The small St. George Monastery in the village of Ubisi is located 60 kilometers west of Kutaisi. After the name of the village, it is often called the Ubisi Monastery. It is located directly on the road that connects Borjomi and Kutaisi. If you are driving along this road, it is advisable to make a short stop here.
St. George`s Church of the monastery is a small single-nave basilica of the 9th century. The monastery was founded by St. Gregory of Khandziti (sometimes called Gregory of Khandziteli), who was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Saint Gregory was born in 759, and died in 861, at the age of 102. Gregory preached Christianity in Georgia and founded many monasteries. At the request of the King of Abkhazia Demeter II, in the 9th century he founded a Monastery in Ubisi, which has remained unchanged to this day.
The St. George Monastery of Ubisi is one of the oldest in Georgia. In 1141, Svimon Chkondideli built a small 4-storey residential tower on the territory of the monastery. The name and date of construction of the tower are known thanks to a plaque in the ancient Georgian language, mounted in the wall of the tower. Svimon Chhondideli was a confidant of King David the Builder and governor of Imereti.
The main cultural value of the Ubisi Monastery is the frescoes of the 14th century, painted by the master Damian. The Georgian Church was baptized in 326 by a Bishop from Byzantium, so it followed the Byzantine church traditions of icon painting. However, in Georgia, the names of icon painters have practically not been preserved, although their works are of high value. The frescoes and mosaics of the Gelati Monastery, as well as the Ubisi Monastery, are among the most famous in Georgia. All these frescoes belong to the era of the 12th-14th centuries, which is called the Paleologo Renaissance. At that time, the Paleologian dynasty ruled in Byzantium.
