the princes would not change their faith, so they were both thrown into the river with heavy stones around their necks.

After several days, the local people pulled the bodies of Dawit and Constantine out of the river and buried them in a crypt under the Church of the Annunciation.

At the beginning of the 11th century, the King of Unified Georgia, Bagrat IV, built a basilica on the foundations of the old chapel in Motsameta and buried the bones of the martyrs from the crypt in the new church.

The church was restored several times over the following centuries, but survived the country's turbulent times without major damage. 

Between 1844 and 1845 the monastery was extended and enlarged. In 1863 the church was given a dome and the basilica became a cross-domed church. In the same year it was consecrated by Bishop Gabriel Kikodze, who was later canonised.

The cruel fate of the martyrs 

In 1923, after the Bolsheviks came to power, Motsameta was closed. The bones of the martyrs Davit and Konstantin were removed from their coffins at the instigation of Ordzhonikidze, a high-ranking Bolshevik, and taken to the Rioni River to be thrown into the river. Despite state terror and general fear, hundreds of people gathered on the banks of the river to prevent this cruel act. After several hours of negotiations and the efforts of the then director of the Historical Museum, Trifon Jafaridze, the bones of the martyrs were saved and taken to the Historical-Ethnographic Museum in Kutaisi. 

Motsameta in Soviet times and after independence

In 1954, something happened that was almost miraculous for the Soviet era. Archbishop Gabriel, Bishop Naomi and Priest Sulakadze managed to get permission to return the bones of the martyrs from the museum to the monastery. The monastery was then re-consecrated and opened. The monastery has been in operation ever since and has never been closed.

In 2006, Motsameta Monastery was given the status of a 'Cultural Monument of National Importance'.

Day in honour of the martyrs "Motsametoba

Every year on 15 October, the monastery commemorates the day on which Dawit and Constantine were martyred. On this occasion, many believers come to the monastery and the municipality of Kutaisi provides free city buses especially for them.

Location Motsameta:

Motsameta is located 6 kilometres from Kutaisi, above the Tskaltsitela River in region Imereti.