The Saint Nicholas Church (Georgian: ხოფის წმინდა ნიკოლოზის ეკლესია, romanized:khopis ts'minda nik'olozis ek'lesia) is a ruined medieval church at the village of Khuapi [ru] in Abkhazia, an entity in the South Caucasus with a disputed political status.[1] It is located some 18 km northwest of the town of Gudauta, at the foot of the Bzyb Range.[2]
History
The extant structure is a remnant of a hall church, probably built in the period of the 10th-12th century and covered by dense foliage. No contemporary historical records mention it. In 1967, while exploring the ruins, the art historian Leo Shervashidze found a limestone slab carrying a partially damaged Georgian inscription in the medieval asomtavruli script arranged in 14 lines around a Maltese-type cross carved in relief. The extant text relates that the church was constructed in the reign of King George around the time when Gurandukht was born, imploring St. Nicholas's intercession before the Christ. Based on the context and epigraphic features of the inscription, this king George is variously identified as George II of Abkhazia (r. 923–957) by Leo Shervashidze,[3]George I of Georgia (r. 1014–1027) by Teimuraz Barnaveli,[4] or George III of Georgia (r. 1156–1178) by Vladimir Silogava and Andrey Vinogradov and Denis Beletsky.[5] All these monarchs had a daughter named Gurandukht.
References
^The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
^Khopi Saint Nicholas Church. Historical monuments of Abkhazia — Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
^Shervashidze, Leo A. (1968). "Церковь святого Николая в селе Хуап Гудаутского района" [Church of Saint Nicholas in the village of Khuap in the Gudauta district]. Doklady Na Vsesojuznoj Sessii Arheologov I Yetnografov (in Russian). Moscow: 23–24.
^Barnaveli, Teimuraz B. (1981). "Надпись на плите из церкви сел. Хуап Гудаутского района" [A slab inscription from the church of Khuap in the Gudauta district]. Sakartvelos Metsnierebata Akedemiis Matsne (Herald of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, History Series) (in Russian). 3: 122–125.
^Vinogradov, Andrey Y.; Beletsky, Denis V. (2015). Церковная архитектура Абхазии в эпоху Абхазского царства. Конец VIII — X в. [Church architecture of Abkhazia in the era of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. End of the 8th to the 10th century.] (in Russian). Moscow: Indrik. pp. 95–96.
