Ertatsminda Cathedral

Ertatsminda Cathedral stands in the centre of the village of the same name in Kaspi municipality, in the low hills south of the Mtkvari, about 65 km west of Tbilisi by road. It was built in the 13th century and is dedicated to St Eustathius of Mtskheta, a Persian convert martyred in the 6th century, and the village takes its name from it: Ertatsminda means one saint. The church is a cross-domed building of the late Golden Age, close in style to other Georgian churches of the 12th and 13th centuries such as Kvatakhevi and Pitareti, with decorative stone carving on its facades.

Ertatsminda sees very few visitors, which is much of its appeal: you are more likely to share it with village children and the priest than with a tour group. It fits naturally with Samtavisi and Kvatakhevi on a day of Kartli churches between Tbilisi and Gori, and the drive through farmland and orchards is lovely in spring and at harvest time. Ask in the village if the door is locked.

Ertatsminda Cathedral was built in the 13th century, towards the end of the period often called Georgia's Golden Age, when the kingdom was at the height of its power. It is dedicated to Eustathius of Mtskheta, a Persian who became a Christian and was executed in the 6th century; his martyrdom is told in one of the earliest surviving works of Georgian literature. The village grew up around the church and took its name from it.