Neo-Byzantine church architecture in Georgia : between empire and nation (1800-1920)

Neo-Byzantine architecture in Georgia constitutes a pivotal chapter in the history of colonial architecture and the intertwined trajectories of empire, religion, and artistic revival. Following the gradual annexation of Georgia by the Russian Empire and the suppression of the Georgian Church's autocephaly, the region emerged as a space of complex cultural negotiation. Georgian ecclesiastical traditions, deeply rooted in the Orthodox world, informed the aesthetic and scholarly imagination of Russian architects, shaping the development of Neo-Byzantine architecture across the empire. Between 1851 and 1907, four cathedrals built in this style rose in Tiflis, Kutaisi, Batumi, and Poti. Conceived as both sacred monuments and instruments of imperial representation, these cathedrals embody diverse interpretations of the Neo-Byzantine idiom while underscoring the geopolitical and symbolic importance of the Caucasus within the imperial project. In this context, Georgian medieval architecture was not merely appropriated but reinterpreted, culminating in the Church of St George of Kashveti, a synthesis of colonial authority and national reawakening. The Neo-Byzantine movement in Georgia thus operated as both a vehicle of domination and a medium through which aspirations to cultural autonomy could be rearticulated.