Zemo Nikozi church of the Deity
Monument in Zemo Nikozi, Gori Municipality, Shida Kartli, Georgia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Zemo Nikozi church of the Deity (Georgian: ზემო ნიქოზის ღვთაების ეკლესია, romanized: zemo nikozis ghvtaebis ek'lesia), also known as Ghvtaeba (ღვთაება), is a medieval Georgian Orthodox cathedral in the Gori Municipality, in Georgia's east-central region of Shida Kartli. It is part of the complex which also includes a bell-tower, an episcopal palace, and a circuit wall. The complex is inscribed on the list of Georgia's Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.[1]
ზემო ნიქოზის ღვთაების ეკლესია | |
42.196159°N 43.958144°E / 42.196159; 43.958144 (Zemo Nikozi) | |
Location | Zemo Nikozi, Gori Municipality, Shida Kartli, Georgia |
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Type | Cross-in-square church Bell-tower Episcopal Palace Circuit wall |
The complex stands in what is now the village of Zemo Nikozi—an "upper" part of the historical settlement of Nikozi—on the right bank of the Greater Liakhvi River, in the immediate proximity of the South Ossetia conflict zone, some 2 km south of the disputed entity's capital of Tskhinvali.[2] The episcopal palace was badly damaged in fighting during the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War and subsequently underwent an emergency stabilization program.[3]
The Zemo Nikozi church is the seat of a bishop of the Georgian Orthodox Eparchy of Nikozi and Tskhinvali, responsible for the territory of South Ossetia.[3] Some 100 m south stands the church of the Archangel, a small 10th-century domed structure.[3]