Catholic Churches in Georgia: History and Architecture

Abstract

The proposed thesis explores the architecture and construction history of Catholic churches built in Georgia from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. It shows who and how built these churches, what tradition has shaped the architecture of Catholic churches in Georgia, how the architecture reflected different cultural traditions (Georgia, Armenian, Western European) and what principal trends are revealed in the architecture of the Catholic churches in Georgia. The thesis studies architecture and building history of tens of Catholic churches in various parts of Georgia. It also explores the Feriköy monastery in Istanbul, which was the main centre of Georgian Catholics outside the country.

The research resulted in giving an overall picture of the architecture of Catholic churches within a broader context of complicated and controversial ethnoconfessional processes that took place in Georgia between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. It sheds more light on various aspects of the modern Georgian history such as ideals and aspirations of different Catholic communities, their economic conditions, religious policy of the state, intraconfessional and interconfessional relations, ethnic and religious identity, etc. Key words: Catholic churches in Georgia, architecture of Catholic churches, church building, Georgian Catholics, Armenian Catholics.

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