BEDIANI MONASTERY

Bediani is a small town in Tsalka Municipality, located in the historic province of Trialeti. It was established in 1954 in connection with the construction of the Khrami Hydroelectric Power Station. The medieval Monastery of the Mother of God is situated on the edge of the town, on a wooded hillside. Prior to the founding of the town, the area around the monastery was uninhabited for many years. The historic name of the site is Vardisubani.

Bediani Church, viewed from the south-west

The monastery’s main building is a well-preserved church standing at the center of the courtyard. Based on architectural evidence, it dates to the 15th century.

Bediani Church, viewed from the north-west

The church is a single-nave structure with large annexes extending along its entire length on the north and south sides, giving it the appearance of a basilica from the outside. Inside the nave, two pairs of pilasters divide the longitudinal walls. The sanctuary apse is illuminated by one large and three small windows, an unusual feature for Medieval Georgian churches.

The eastern façade

Externally, the church is faced with large, well-hewn gray basalt blocks. The exterior is notable for its austere design. The façades are modest and plain, with windows framed simply, without carved ornamentation. On the eastern façade, the central window is topped with a flat brow and a cross.

Bediani Church, viewed from the south

The southern and northern annexes are elongated rectangular rooms without apses. The main entrance to the church is through a high pointed arched door in the southern wall of the southern annex. It is accentuated by heightened transverse walls and a pitched roof.

The monastic courtyard

The church has survived into modern times almost undamaged, except for its original stone-tiled roof, which was replaced with tin plates in 1999. Two years earlier, two nuns settled there and initiated the monastery’s revival. Gradually, the number of nuns increased. The area around the church was cleared, and the remains of old monastic buildings were uncovered. Between 2007 and 2018, a refectory, circuit wall, and gate were restored, and a bell tower and new dwelling cells were built.