Visiting The Tallest Cathedral

Hello friends hope you are all doing well out there. Here I want to share with you all an amazing experience that I gained during my first year of stay in Tbilisi the capital of Georgia. During the first few days of our arrival in Tbilisi we had a chance to visit some important places that are located around the city with the help of our senior students who are studying in the same university. One such important site that we visited in our first few days is the Trinity Cathedral called locally as the Sameba. To make the name look more formal you may call it as the Holy Trinity Cathedral Of Tbilisi. It is said that the construction work for this cathedral started in the year 1995. This is the third tallest cathedral in the world. The church is for orthodox christians and most of the Georgian people are orthodox christians. 

To reach the cathedral we actually took a metro from the station nearby our home. We had to get into the interconnecting metro and finally get down at a station called "Avlabari". From there we had to take the first left which is a small street that moves up hill. There are numerous houses located on each side of the road. As you climb up the road finally you will come across many old people selling candles and other spiritual products after which you will find the main entrance for the cathedral. Walking through this cathedral will give you an amazing view of this large cathedral. the cross at the top of the cathedral will appear to touch the sky. This cathedral can been seen from any place in Tbilisi at a  specific height. There is a big park in the front of cathedral which is beautifully decorated with a variety of plants and flowers. There are also benches to sit and relax yourself. There is also a big marble stair case which you must climb in order to reach the cathedral base. Once you climb up the stairs you could see a vast pace before the cathedral entrance on all four sides. There are benches for people to sit and the place is beautifully decorated with many lamps and there are also flags hoisted in the cathedral which gives an additional beauty. From here you can have a good view of the city and the people who come into the cathedral from the entrance door will appear so tiny. Beyond this big pkace is the main entrance for the cathedral where you can study some history about the cathedral which says that the idea to build a new cathedral in Tbilisi arouse to celebrate the 2000 years from birth of Jesus. This idea came in the year 1989 however it was the time there was some political unrest as Georgia was under the soviet rule. There were numerous proposals for the cathedral from which finally one was chosen. The political disturbance caused a delay in the project by five years after which the construction work started. The place where the cathedral is built is an old Armenian cemetry which is concluded by the total number of Armenians burried there. There was also an old Armenian church in the past in the proposed place which was destroyed during the soviet rule. During the construction period there was numerous bones which were found on the site and the Armenians comdemned this act very badly. The necessary money for building th emoney was donated by many business men and local people. The church called it as a symbol of Georgian national and spiritual revival. When the construction works came to an end the Sameba was ready for worship. The sameba was consecrated on Saint George's Day and most of the important relegious and political people were present during the occasion. The cathedral has several floors and stairs. There are nine chapels named as follows 

1. Chapels of Archangels

2. Chapel of John The Baptist

3. Chapel of Saint Nino

4. Chapel of Saint George

5. Chapel of Saint Nicholas

6.Chapel of the Twelve Apostles

7. Chapel of All Saints

The total area occupied by the cathedral is about 5000 square metres and the height of the cathedral is about 105 metres. The underground chapel is about 13 metres in height and occupies 35550 cubic metres. On a whole the Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi consists of the main cathedral, a bell tower, the residence of the patriarch, a monastery, a clerical seminery, theological academy, several workshops, places for rests;parks etc.

After having a look at this history I was really amazed about this marvellous structure. I went and saw each of the nine chapels and prayed for sometime. It doesn't matter a lot for me just because I'm a hindu. I strongly believe that God is One.! After the prayers I came back out where my friends were sitting. Then we had some fun and took several photos. The wind that was blowing over the palce was really cool and it was a good feeling to sit there and get some fresh air. As time passed we thought of returning back home. So we walked around the park located in the cathedral, had a look at all the different varieties of flowes and plants kept there. We even met few Georgian people who were really good to talk with. After all these we walked down the same way as we climbed up. Took a metro train and got down at our home station. When we reached there were other responsibilities waiting for us. I had to then cook, make some food for myself after which I had a nice refreshing bath. Finishing up with the dinner I jumped to the bed and within seconds I collapsed.

The day was extremely perfect as I got to know some history and at the same time I was lucky enought to visit one of the tallest cathedrals in the world. The place was good refreshing and offered peace to the mind. Even today if I could spare some time in my schedule I always think of visiting this magnificient cathedral. I could see this cathedral glowing in lights in the dark through the windows in my room. This is one of the best spiritual palce to visit in Tbilisi. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to mention them below. Till I write my next article keep smiling and cheers :) Thank you for reading..!!