Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Avlabari district, Tbilisi, Georgia
The Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Orthodox place of worship on Elia Hill with a central gold-covered dome surrounded by four smaller domes. The building spans 77 meters in length and 65 meters in width, constructed from natural stone and marble.
The idea arose in 1989, the year of national awakening in Soviet Georgia, to mark 1,500 years of the Georgian Orthodox Church's autocephaly and 2,000 years since the birth of Jesus. Architect Archil Mindiashvili won the international contest, but civil unrest delayed work until the foundation was laid on 23 November 1995. The cathedral was consecrated on St George's Day, 23 November 2004, by Patriarch Ilia II.
The cathedral displays Georgian and Byzantine artistic traditions through its wall paintings and iconography. Visitors can observe these religious works across nine chapels dedicated to different saints.
The cathedral stands on Elia Hill in Avlabari, above the left bank of the Kura River, at about 470 m above sea level. The complex covers roughly 11 hectares and holds up to 15,000 worshippers. Five of the nine chapels are in the two-floor underground section, reached from inside. The monastery gate church of the Iberian Icon holds services for deaf and mute worshippers.
The cathedral's "Hope of Georgia" icon is made of 30 kg of gold and precious stones in the minankari cloisonné technique, and depicts 432 Georgian saints. A cross that once stood over Mtskheta at Jvari Monastery is kept in a golden sarcophagus.
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