Tsalenjikha

The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Tsalenjikha was the most significant shrine of historical Odishi.

 

The church is assumed to have been built between the 10th-11th or 12th-13th centuries. The walls were painted at the end of the 14th century by Manuel Eugenikos, an artist invited from Constantinople by Vameq Dadiani (1384-1396). 

 

The history of the paintings is well documented by the donor’s images and bilingual inscriptions within the church. In the 17th century, the damaged areas of the paintings were partially renewed and filled with a second layer of paint. In the late middles ages, the Dadiani house transformed the arched galleries around the cathedral’s facades into chapels. The chapels unite diverse styles of late medieval and early modern Georgian monumental art (15th-17th and 19th centuries). 

 

The decoration includes several dozen portraits of historic figures, which are a significant source for a study of Georgia’s political, social and cultural history. This richly illustrated bilingual album of the Church of Tsalenjikha and its frescoes is intended for the general public interested in the history and culture of Georgia.

 

Photographer – Zaqaria Chelidze

Author of the text – Neli Chakvetadze

Designer – Viola Tugushi

 

It is published with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Zugdidi and Tsaishi, Reverend Gerasime (Sharashenidze), at the initiative of the Mayor of Tsalenjikha Municipality Giorgi Kharchilava and Deputy Mayor Tamar Belkania.