Pitsunda Cathedral

St. Andrew the Apostle Cathedral
Religion
Affiliation	de facto:Abkhazian Orthodox Church de jure:Georgian Orthodox Church
District	Gagra District
Region	Caucasus
Status	Active
Location
Location	Pitsunda,Gagra District,Georgia/Abkhazia
Shown within Georgia
Geographic coordinates	43.159889°N 40.339°E/43.159889; 40.339
Architecture
Type	Triple-nave, domed cruciform plan
Style	Georgian;Byzantine
Funded by	KingBagrat III of Georgia
Completed	End of 10th century
Specifications
Length	37
Width	25
Height (max)	29
Dome(s)	1
Website
Pipe organ of Pitsunda

TheCathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle(Russian:Собор в честь Апостола Андрея Первозванного,romanized:Sobor v chest' Apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo), also known as thePitsunda Cathedral(Abkhaz:Пицундатәи ауахәама,romanized:Ṗicundaṭ°i awax°ama) orBichvinta Cathedral(Georgian:ბიჭვინთის ტაძარი,romanized:bich'vintis t'adzari) is anEastern OrthodoxCathedrallocated inPitsunda,in theGagra Districtof thede factoindependentRepublic of Abkhazia,internationally recognised as constituting a part ofGeorgia.The cathedral is currently used by the schismaticAbkhazian Orthodox Churchand serves as that body's seat, although this usage is disputed by theGeorgian Orthodox Churchand is considered irregular by theEastern Orthodoxcommunion generally.

Pitsunda Cathedral was built at the end of the 10th century by KingBagrat III of Georgia.It served as the seat of theGeorgian OrthodoxCatholicate of Abkhaziauntil the late 16th century when Abkhazia came under theOttomanhegemony. According to 17th century French travellerJean Chardin,Catholicos, who no longer lived in Pitsunda, visited the cathedral once a year with the retinue of bishops and princes to perform the sanctification ofchrism.The cathedral was reconsecrated in 1869 when Abkhazia was already a part of Russian Empire.

It is a cross-domed cathedral with three naves and three apses, shaped as a rectangle with extending semicircular apses. It holds a pipe organ from theAlexander Schukefactory inPotsdam,Germany, installed in 1975.The cathedral is notable for its impressive size, reaching 29 m high (including the dome), 37 m long and 25 m wide; the walls are up to 1.5 m thick. The building rests on heavy slabs of grey sandstone; the walls are made up of alternating rows of stone and brickwork, a typical technique for lateByzantine architecture.The cathedral contains vestiges of wall-painting from the 13th and the 16th centuries. A 12th-century Georgianmanuscript of the Four Gospels,found at the cathedral in 1830, is now preserved at theGeorgian National Center of ManuscriptsinTbilisi.

Gallery

• 
  The Pitsunda Cathedral in 1847. Drawing by Grigory Gagarin
• 
  Cathedral window
• 
  Cathedral organ

References

• "Pitsunda Cathedral".Tourist site of Abkhazia.Archived fromthe originalon 17 June 2018.Retrieved27 December2014.

External links

• Photos of the Pitsunda Cathedral
• Photos and background information(in Russian)
• Organ of Pitsunda. Official site(in Russian)