Pilgrimage Tour to Georgia (8 nights/7 days)

Day 1: Arrival to Tbilisi. Meeting with the guide at the airport

Transfer to Imereti Region.

Attractions to be visited: Shio-Mgvime Monastery founded by St. Shio, one of the thirteen Assyrian fathers who arrived in Georgia in the 6^th century and preached Christ. Temple of St.John the Baptist (6^th cent.), hallows of St.Shio Mgvime, Church of the Theotokos (12^th cent.), hallows of 6,000 saint martyrs of Gareja.

Samtavisi Monastery (6^th-11^th cent.). The first temple in the area of the Monastery is assumed to have been built in the middle of the 6^th century. Saint Isidore, one of the Assyrian Fathers, founded the Monastery to commemorate the Icon of the Savior "Not Made by Hands". In the 11^th century, the cathedral was built that has survived until today. The hallows of Isidore of Samtavisi are buried under the foundation of the temple.

Arrival to Kutaisi.

Day 2: Sacred places of Kutaisi

Attractions to be visited: Gelati Monastery (12^th – 13^th cent.) — outstanding monument of Georgian architecture, Medieval spiritual and academic center, shrine of Georgian kings, one of UNESCO world-wide heritage monuments. Church of the Assumption, mosaics and frescoes dated back to the 12^th-18^th cent., Church of St. Nicholas the Wondermaker and Temple of St. George the Victorious (13^th cent.);

Motsameta Monastery (11^th cent.) – Monastery of St. David and St. Constantine, built where the Muslim invaders executed the Georgian princes David and Constantine Mkheidze after their refusal to convert to Islam. Main temple of the monastery hosts repository of hallows;

Bagrati Cathedral (10^th – 11^th cent.) – Temple of the Assumption, one of the largest and historically important temples in Georgia.

Evening promenade in Kutaisi: buildings of Georgian Parliament and Georgian Government; Kolkhida Fountain; royal residence Okros Chardahi (“Golden Pavilion”).

Day 3: Trip to Samegrelo

Attractions to be visited: Khobi Monastery in the memory of the Assumption of the Mother of God, one of the few and the most ancient monasteries in Samegrelo, former residence and also a shrine of the Catholicoi of the Western Georgia.

You’ll visit Zugdidi, where the family palace of the Mingrelian princes Dadiani hosts the Robe of the Mother of God (it is replica that is displayed in museum, which is taken out from the repository once a year, on July 15).

Cathedral of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God hosts hallows of St. George and a piece of sponge given to Jesus during his crucifixion and a part of the belt of the Mother of God (taken out from the repository once a year, on July 15).

Return to Kutaisi.

Day 4: Liturgy in cathedral church of Kutaisi

Trip to Samtskhe–Javaneti

Attractions to be visited: Ubisa Monastery (11^th – 12^th cent.) – St. George’s Temple, murals dated back to the 14^th century. One of Queen Tamar's favorite temples, cultural center of the Western Georgia.

Green Monastery (9^th – 16^th centuries) – St. George’s Monastery; in the 16^th century, 300 monks were tortured to death here following the order of the Persian Shah Tahmasp; the stones of the Chitakhevi River absorbed the martyrs’ blood.

Borjomi Resort: springs of the world-famous mineral water.

Transfer to Tbilisi.

Day 5: Trip to Mtskehta

Attractions to be visited: Jvari – Monastery and temple of the Ascension of the Cross dating back to the 7^th century. Legend has it that St. Nino lived there in a cave and prayed the Lord for a source of healing water. After Georgia adopting Christianity, St. Nino and King Mirian installed a wooden cross here as a sign of the triumph of Orthodoxy; the cross was worshipped as miraculous and gave the name to this place;

Monastery of St. Nino Samtavro (4^th – 11^th centuries) – the temple hosts many relics, part of the living pillar, miraculous icon of the Iveri Mother of God, miraculous icon of St. Nino, graves of saint kings Mirian and Nana, hallows of St. Abibus of Nekressi, hallows of St. Shio Mgvime, part of the tombstone from the grave of St. Nino from Bodbe, etc.;

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11^th cent.) – built at the place of Georgia’s first Christian temple dated back to the 4^th century that stood above the grave of St. Sidonia. Sidonia died and was buried holding’ the Lord’s robe in her hands. A cedar grew above her grave, and this cedar was cut to make a pillar for the temple. The pillar is said to have miraculously moved itself to the place where a temple was built afterwards and started to weep oil. The temple was given the name “Svetitskhovel”, which means “the Life-Giving Pillar” in Georgian.

Return to Tbilisi. Spare time.

Day 6: Trip to Kakheti, Alazani Valley

Attractions to be visited: Ikalto (6^th – 13^th cent.) – monastery complex, one of the most ancient monasteries of Georgia; Temple of St.Trinity, Temple of the Holy Spirit (6^th cent.), Temple of the Assumption (12^th – 13^th cent.), academy;

Alaverdi Monastery (6^th cent.) – monastery founded in the 6^th century by Josef of Alaverdi, one of the founders of the monkhood in Georgia; Cathedral of St. George was built at the place of a small church that bore the same name in the 11^th century;

Nekresi Monastery (6^th – 9^th cent.), founded by one of the Assyrian fathers, Abibus of Nekressi; the earliest structure is a small church of the later 4^th century built when Christianity was proclaimed as the official religion of the country. In the 6^th-7^th centuries, the main Temple of the Blessed Virgin was built, wherein some fragments of the 16^th-century wall inscriptions and frescoes have survived. The monastery includes a church (9^th cent.) and the bishop’s palace (16^th cent.).

Bodbe Monastery (9^th – 19^th cent.) – shrine of Saint Nino Equal-to-the-Apostles; miraculous spring of St. Nino.

Return to Tbilisi.

Day 7: Sightseeing tour in Tbilisi

Attractions to be visited: Avlabar, one of the oldest districts of Tbilisi; Holy Trinity Cathedral (Tsminda Sameba) - symbol of modern Georgia and the country’s tallest temple.

Visit to the Museum of Fine Arts of Shalva Amiranashvili; collections include, inter alia, the golden cross of Queen Tamara, the golden bowl of Bagrat and the Ancha Icon of the Savior “Not-Made-By-Hands”, Georgia’s most ancient icon (the “Anchiskhati” – 6^th cent.)

Pantheon on Mtatsminda Mountain (extra pay for cable railway) where many well-known Georgian writers, actors, scholars and national heroes of Georgia are buried; St. David’s Church "Mamadaviti" (19^th cent.); St. David Gareji lived there in the 6^th century;

Anchiskhati Basilica (6^th cent.) – Temple of the Nativity of the Mother of God, one of the most ancient buildings and the oldest existing temple in Tbilisi. The temple was named “Anchiskhati” after the year of 1664 in the memory of the miraculous Ancha Icon of the Savior that was brought here from the Southern Georgia to save it from the Turks;

Sioni Cathedral (12^th cent.) used to be Georgia’s main cathedral before 2006. It was called “Sioni” in the honor of the Assumption Church on the Mount of Zion in Jerusalem; the cathedral hosts the cross of St. Nino;

Metekhi, historical district of Tbilisi, where the monument to Vakhtang Gorgasali and Temple of the Assumption of the Mother of God (13^th – 16^th cent.) are. Queen Shushanik, Georgia’s first martyr killed by her fire-worshiper husband in the 5^th century, is buried in the temple.

Temple of St. Alexander Nevsky (participation in the evening service can be arranged).

Day 8: Transfer to the airport