The materials preserved in the personal archive of Deacon Polievktos Karbelashvili (1855-1936) as well as the newspaper letters published by him in the periodical press, reveal that the study of the monuments of the Georgian cultural heritage was the main direction of the years-old activity of the cleric with diverse interests. The importance of this issue for the learned clergyman is also proved by the abundance of the collected materials. It seems that Polievktos Karbelashvili was interested in the Georgian antiquities from the early period   -  their descriptions can be found in his notes and newspaper letters created since the 1870s. It was important for Polievktos Karbelashvili to convey the stories related to these antiquities (heard and written down by him) by means of his first newspaper letters published in the "Iveria" and the "Droeba"  -   "It was said many times that the Georgians  know how to protect once acquired custom and once acquired impression for a long time. How many customs, how many passages of morality are instilled in Georgianness! How many things a Georgian man has, the things with which he can introduce the past of his country to the world!" [Chaleli, 1876:1].

Polievktos Karbelashvili described the stories, which had been handed down from his ancestors. The stories were related to churches, monasteries, fortresses and other antiquities  -  to their names, the processes of their construction and various historical events related to them (Klde-Maghala Castle, Droeba, 1875, No. 38, pp. 1-2 No. 39, p. 1-3;  The Cathedra of the Crow, The Inverted Cathedra, Droeba, 1875, No. 73, p. 1).

Later, along with the transmission of the historical legends, Polievktos Karbelashvili’s works  presented the interest in the description of antiquities, their appearance and the inscriptions preserved on them.

The desire to find, study and protect material monuments representing the history of Georgia and its diverse culture led to the expeditions carried out by Polievktos Karbelashvili in different parts of Georgia  -  Kartli, Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Imereti, Lechkhumi, Svaneti. Polievktos Karbelashvili visited a number of churches and monasteries and enumerated the sanctuaries preserved there, either on his own initiative or on the instructions of the  active cultural-educational and antiquities protection societies. Although at that time this work was carried out by many Georgian researchers, the travel diaries of the learned cleric consisted of the descriptions of the monuments that would be introduced to the public for the first time through his records. However, for some reasons, he was unable to do the above mentioned  and even today many materials remain unpublished.

Some of the expedition materials of Deacon Polievktos Karbelashvili are dated. Accordingly, it becomes known at what time and where he traveled, what he described. Some of the materials are undated. However, it is mostly possible to determine the approximate periods of the trips, because after collecting new materials, Polievktos Karbelashvili immediately tried to share the collected data with the public by means of the periodical press.

It can be seen from the archival materials that Polievktos Karbelashvili visited the regions and their monuments several times, marked new materials and supplemented previously obtained data. The documents describing his travels are quite voluminous. However, many texts are incomplete. The descriptions have not survived in their complete forms. Due to this reason, they cannot fully reflect those materials about the monuments of the Georgian cultural heritage, which were collected and processed by the learned cleric.

Along with the volume, the nature of the collected materials is diverse. The researcher: described the architecture and painting of the churches; conveyed the lapidary inscriptions preserved on the facades with the paleographic accuracy; drew the plans of the churches and monasteries; completed the sketches of the carvings and ornaments left on the facades, as well as the frescoes of the interiors; described the manuscripts  -  their compositions and miniatures. The texts of the testaments and their historical analysis were attached to these descriptions. The icons, crosses, religious items and other antiquities kept in the church and their inscriptions (e.g. weapons, flags, etc.) were listed. In addition, the researcher rewrote the epitaphs of the graves of the church and around it.

While preparing the collected materials for publication, Polievktos Karbelashvili always added comments. In the historical sources known for that period, he searched for data about churches,  lapidary and fresco inscriptions as well as persons mentioned in the wills and inscriptions. At the same time, he got familiarized with the materials obtained by the contemporary and earlier Georgian and foreign travelers, the admirers of antiquities and scientists. He compared them with his own descriptions, observations and conclusions.

* * *

The ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta, as well as its antiquities occupy an important place in Polievktos Karbelashvili's records. In his essay "To the Old History of Georgia" published in 1883, he cited the folk tale about the origin of the name "Mtskheta" - "...the name of our old mother city, "Mtskheta", is also unclear. In Rekhi valley, in village Chala, I have heard the explanation of this name: "- In old times, the kings and princes were blessed with a single prayer and oil was anointed on their heads (confirmation of kingship of the ancient Jews was done by anointing a head with oil). As a result, the Georgian kings and princes ruled over Mtskheta. An appointed king or prince stood before nation and said: "Anoint my head with oil!" "Mtskhe-tavi" originated from this [Karbelashvili, 1883: 3].

