Manglisi Cathedral (Region of Kvemo Kartli)
The cathedral of Manglisi, also known as Sioni of Manglisi (Georg. მანგლისის სიონი), is counted among the oldest churches and important architectural monument in Georgia. On the place of the present church there had stood a stone church, built in the IV century, under St. Nino. There was nothing left of that first temple. The dates of basic layers of today’s cathedral go down to VII century. The tetraconch was altered substantially in the first half of the eleventh century.
The main shrine of the Manglisi temple at that time was a part of the Life-Giving Cross, namely, the stand on which Christ leaned with his feet at the time of the crucifixion. Once the walls of the temple were painted with magnificent frescoes, monuments of Georgian medieval painting. In the modern interior of the Manglisi Cathedral, only fragments of ancient paintings are presented. The remains of the painting are visible in the dome of the church. The entire architectural complex of the Manglisi Cathedral is surrounded by a stone fence, which has the highest degree of preservation.
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