Ilor temple: where is, history, photo

Ilor Temple, whose patron Saint George is a shrine, where many Christians come to establish a dialogue with God. It is considered a model of Georgia's architecture of the 11th century. It is located in the village of Ilor, near Ochamchira.

Description

The Ilor temple consists of a church, as well as ancillary facilities. The building is built of white stone. Hall one, the inner altar is executed in the form of a semi-circle. There is also an overlap of a stone arched arch supported by pilasters.

There are three entrances, through which you can get to the heart of the church: in the north, south and west. There are also chapels there, they were built at different times. On the walls inside there is a medieval painting, its elements refer to chased art. The masonry of the walls on the outside contains plates, on which there are images of the cross. The interior decoration here has always been rich and impressive. Around the territory there is a cobblestone fence. The bell tower rises above the gate.

History

It is an important architectural object for western Georgia. The building is quite old. Numerous reconstructions and restorations were carried out here.

For example, in the 17th century the Ilor temple (Abkhazia) restored Megrelian prince Levan II from the Dadian clan. In the 19th century, reconstruction works were carried out by the owners of the principality of Megrelian in Odishi.

This object many researchers, as well as missionaries describe as a building, devoid of a dome, small, but quite well and richly decorated. This was stated by the historian Vakhushti Bagrationi, whose works came to us from the 18th century.

Also, the Ilor Temple is mentioned in the works of many other researchers, such as Chardin, de Monpere, Brosse, Pavlinov, Bakridze and others. In the 20th century the local architecture was studied by an art critic from Abkhazia Katsia. On the topic of this issue, his thesis as a Candidate of Science is compiled, and also a monograph. He argued that this object is nothing more than a model of architecture characteristic of Georgia in the 11th century.

Unexplained

Everyone who with trembling concerns faith and works of architectural art, certainly like Abkhazia, Ilor temple. Father Sergius, who serves here as a priest, is famous for being credited with the ability to drive a demon out of man. This is one of many reasons why people come here so often and massively.

Sometimes people who have lost all faith in the healing of their native people are sent to the Ilor temple. Father Sergius is often the only one to whom they can put their hopes, and he justifies it. There have been cases when it was possible to cure mental ailments of the most severe degree. This place is also popular with visiting pilgrims, who live near the church, in rural houses. They undertake all sorts of temple work.

Features

The internal rules of the temple are quite strict. For example, it is forbidden to take photos and make videos. Women can only go in with their heads covered and in a skirt. For men, shorts and caps are not allowed.

Formerly, here were stored artfully executed liturgical vessels, the incessant golden cup, which King Bagrat III donated to the churches. A lot of interesting and unusual things tell about the Ilor temple. Myrrh-streaming icons are one of such distinctive miracles, which is the gift of Levan Dadiani. Now they are not very often put on public display. It is believed that the faces of saints thus cry. When you see it, the impression is really strong.

Faces of Saints

Two images are forged from silver. The oath that they brought before them was considered unbreakable and sacred. In the people they said that if they betrayed her, a perjurer would receive a heavy and severe punishment. The glory of the faces of the saints spread throughout the country.

Due to such unusual features, Ilor Temple (Abkhazia) became such a popular place. Myrtotchaschie icons and stunning architecture attracts large flows of tourists.

There is also an image of the Great Martyr by the name of Evstafy Apsilsky. He ruled Apsilia in 738. He was captured by the Arab governor Suleiman ibn-Isam. In the city of Kharan, martyrdom overtook him. Now you can hear talk about the miracles of healing that take place at the relics of the saint.

It is interesting that the St. George Church is widely known far beyond Abkhazia. Travelers and pilgrims come here, believing that the request addressed here to God will necessarily come true.

There are numerous notes on how life went on in the temple. For example, in the 17th century travelers from Italy visited here who claimed that various large fairs were held here, to which people came from different regions of the west of the Caucasus.

Political aspect

In the state many times the question was raised that cultural and historical values should be under special protection. Ilor temple is one of them. Complications in this issue are connected with the fact that Georgia does not have control over Abkhazia, and, in fact, it can not dictate its rules to the authorities.

In recent years, many times have been restored. However, the result was not always positive. For example, in 2010 a serious conflict erupted between the Abkhaz and Georgian authorities. The reason for it was that in Georgia it was believed that the authenticity of the monument of history and architecture had suffered after the works. Traditional and peculiar features are erased from the facade of the building, the current performance resembles a purely Russian manner.

A statement was issued by the Georgian Foreign Ministry, in which the work done was called vandalism. There was also a call to stop such actions in order to preserve at least the precious historical features that remained in the territory that once belonged to Georgia.

Changes

During the restoration work a dome appeared, which never was. This feature is considered to be characteristic of Russian church architecture. In addition, the color of the facade became white, the eastern wall was plastered. Earlier there were inscriptions in the Georgian language, they spoke about the history of the building.

Arches repainted in red, added relief details that did not tally with the national architectural style. The fresco that was previously inside the temple is whitewashed.

The Abkhaz authorities do not deny that they have made changes in the external and internal appearance of the church, but they do not agree with what the Georgians call vandalism. In 2011, a meeting was held between the governments of Georgia and Abkhazia, where they discussed the issue of Georgia's participation in the life of the Ilor church. However, the response to this proposal was a refusal.

In any case, no matter whoever was in charge of the shrine, it would be desirable for the image and content to remain as close to historical reliability as possible.