The Gergeti Holy Trinity Church is a prominent monument of Georgian architecture and an outstanding sample of landscape architecture. The church has been erected on a mountaintop at 2,200 m above sea level, with the 5,047 m high mountain of Kazbegi towering over it. Closed within a stone wall, the architectural ensemble of Gergeti consists of the domed Trinity Church dating to the 1430’s and a bell-tower that had been built during the subsequent years of the same century. The church has an annex built onto the southern side fulfilling a unique function, “Sabcheo” (The Council – the turn of the 16th cent.) – a place for elders of the Khevi community to consult with each other. For many centuries, Trinity Church was the storehouse and also the hiding place for the treasury of Mtskheta. One of the holiest relics for Georgian Christians – the Cross of St. Nino, had been kept precisely in this location for a long period of time. The 16th century painted decoration of the church’s chancel-barrier is noteworthy, being revealed during a restoration in 2006 and contains the image of St. Nino. The vigorous body of the church and modest facade décor leaves one with a monumental impression. The bell-tower is relatively more lavishly decorated – clusters of grapes, fantastic figures of animals and people. The Gergeti Holy Trinity is an especially famous shrine and the only domed structure in Khevi. At present, a male monastery has been established at Holy Trinity. Miracle-working icon of the Virgin is housed here. The feast day of the church – “Gergetoba” – is celebrated on 16 July.
Gergeti Trinity. 
