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Sioni Cathedral Sioni Cathedral is an inseparable part of the history not only of Tbilisi, but of Georgia as a whole, and is undoubtedly one of the most important religious buildings in the country. The name Sioni of Tbilisi was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Sioni is a Hebrew word meaning sunny. There are several Sioni churches in Georgia, all dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. History of Sioni cathedral The first Sioni church was built in the V century by King Vakhtang Gorgasali (founder of Tbilisi). His son, and later King Dachi, continued to expand the church. For several centuries, many people from different social classes participated, donated and worked on the construction and restoration of Sioni. Famous noblemen, such as Guaram Kurapalat and his son Adarnese (the builders of the Jvari church in Mtskheta), also did great work and, according to oral tradition, are buried in the cathedral. Sioni remained undamaged for several centuries, until the Shah of Khorezm - Jalal ad-Din visited Georgia in the XIII century and tore off the dome of the church in order to erect his throne on the site, from where he issued orders to punish the local Christians. In 1386 the cathedral was destroyed by the military leaders of a Turko-Mongolian tribal organisation and the conqueror of the Islamic faith, Timur Lenk (Tamerlan). It was not until the XV century that Sioni was rebuilt by the Georgian king Alexander I. In 1522, Shah Ismail stole the icon of the Virgin Mary, decorated with precious stones, and threw it into the Kura River. The icon was later recovered, redecorated and returned to the cathedral with honour. In 1556 the building was again severely damaged by Shah Tamaz and in 1616 by the Persian Shah Abbas I. In 1657, under King Rostom (known as Shah Rostom) and Archbishop Elisse Saginashvili, the cathedral was further extended and the interior repainted. In the same year, a caravanserai was built on the site of the cathedral and part of the profits were donated to the cathedral. In 1668 the cathedral was damaged by an earthquake and rebuilt in 1710 by King Vakhtang VI. In the same year, the cathedral was covered with tufa stone. In 1723, King Vakhtang was overthrown by his rival, the King of Kakheti, Constantine II, with the help of the Dagestanis, and the cathedral was given to the looters as a reward. The precious icon of Sioni also disappeared at this time. In 1724, Tbilisi fell to the Ottomans and Sioni was again devastated. After three years of occupation, the Ottoman sultan ordered the cathedral to be turned into a mosque, but later changed his mind. Clergymen and noblemen such as Domenti Orbeliani (Bishop of Tbilisi) and Giwi Amilachwari (high prince) played an important role. Large sums of money were also donated to the Sultan. The last major damage to the cathedral occurred in 1795, when the Persian Shah Agha Muhammed Khan razed all of Tbilisi to the ground. After the annexation of Georgia by Russia, Prince Tsitsishvili (Tsitsianov) had Sioni rebuilt. In 1818, services were stopped and the cathedral was turned into a storehouse for religious artefacts. In 1850 the Russian general Gagarin painted the interior of the church. The Sioni Cathedral was consecrated again in 1867. On 27 January 1931, the feast of St Nino, the bells of the Cathedral of Sioni rang out for the last time. The inventory of the Cathedral was confiscated by the Soviets, the bells were thrown from the tower and the Cathedral was closed. In Soviet time, at the end of the 1970s, shortly after Ilia II became Patriarch of Georgia, the Sioni Cathedral was reconsecrated and became the seat of the Patriarch of Georgia until 2004, when the new Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi was completed. In 1979, the western side of the interior was painted by the Georgian painter Tsutskiridze, and in 1980-83 the facade of the cathedral was partially renovated. In the same year, two small churches were built on the southern and northern sides of the cathedral, dedicated to the Archangel and King Vakhtang Gorgasali (author of the project: architect and restorer Tariel Kiparoidze). Interesting information, facts and dates The country's most important relic - the cross of St Nino - is kept in the Sioni Cathedral. The cross was brought back to Georgia by Tsar Alexander I in 1801 and given to the cathedral. The cross is located behind the grille to the north (left) of the iconostasis. In the cathedral are the skull of St Thomas the Unbeliever and the miraculous stone brought from Jerusalem by Davit Gareja. (South - to the right of the iconostasis. Famous sons, daughters, kings and clergymen are buried in the Cathedral: Archbishop Ioane Mangleli and Patriarch of Georgia Ambrosi Khelaia. There are also particularly important icons of the Virgin Mary, St Barbara, St Nino and the icon of St Saraphim of Sarov. Interior and frescoes At the request of Viceroy Mikhail Vorontsov, the interior of the Sioni Cathedral was repainted by the Russian General Grigor Gagarin between 1850-1860. The western façade was painted by the Georgian painter Levan Tsutskiridze (1979-1980). Architecture and exterior façades Sioni is a cross-domed church and has an inscribed cross floor plan with two cantilevered pillars, an extended western cross arm and a projecting apse. Most of the church's current yellow tuff cladding dates from the XIX century. The small churches (side rooms) inside the cathedral date from the end of the 20th century. On the outer northern façade there are traces of restoration from 1710 (stone construction and lettering). The western entrance is richly decorated with crosses. The dome has 16 edges, each with a narrow window. A cross and a chained lion can be seen on 2 edges in the west and an archangel holding the holy book in his hand in the north. Other buildings at Sioni Cathedral Ten metres north of the cathedral is a 3-storey brick bell tower. It was built in 1425 by the Georgian King Alexander I and almost completely rebuilt at the end of the XVIII century. It was almost completely rebuilt at the end of the XVIII century. The bell tower was restored in 1939. To the west, above the cathedral, there is another bell tower in neoclassical style. This building dates from 1912. Location of the Cathedral Tbilisi's Sioni Cathedral is located on the right bank of the Mtkvari (Kura) River at number 4 Sioni Street. On following trip, you will visit Sioni Cathedral
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