Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi
Sameba, the vast modern cathedral on Elia Hill and the tallest church in Georgia.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral, known in Georgian as Sameba, crowns Elia Hill on the left bank of the Mtkvari in the Avlabari district. It was conceived in 1989 to mark 1,500 years of autocephaly for the Georgian Orthodox Church and 2,000 years of Christianity. A competition was won by Archil Mindiashvili, and building ran from 1995 to 2004, largely financed by private donations. The cathedral was consecrated on 23 November 2004, the feast of Saint George.
The design draws on the Georgian cross-dome tradition, with a tall drum and a gilded cupola rising to about 86 metres above the terraced base. Granite and tuff face the exterior, while the interior is finished in marble and gold mosaic and can hold several thousand worshippers. Nine chapels occupy the crypt beneath, and the complex also includes a free-standing bell tower, the residence of the Catholicos-Patriarch, a seminary and formal gardens on the hillside.
Highlights
- Gilded dome about 86 metres high, visible across much of Tbilisi
- Nine chapels arranged in the crypt below the main church
- Terraced gardens and free-standing bell tower in the precinct
- Views over the old town and the Mtkvari valley from the forecourt
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
![[Golestan, Le Salon et Fete de l'equinode, Teheran, Iran (le Pavillion du Trone)]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/-Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg/500px--Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg)
![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
