Georgian Trip Blog - Sept.-Dec. 2007

October 14, this past Sunday, is a Georgian Orthodox church holiday. The churches were packed all day, and services were broadcast on TV. I made several attempts to discover exactly what the holiday was all about, but the answer seemed to be difficult to convey. “Svetitshovloba,” I was told, which means “celebration at the Living Pillar church,” in Mtsketa, a nearby town. So to satisfy my own curiosity I looked up the following information on the internet. Here is what I found. on the right and below. Read it, and then you can figure out for yourself what the holiday is.	Orthodox World marks the Day of Blessed Virgin Mary The Georgian Orthodox Church marks the holiday of Blessed Virgin Mary along with another holiday of Sionoba. Catholicos Patriarch of all Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilya II will hold a mass in the~ Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi. The feast day recognizing Mary's passage into Heaven is celebrated as The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary~in~all Orthodox churches of Georgia by holding liturgical services.
Georgia: Svetitshovloba Public holiday to celebrate the Georgian Orthodox Festival. Type of Event: Holiday ~~\|~~Occurs: 14 Oct 2007	~Georgia: Giorgoba Saint George's Day (public holiday). Type of Event: Holiday ~~\|~~Occurs: 14 Oct 2007
At any rate, in mid-afternoon Bakuri and little Dachi appeared to take Tanya and me to Jvari (which means "cross"), an ancient monastery on a hilltop, and to the Living Pillar church. Dachi especially wanted to come because, as he told his parents, “I’m going to learn English today with Patty-bebo.” [“Bebo” the diminutive form of “bebia,” grandma]. So my grandchildren at home call me “Grammie Pat,” and here I’m “Patty-bebo.” We had fun speaking English all day!	Bakuri let me use his extremely nice camera for the day. Many of photos that you see below were taken from inside the moving vehicle, and I think they’re very good quality. Above, Jvari seen from afar
As we approached, the crowds grew and grew.	Many people abandoned their cars and started walking.
Here is the view as we were climbing up to the church. You can see the temporary wooden structure covering the ongoing restoration of the building. When I first saw Jvari in 1987, it was a vacant ruin, with broken walls letting in the wind and rain.	In recent years Jvari has been repaired and is once again in use as an active place of worship. Inside there were hundreds of thin candles burning, and glittering icons of the saints looking down from the walls.
As we left the church, a lone sheep on the run dashed in front of us and disappeared over the hill.	Bakuri snapped Dachi, me, and Tanya, in the wind outside Jvari.
Many weddings take place at Jvari.	We saw two bridal parties entering the church as we were leaving.

This bride below is on the phone, while members of the party are crossing themselves in front of Jvari.	Above: Another Bride, Another Phone
Photo Right: As we were leaving the shrine, I took this picture of a "No Littering" sign, which was surrounded with trash.