|
Sapara Monastery Sapara Monastery is a pearl hidden in the mountains of southern Georgia. Various architectural monuments, the frescoes in the main church and the picturesque location in the Lesser Caucasus make Sapara Monastery a special sight. The name Sapara translates as 'hidden', and indeed the monastery is built into the mountains in such a way that it can only be seen if you are very close by. Sapara Monastery Complex 1. St Mary's Church from the 10th century. St Mary's Church The oldest building of the Sapara Monastery is the 10th century church dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Architecturally, it is a single-nave basilica and stands against the southern wall of the main church. If you look closely, you can see two stages of construction: an earlier one (10th century) on the eastern side. Here the stones are finely polished and have a red-greenish colour. The stones from the second phase (14th century) are clearly distinguishable by their colour. The decorations on the entrance portal also date from the second phase. The stone carvings on the small basilica and the main church of Sapara are very similar. From the outside, the church is barely decorated, except for the entrance portal, but from the inside it is richly decorated and frescoed in the 14th century. Next to the iconostasis are the three donors of the 14th century restoration, Sargis, Kvarkvare and Shalva, the sons of the monastery's main donor, Beqa Jakeli. The masterpiece of the church is the 11th century iconostasis. It is made of soft green sandstone and decorated with several elements from the New Testament. The Sapara stone iconostasis is one of the finest examples of Georgian medieval stone carving and is now kept in the Tbilisi Art Museum. Another special feature of the church is the gallery on the western side of the interior. Women, special guests of the church and the choir used to sit here. The main entrance to the church is on the west side, through the entrance portal built in the 14th century. However, it is also possible to enter the basilica from the main church through a passage in the southern wall. Main church dedicated to St Saba The main church of Sapara Monastery is a 13th and 14th century cross-domed church dedicated to St Saba. Width: 21.1 x 16.6 metres. Height: 22.5 metres Due to the difficult terrain on the cliff edge, one side of the building had to be fortified with a stone foundation. The church originally had three entrances, from the south, north and west, but the south side was soon rebuilt and the interior wall used for frescoes. Interior The interior is relatively poorly lit, with only eight narrow windows in the dome and four small windows under the barrel vault. In the east, above the sacristy and the proskomidia, there are two so-called "secret rooms". On the south side of the interior, a passageway leads to the church of St Mary, and as the two churches have different floor levels, a staircase has been installed there. In the main church, below the sacristy, there is a crypt (a room under the altar that was generally used for the tombs of saints or as a reliquary). The western portal of the entrance is a semi-open storage room with three arched openings in it. There is a small prayer room on the south side and a door built into the wall on the opposite side. Frescoes in the main church of Sapara After its construction, the main church was completely frescoed, and the frescoes that still exist today were preserved during the restoration. The lower row on the southern wall is particularly interesting, depicting the monk Saba Dschakeli in black robes and his son Beqa, the founder of the church, with a model of the monastery in his hand. Beqa's sons Sargis and Kwarkware are also depicted. The fresco on the west side of the entrance portal shows the architect of the church, Fareza, with a hammer in his hand and an inscription with his name and a short prayer. Bell tower The two-storey bell tower of the Sapara Monastery is one of the oldest preserved bell towers in Georgia. Like the main church, it was built in the 13th-14th centuries from finely polished sandstone and has no decorative elements on the outer facades. The second floor of the bell tower has vaulted openings, and the first floor was used as a burial chamber for the Larusidze family, loyal servants of the Jakeli princes. Ruins of the Stone Palace, defence towers and defensive wall Stone Palace of the Jakeli Family Built by the Jakeli princes in the 13th century, the palace stands on the hill north-west of the main church. It is difficult to determine the original shape of the building from its present state, but it probably had two storeys and several living and storage rooms. Defence towers The two large defence towers stand north-west of the main church on the ridge and, like the palace, date from the 13th century. Both towers are very compact, but the southern tower is much larger and was used not only as a defence tower but also as a residential tower, especially during sieges. The defensive wall Parts of the 13th and 14th century defensive wall can still be seen on the ridge north-west of the main church. Originally, the entire monastery complex was surrounded by the wall. Several small churches in the monastery grounds Other small churches in the monastery grounds were built between the 14th and 16th centuries: 1. At the entrance to the monastery, on the left, on the edge of the cliff, there is a small basilica dedicated to St Stephen. Next to the basilica are the monks' living cells. 2) Just north of the bell tower is another basilica dedicated to St John the Baptist. History of Sapara Monastery Some historians believe that Sapara was founded as early as the 9th century, although the name Sapara does not appear in writing until the 10th century, and the monastery's first church was built in that century. The 13th and 14th centuries are considered to be the heyday of Sapara. This was the time when much of Georgia came under Mongol influence. The Jakeli princely family, who were also related to the Georgian royal family, managed to establish a peaceful relationship with the Mongols. For their loyalty, they received the title of atabeg (sole ruler) from the Mongol Khan. At this time, the Jakeli princes were among the most influential people in Georgia and enjoyed sole rule in the region, which was henceforth called not Samtskhe but Samtskhe-Saatabego, meaning a principality ruled by a sole ruler. The first grand prince of the Jakeli family was Sargis. He had taken part in many battles with the Georgian king and, as he grew older, decided to live as a monk under the name Saba in the Sapara Monastery. It was at this time that the large-scale construction of the monastery began. Sargis' son later built the main church of the monastery and dedicated it to St Saba, his father's patron saint. During this period, he built the bell tower, the palace and the fortified wall with the defence towers, and Sapara became the main monastery and the second fortified residence of the Jakeli family. Three examples suffice to illustrate the importance and influence of the Jakeli family: 1) Beqa Jakeli's daughter was the wife of the Georgian King Demetre II, who was later canonised by the Georgian Church. 2) Beqa's second daughter was the wife of the Georgian King Ivan II, who was later canonised by the Georgian Church. 3) Beqa's second daughter was married to the Emperor of Trebizond, Alexios II. 2) Beqa's grandson (his daughter's son) King Giorgi V, known as Giorgi the Shining, was raised by Beqa and later became one of the greatest kings of Georgia, alongside Davit the Builder and Queen Tamara. In 1590, after the signing of the 'Treaty of Constantinople', the Samtskhe region fell into Ottoman hands. Even under the Ottomans, the Jakeli princely family retained high government positions, but were Islamised. As a result, Sapara monastery and other monasteries and churches in the region were abandoned. In the 18th century there was a priest in Sapara who was allowed to conduct the liturgy in the small churches. However, the monastery remained largely neglected until the 19th century. The region was liberated from the Ottomans in 1828, but it was not until 1890 that the first Georgian monks and priests returned to the monastery and consecrated the complex. Even this return was short-lived, as the local priests soon had to leave the monastery and were replaced by Russian priests and monks. The Russian priests built a two-storey residential building and monks' cells at the entrance to the monastery and restored parts of the monastery. During the restoration, the frescoes were painted over in white and the dome of the bell tower and the main church, as well as the roof of St Mary's Church, were completed with Russian onion domes. The churches and the bell tower were restored to their original form between 1935 and 1940, when the white paint was removed from the walls. Sapara monastery continued to function until the establishment of Soviet power, and was later turned into a pioneer camp by the Soviets. Monastic life resumed in 1988. Since then, all the churches have been in use and several monks live here. Since 1996 there has also been a theological seminary in the monastery, mainly for those wishing to become monks. |
