Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God

Georgian Orthodox cathedral built as a Catholic church by a 19th-century oil merchant

The Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God is a Neo-Gothic stone church on the northeastern edge of the old town. Its tall pointed spires, pinnacles, and rose window would not look out of place in northern Europe — it was built as a Catholic church by the Catholic branch of the Zubalashvili family, one of Batumi's great oil-trade dynasties.

Inside, the stencilled walls and frescoed ceilings have been redone in the Georgian Orthodox style. The cathedral is now the main Orthodox church in the city, and Sunday services are well attended; the singing in particular is worth a visit.

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A story
The building was constructed in 1898 by the wealthy Catholic Zubalashvili family as a private Catholic chapel for their oil-trading dynasty. After the Soviets seized the building it served variously as a laboratory and a warehouse. In 1989 it was returned to the church and quietly converted to Georgian Orthodox use, despite never having been Orthodox in the first place.

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