Among the records about the antiquities of Mtskheta and its surroundings, the materials collected by Polievktos Karbelashvili about Shiomghvime monastic complex are distinguished by their volume. He describes the lapidary inscriptions on the facades of the buildings of the monastic complex (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin: the inscription placed on top of the western entrance (1668) mentions Givi Amilakhvari, his wife Tamar Batonishvili and sons  -  Andukapar and Demetre; the Mkhedruli inscription on the top of the southern entrance (1733)  mentions Givi Amilakhvari; the inscription on the northern facade mentions Givi Amilakhvari, his wife and Orbelisshvili's daughter Bangua), the antiquities preserved in the monastery and their inscriptions (The epigonation  with Asomtavruli inscription    -   Levan Dadiani, his wife Nestan-Darejani and their son Alexander are mentioned; Gulani/liturgical collection, with the miniatures and inscriptions, 1706  -   customer Nikoloz Amilakhorishvili is mentioned; the manuscript containing the compositions of St. Ephrem Asuri, 1803  -    donor Davit Batonishvili is mentioned; St Ioane Sineli’s “Klemaqsi” with the inscription  -  Giorgi, Deacon of Anchiskhati is mentioned; the Asomtavruli inscription carved on the stone inserted in the south wall of the old refectory  -  Gabriel is mentioned). The epitaphs (the fifteen epitaphs of 1695-1841) of the resting places preserved in the interior of  Trinity Cathedral and Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin.

The travel books of Polievktos Karbelashvili do not indicate the dates of his stay in Shiomghvime Monastery. However, in the newspaper letter  "As Material for the History of Amilakhvars, a) Inscriptions on the Icons and Walls Gathered in Village Chala, Shiomghvime and Tiflis"  published in 1891, the author included the lapidary inscriptions preserved on the north and west facades of Church of the Assumption of the Virgin. This fact indicates that he had seen the monastery before the beginning of the 1890s.

The published materials about Tsilkani Cathedral are also voluminous [Tsilkani Cathedral, Iveria, No 131, 1894, pp. 1-3]. Polievktos Karbelashvili briefly described the buildings included in the complex and described the main temple, its plan, dimensions, appearance and interior space. He noted that the walls, which had once been completely decorated with frescoes, were whitewashed with the lime at that time. However, the half-figure of the Savior was preserved in the dome and was surrounded by the Asomtavruli inscription. In addition, the essay described the iconostasis of the church. The special attention was paid to the icon of the Mother of God. Its inscription of 1779 was presented and the items donated to the icon were listed. The author drew attention to the resting place of Tsilkneli  as well as to the antiquities preserved in the church (the flag with the inscription  –  Rodami, Kaplan Baratashvili's daughter is mentioned; the deposition with the Asomtavruli inscription  - Teimuraz Batonishvili and his wife Ketevan Orbelisshvili are mentioned, 1686; the omophorion with the Asomtavruli inscription  - Rodam Orbelisshvili is mentioned, 1660; the epigonation with the inscription - Teimuraz Batonishvili and his wife Ketevan Orbelisshvili are mentioned; the second epigonation with the inscription  - Ioane Mukhranbatoni and his wife Ketevan are mentioned; the  Orarion with the inscription  -  Teimuraz  and his wife Ketevan are mentioned; the priest’s eagle with the inscription - Ioane Tsilkneli is mentioned; the mitre with the Russian inscription  -   Archbishop Christopher Bagrationi is mentioned, 1762; the printed Gospel with the inscription -    Gervasi Machavariani, Metropolitan of Tsilkani and Bishop of Samtavne are mentioned; the painted Gospel written on the parchment - with the inscription naming different people; the second Gospel with the engravings and inscription written on the parchment  -  naming different people).

Polievktos Karbelashvili saw Church of Dzegvi and made the note about the lapidary inscription engraved in Asomtavruli on its facade (Nikoloz Iotamis dze Amilakhvari and Nadira and Petre Mchedlidze's sons are mentioned. GNA, fund 1461, case 128, p. 31).

