20160611_Georgia_7320 Mtskheta sRGB
The monument inside Svetitskhoveli Cathedral marking where Jesus’s robe is said to be buried.
Mtskheta was founded in the 5th century BCE. It was the capital of eastern Georgia when Christianity was declared the state religion in 337 CE and remains the headquarters for the Georgian Orthodox Church. The original church on this site was built in the 4th century when allegedly St. Nino (a woman who preached Christianity in Georgia) chose this location for the first Georgian church. The current Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was completed in 1029 and is the second largest church building in Georgia. Georgian tradition holds that Jesus’s robe is buried beneath the church after having been brought back by a local Jew who happened to be in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified.
The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994.
On Google Earth:
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral 41°50'32.16"N, 44°43'15.90"E
20160611_Georgia_7320 Mtskheta sRGB
The monument inside Svetitskhoveli Cathedral marking where Jesus’s robe is said to be buried.
Mtskheta was founded in the 5th century BCE. It was the capital of eastern Georgia when Christianity was declared the state religion in 337 CE and remains the headquarters for the Georgian Orthodox Church. The original church on this site was built in the 4th century when allegedly St. Nino (a woman who preached Christianity in Georgia) chose this location for the first Georgian church. The current Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was completed in 1029 and is the second largest church building in Georgia. Georgian tradition holds that Jesus’s robe is buried beneath the church after having been brought back by a local Jew who happened to be in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified.
The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994.
On Google Earth:
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral 41°50'32.16"N, 44°43'15.90"E