Erketi Church

Erketi Church is located in the village of Zemo Erketi, Chokhatauri Municipality, Guria. It dates back to the 9th century. The temple and the adjacent territory used to be the estate of the Gurian eristavs (Georgian feudal title), its abbots were representatives of the Sharvashidze clan. Inside the church, on the right wall, is depicted the rector of Erketi Maxim III, dressed in a mantle and miter, who was appointed as a Metropolitan of Jumati in the 18th century and showed great care to Erketi. The church is a hall-type building with two annexes. There are two entrances - from the west and south, both are rectangular on the outside and arched on the inside. The longitudinal walls are separated by pilasters. The hall is covered with a vault, which lies on the supporting arches turning into pilasters. In the interior, although in a damaged form, the painting of the late Middle Ages has been preserved. The facades are not decorated. A simple relief cross is placed above both entrances in a semicircular tympanum with ramparts. A fragment of an ornament in the form of a vine has been preserved at the western door. The east window is framed in the form of ramparts. The facades are completed by a cornice with a fillet outline. The church is made of well-hewn squares. At the moment it is active, there is a nunnery.