Olga Monastery (Region of Mtskheta – Mtianeti)
St. Catherine monastery in Mtskheta. (Georgian: მცხეთის წმინდა ეკატერინეს სახელობის დედათა მონასტერი) – The monastery is located between the mountains of Sarkineti (Bagineti) (Georgian: სარკინეთი(ბაგინეთი)), towering over Mtskheta from the west and hidden from the sun’s rays for most of the year. The monastery’s platform offers a wonderful view of the city of Mtskheta. The history of the monastery began more than 1,500 years ago and the first church on that site was built in the 6th century. Evidence has been found that opposite Mtskheta, on the right bank of the Kura, Sinai monks founded a skete in the name of the holy great martyr Catherine. Over time, the monastery became empty and was forgotten.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was decided to build a railway in Mtskheta. The work was supervised by an engineer, Brailovsky. While examining a forested plot of land, the engineer saw a metal cross. It turned out that the cross crowned the dome of a church covered with earth. After excavations, a small temple appeared, preserved almost without damage. In the temple, they found a small icon of the Mother of God, depicted with an uncovered head – apparently, a very ancient letter. The engineer’s wife, Olga Gornich (Georgian: ოლღა გორნიჩი) decided to found a women’s monastery near the discovered church. She took monastic vows and with great difficulty revived the monastery, which since then people began to call the Olga monastery, the only women’s monastery in Georgia that was not closed during the Soviet era.
Mtskheta City (Georgian: ქალაქი მცხეთა), Municipality of Mtskheta (Georgian: მცხეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი)