* * *

Polievktos Karbelashvili was particularly interested in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral from the antiquities of Mtskheta and its surroundings. In the field book of the learned clergyman, the materials about the cathedral and the relics are written fragmentally on several pages. It is possible to determine the period of creation of these records (1899-1900)  - the time when the issue of renovation of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was raised in the society.

In 1895 in the newspaper "Iveria" was published architect Tatishchev's note about the bad condition of Mtskheta’s cathedral   - "...the exterior of the cathedral is completely distorted. It seems that it was repaired by the bricklayer, who did not know the old Georgian art. In some places, the bricklayer replaced the Georgian arches with the Roman arches, but these arches do not look like Roman ones. In some places, the arches were completely removed and the straight wall was built instead. The back built in the old Georgian taste has been so badly treated that water enters the cathedral during a nasty weather. Due to this, the dome of the  cathedral is cracked, the lime is fallen and the stones and bricks are almost collapsed. The floor is so damaged that it reminds us of a badly paved street. The dome and arches are damp, the windows are so damaged that birds fly into the cathedral. The sad picture is represented by the plastered parts of the cathedral from which the small part of the old art painting can be seen. There are several dilapidated houses standing in the yard. The yard itself is full of the garbage. Add to that some idiots’ “inscriptions” engraved on the outer side of the walls and you will the sad picture of this ancient cathedral" [Mtskheta’s Cathedral, 1895:2].

During the 19th  century, the restoration works were carried out in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral several times. In the 1840s, under the guidance of Ripard, who was an architect of Synodal Chamber of Georgia-Imereti, the Cathedral was covered with the stone bed. Later, in the 1860s-1870s, the roofing was renewed [Dolidze... 1990:259-260]. However, on 15 December 1898, the priest of the cathedral  -  Platon Khuroshvili  - reported to the newspaper "Iveria" that the roof of the building had collapsed due to the heavy snow and as a result, water was flowing into the interior [News..., 1898:1].

The society immediately responded to this issue. The renovation committee of Mtskheta’s Cathedral was formed under the chairmanship of Exarch Flabiane (Gorodetsk, 1898-1901). The difference of opinions was caused by the issue related to the roofing of the cathedral [News..., 1899:2].

Finally, it was decided to cover Svetitskhoveli Cathedral with stone slabs. At the same time, the commission intended to prepare a historical-archaeological paper about the cathedral. This was entrusted to Anton Natroshvili    -   a member of the commission, a scholar invited by Leonidas.

As a result, the work “Мцхет и его собор Свэти-Цховели. Историко-археологическое описание” was published in 1900. The first part of the book is devoted to Mtskheta and its antiquities. The second part discusses Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and its history.

In the preface, the author mentions the persons, who actively participated in its preparation. Among them is priest Polievktos Karbelashvili. According to the author of the book, he visited the cathedral several times together with Karbelashvili for copying old inscriptions [Натроев, 1900:3-4].

Polievktos Karbelashvili actively responded to the issue of renovation of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and dedicated to it the special letter, where he noted: "How important Svetitskhoveli Cathedral of Mtskheta is for the Georgians. A lot has been said about it until now. We are pleased to mention that the task of renewal of this mother-pillar of the Georgians’ national peculiarity  somehow woke us (sleepy, overburdened, improvident) up, opened our eyes and stirred our hearts to action. The committee was formed and asked the great Christian nation for assistance. It conducts consecutive meetings to weigh all the  minor circumstances and to arrange a better renewal for a fruitful use of future generations. It initiates the scientific study of today’s Svetitskhoveli Cathedral to ease the intended renovation. It invites every Georgian to participate in this great work. It wrote a lot of letters to collect contributions, etc." [Karbelashvili, 1899: 2-3].

The fragmentary records presented in the field notebooks of Polievktos Karbelashvili prove that along with the inscriptions, he painted the reliefs of the northern facade of the cathedral. The records about  Svetitskhoveli Cathedral preserved in his personal archive are fragmentary and do not give a complete picture. Obviously, he had to carefully inspect and describe the cathedral, which he had seen many times. Nevertheless, a specially prepared essay dedicated to Svetitskhoveli does not appear in the known materials.

