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Samtavro Church

Samtavro Church

Samtavro Church
4.5

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles142 reviews
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Анна Н
Tomsk Oblast, Russia29 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Thanks to a wonderful person and guide Ketevan Buadze, the trip to the holy places of Tbilisi became very warm and meaningful. Orthodox Georgia has embraced us!

We specially flew from Siberia, from Tomsk, to venerate the holy relics of St. Gabriel Urgebadze, through whose prayers numerous healings and miracles still occur. They are located in the Samtavro-Transfiguration Church - the convent of St. Nino is one of the oldest Christian monasteries (IV century).

After a trip to Samtavro, Ketevan called the saint’s relatives and we had the honor of visiting the temple that Saint Gabriel Urgebadze himself built during his lifetime - a unique place that is now being looked after by the “Mama Gabriele” family.

We visited Sameba: the cathedral
Holy Trinity in Tbilisi, the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church;

On the Metekhi rock: in the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, where the tomb of Saint Shushanik is located;

Sioni: the ancient cathedral of the country, where the head of the Apostle Thomas is kept, the myrrh-streaming icon of St. Andrew the First-Called, as well as the main shrine - the Cross of St. Nina made of grapevine, entwined with her hair. The icon of the Zion Mother of God is also kept here.

We also highly recommend a trip to Mtskheta, the ancient Georgian capital and modern Orthodox center of the country. Svetitskhoveli (11th century), the main national shrine of Georgia, where the Robe of the Lord and the Mantle (cloak) of the Prophet Elijah are kept hidden.

Shio-Mgvim Monastery is an active monastery founded by the Monk Shio, one of the thirteen Assyrian holy fathers who arrived in Georgia in the 6th century;

Be sure to climb to the top of the mountain at the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi, to the Jvari Temple (VI century), this is the Church of the Holy Cross, where St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina erected the cross, one of the masterpieces of world architecture and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Georgia. A particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord is kept in the main cross of the temple.

In a word, we made this pilgrimage in two days, but two weeks are not enough to put all these treasures in our hearts! Thank you SO MUCH Ketevan! Reverends and saints of Georgia, pray to God for us!
Google
Written February 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Татьяна
Perm, Russia12,746 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
Samtavro Monastery is a complex of the Samtavro-Transfiguration Church and the convent of St. Nino, located at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. We were not able to enter the territory of the monastery; it works at a certain time. But even being nearby, you can feel the greatness and holiness of this place. I really want to visit here again and enter the territory of the monastery and the temple.
Google
Written August 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wanderer794656
Dubai, United Arab Emirates765 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Couples
We did a day in Mtskheta exploring and popped into the cathedral for a quick peak after lunch. It’s like many you see in the region, but easy to visit and has a large garden inside. Historically it’s quite significant, and worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Written July 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

pinoytraveller2
Luzon, Philippines15,074 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2015 • Solo
This review is quite late. Although there were scores of tour packages for Mtskheta from Tbilisi, I decided to do the tour independently. I went to Didube Bus Station and took the minibus bound to Mtskheta. There were other tourists on the bus so we all alighted alltogether when we reached Mtskheta. We did a short walk to Samtavro Church. The old church was full of devotees and it was almost impossible to take a snap shot inside the church.
Written October 6, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

eilonglen
Ashkelon, Israel327 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2016 • Friends
It was raining when we visited the third church of the day, but were mollified by the information that Georgia's first Christian king, David, 'the Builder' was interred in a garden tomb adjacent to the main church; the original bronze doors are still identifiable.
Dedicated to Saint Nina, the church, while still in daily use by the locals, is not especially imposing, despite some very ancient iconic murals adorning the high walls. As there was scaffolding erected against the exterior of the church, one may gather that some much-desired maintenance and repairs are in progress. Added value is the great views from the extensive grounds of the church.
Written August 15, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Helmut S
Bangkok, Thailand2,032 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2018 • Solo
Samtavro St. Nino’s Monastery originally was built in the 4th century. The first Christian royal couple King Mirian and Queen Nana are buried here.

The present structure was built in the 11th century; the preserved mural paintings in the altar conch and in the dome are dated to the 17th century. In the beginning of the 19th century it became a convent. At my visit a choir of nuns was singing chorales.

After visiting Svetitshkoveli Cathedral this church is less impressive but still worthwhile to visit.
Written December 31, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

chepaddy
Edinburgh, UK7,080 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2016 • Couples
We came here on the 'City Sightseeing Tbilisi' 3 hour tour of Mtskheta (25 GEL per person), Our main focus was seeing the Jvari monastery and the Svetitskhoveli cathedral.
This place was another stop on our itinerary and whilst it was a nice church it pales into insignificance compared to the other two sights in Mtskheta.
Written August 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JAPRADHA
Pune, India100 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019
Religious place situated in downtown of old Georgia...beautiful interior & exterior...need to cover your head & knees...very peaceful inside..
Written December 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MizuhoK
Hino, Japan4,154 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2019 • Couples
This is not featured as Svetitskhoveli or Jvari but also nice and UNESCO certified church. We came back from Jvari, the cab driver dropped us at the bus stop to return to Tbilisi and we got to come to this place.
It’s said that St. Nino used to live here.
There’s a shop selling Christian goods. Religious shop, not souvenir shop. They were selling sands in bottle which made us curious so we took one and looking at it. A nun at the shop gave us a piece of paper to have explanation about it. We didn’t understand fully though....
A family was having baby baptism. We were lucky to have chance to see Georgian baptism but a bit sorry for the family to be watched by many tourists like us!
Written September 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael H
Glos28 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019
The church is all that other reviewers say it is. But we, a party of four, were also much taken by the small museum alongside the church. It is cared for by nuns from the convent next door. We could speak no Georgian or Russian but were given a conducted tour by a nun with perfect English. Though only a small museum, she made it and the whole site come alive with her eloquent descriptions and stories. So, don't just pop your head through the museum door and pass it by - go inside and get into conversation.
Written September 24, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Samtavro Church, Mtskheta

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