# Poti Cathedral
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/places/poti-cathedral
- Type: place to visit
- Region: Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
- Coordinates: 42.142222, 41.674722

Poti Cathedral, also called Poti Soboro, stands in the centre of the city of Poti, where Niko Nikoladze chose the site so that the cathedral could be seen from every side of the town. This neo-Byzantine church is an almost exact copy, on a reduced scale, of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and has no parallel in Georgian architecture; it holds 2,000 worshippers, its architects were Alexander Zelenko and Robert Marfeld, and its ornament and decoration follow the medieval Christian churches of the mountains of Trebizond. The cathedral is one of the earliest examples in the world of reinforced concrete used in a church: the Hennebique system was applied to a project by the engineers of the firm's Paris office, since after several designs it was clear that the poor soil would not bear a traditional masonry structure, so the foundations, the whole structure and the domes are of reinforced concrete.

The cathedral had three altars. The icons of the iconostasis were finished in 1908 by Dumitrashko, a painter of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts: those of the northern part in the Greek-Byzantine, of the southern in the Georgian-Byzantine and of the middle in the Russian-Byzantine style, among them the icons of St Nino, Andrew the First-Called and the holy king David the Builder. When it was turned into a theatre in the Soviet period the building was remodelled several times and its appearance marred; since 2005 the cathedral has been returned to the church and restored.

## History

On 17 June 1895 the Russian emperor allowed the military governor of Kutaisi to set up a special committee for the building of Poti Cathedral, headed by the mayor, Niko Nikoladze. Nikoladze intended a cathedral in the Georgian architectural style and had a design made, but the Russian administration rejected it, and Zelenko and Marfeld drew up a new design after Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. On 14 September 1906, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Bishop Giorgi Aladashvili of Guria and Mingrelia consecrated the foundation; on 22 May 1907 the cross was raised on the dome, the construction having taken eight months, and in 1908 the iconostasis was completed.

In 1923, after the entry of the Red Army, the Communist government turned the cathedral into a theatre and gave the bells to the industrialisation fund (some accounts date the decision to 1932). After the restoration of independence the church and the theatre company disputed the building for a long time until the Poti council gave it to the church; in November 2005 President Mikheil Saakashvili handed the key of the cathedral to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, and the cathedral returned to worship.

## Visit info

The cathedral stands in the centre of Poti, on a site chosen so that it can be seen from every side of the town; Poti is about 110 kilometres by road from Kutaisi, an hour and a half's drive. The cathedral is a working church; check opening times locally.

## Tips

Compare the cathedral with Hagia Sophia from the square, where the dome resting on its half-domes shows best; inside, look for the three styles of the iconostasis and the icon of David the Builder. Kolkheti National Park fits into the same day.

## Safety

This is a working cathedral: dress modestly and keep quiet during services.

## Sources

- [Poti Cathedral — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ფოთის_საკათედრო_ტაძარი)
- [Poti Cathedral — English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poti_Cathedral)
- [Poti Cathedral — Russian Wikipedia](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Потийский_собор)
- [Poti Cathedral — Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3649240)

## This page in other languages

- [ქართული](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/adgilebi/fotis-sakatedro-tadzari)
- [Русский](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/mesta/potiiskii-sobor)