By means of the fragmentary materials preserved in the notebook, Polievktos Karbelashvili described:

The Mkhedruli  inscription engraved on the eastern facade (Nikoloz Maghaladze is mentioned)  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 128, f.52r;

The Mkhedruli  inscription engraved on the southern facade (Nikoloz Iotamis dze Amilakhvari is mentioned, 1685)  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 128, f. 29r;

The Asomtavruli inscriptions engraved on the north facade, above the main window  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 48, notebook No. 1;

The reliefs of the northern facade  -  Savior; Hand and mind - GNA. Fund 1461, case 48, notebook No. 1;

The fresco inscription (Catholicos Nickoloz and painter Grigol Guljavarasshvili are mentioned)  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 128, f. 52r;

The sanctuaries:

The silver candlestick with the inscription (Teimuraz and Elene are mentioned) -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 128, f. 1v;

The depicting with the Asomtavruli inscription (Givi Iotamis dze  Amilakhvari and his wife Tamar Batonishvili are mentioned)  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 128, p. 28r-v;

In addition, Polievktos Karbelashvili’s personal archive presents the short essay about Svetitskhoveli Cathedral  -  GNA. Fund 1461, case 143, f. 9r-v.

Deacon Polievktos Karbelashvili

Svetitskhoveli, Mtskheta

Different peoples of the world are proud of their creative works (cultures). Among them is Georgia, which has long proudly presented to the mankind Shota’s brilliant “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”. However, is it only the knight in the panther’s skin that the Georgians are proud of? The Georgian nation has many things to boast: the peculiar mother tongue, the old and new writings, the alphabet, the secular and religious symbols, the architecture, etc.

The ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta and its Svetitskhoveli Cathedral have a very important past. During one thousand and five hundred years, Svetitskhoveli together with the Georgia nation went through the sufferings caused by the barbarians. However, today it still looks at us with craning and reproaches us for many things...

1. All residents of Kartli around it know that Svetitskhoveli was built by Vakhtang Gorgasali. The old chronicles of Kartli also tell us this.

2. There is the painting of the 11th century on the arch above the column of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. It depicts laying the foundation of the cathedral, crowned King Vakhtang (slightly bent with two hands outstretched to the west, holding the stone of the rock) and bent Catholicos Michael, who crosses him with his right hand1.

3. Vakhtang was painted in the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem in the 11th century, while renovation was carried out by Prokhor. This painting was copied by Platon Ioseliani during his stay in Jerusalem in 1849. He printed it in the journey of Iona Mroveli in 1852. These two images of Vakhtang are the same...

4. In 1899 I pleasantly rushed to the scaffolding placed to the north of Svetitskhoveli, but I was daunted that I could fall down².

There is the Mkhedruli inscription on the south wall of Svetiskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta:

Nikoloz, Catholicos of Kartli,  the son of Iotam Amilakhvari, during Giorgi’s reign you renewed the wall  of holy Catholic Church, Svetitskhoveli, for the second time, in order to pray for our sins, to become my  guardian-protector on the day of judgment. KKS Tog (1685).

Down in the north:

xli monisa

ar~sks Z~Á S~d~T

To the right of the cross   -   the Savior carved out of yellow stone

Ás †† ade m†l Â

Higher in the north:

w:. nbiTa:. RisTa ganaxlda samire ese brZnbiTa qmrq melqizedegiTa S~e u mona Sni am~si gal~tzni oTxni a~n

The silver candlestick of Svetiskhoveli,  weight 1 pound, with the inscription:

I, the daughter-in-law of the king, Elene, pray Svetiskhoveli, to avoid passion of the son of the king Teimuraz³.

There is the inscription in Khutsuri Asomtavruli on golden depicting of Svetiskhoveli created with the wonderful art:

God of all, who was crossed and  took on the flesh  with your great mercy and humility, as if you were a man, you are the only-begotten Son of God  and equal with the holiness of spirit. You endured the passion, crucifixion, depicting, wrapping like a dead  and burying to restore the dead from age to age. We, Iotam Amilakhvari's son, Givi and Tamar Batonisshvili, my consort and the daughter of the Georgian king Shahnaoz, touched and sewed this depicting for forgiving our sins and for the guidance and upbringing of our sons. We have donated it to your holy cathedral. Holy Mother of God, be a guardian and a protector of every day of our lives, Amen.

[1]I saw the painting in 1900 (note - P. K.).

[2]At this point the text stops and the continuation is no longer visible.

[3]See: Natroeva's "Мцхетъ...", p. 429 (note - P. K.).

Illustration – The north facade, the Asomtavruli construction inscriptions above the main window. The reliefs of the north facade - Savior; Hand and mind. GNA, Fund 1461, Case 48, Notebook No. 1