Achi Monastery, Medieval Orthodox monastery in Guria, Georgia.
Achi Monastery is a single-nave hall church of hewn stone, built at the turn of the 14th century and surrounded by a high defensive wall. Its interior is entirely covered with frescoes, and carved crosses and a rose motif mark the south and west doorways.
Built at the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century, the church was favored by the Princes of Guria. In 1625 Simon II Gurieli made Achi a prebend, granting it peasants, forests and water rights, and Kaikhosro I Gurieli later made it a metochion of Shemokmedi. The abbotship was hereditary in the Salukvadze-Taqaishvili family. Restored to Christian use in 1991, it became a nunnery in 2007.
The interior walls hold frescoes from the 13th century depicting scenes of Saint George's life with Greek inscriptions. These painted works by Onesimos create a visual record of religious devotion that visitors can still observe today.
The monastery sits about 9 kilometers south of Ozurgeti in a rural setting. It remains accessible to visitors and continues to serve religious purposes, so respectful behavior is appropriate.
The church once held a large bell whose sound reached as far as Likhauri. Its abbots also commissioned a gilded silver icon of Saint George, made by the painter Iob and the goldsmith Grigol, and a silver-mounted crucifix. These objects are not on display in the church today.
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