Gelati Monastery

The Monastery of Gelati is a monastic complex near Kutaisi, Imereti, western Georgia). It contains the Church of the Virgin founded by the King of Georgia David the Builder in 1106, and the 13th-century churches of St George and St Nicholas. 
The Gelati Monastery for a long time was one of the main cultural and intellectual centers in Georgia. It had an Academy which employed some of the most celebrated Georgian scientists, theologians and philosophers, many of whom had previously been active at various orthodox monasteries abroad or at the Mangan Academy in Constantinople. Among the scientists were such celebrated scholars as Ioane Petritsi and Arsen Ikaltoeli.
Due to the extensive work carried out by the Gelati Academy, people of the time called it "a new Hellas" and "a second Athos".
The Gelati Monastery has preserved a great number of murals and manuscripts dating back to the 12th-17th centuries. The Khakhuli triptych had also been enshrined at Gelati until being stolen in 1859. 
In Gelati is buried one of the greatest Georgian kings, David the Builder (Davit Agmashenebeli in Georgian).
In 1994, Gelaty Monastery was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
==Burials==
* Demetre I of Georgia
* David IV of Georgia
* Solomon I of Imereti
* Solomon II of Imereti
* George III of Georgia
* Vakhtang II of Georgia
* Bagrat VI of Georgia
* George V of Georgia
* Alexander II of Imereti
* George of Chqondidi
== Gallery ==
Image:Gelati Theotokos.jpg|[[gvtis mshobeli 
]], mosaic fresco 
Image:Gelati archangel.jpg|Archangel Michael, mosaic fresco
Image:Gelati Ascension.jpg|The Ascension, mural
Image:Georgia-DavidIV.jpg|David IV of Georgia, mural
Image:Gelati murals.jpg|Northern wall
Image:Gelati (4).jpg|Icon of St. George in front of the iconostasis
Image:Gelati (2).jpg|Looking up at the Christ Pantokrator in the dome
Image:Gelati (8).jpg|Icon of the Theotokos in the apse
Image:Gelati (state.gov).PNG|Shrine in the monastery church
Image:Gelati monastery.jpg|Gelati
Image:Gelati monastery (4).jpg
Image:Gelati monastery (3).jpg
Image:Gelati monastery (1).jpg
== See also==
* Culture of Georgia
* Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
Adapted from the Wikinfo article Gelati Monastery by Levan Urushadze, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
==External links==
*Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Category:Christian monasteries in Georgia (country)
Category:1106 establishments
Category:Georgian Orthodox monasteries
cs:Klášter Gelati
de:Gelati
es:Monasterio de Gelati
eo:Monaĥejo Gelati
fr:Monastère de Ghélati
os:Гелаты моладзандон
it:Monastero di Gelati
he:מנזר גלאתי
ka:გელათის მონასტერი
mn:Гелат хийд
nl:Gelatiklooster
ja:ゲラティ修道院
pl:Monastyr Gelati
ru:Гелатский монастырь
sk:Kláštor Gelati
fi:Gelatin luostari
sv:Gelatiklostret
vi:Tu viện Gelati