Georgian Church Addresses the Problems Related to Gelati Restoration

15/02/2023 - 14:45

გელათის საკათედრო ტაძარი, ფოტო: საქართველოს მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესიის საპატრიარქო

Following the critical findings of the Chubinashvili Center and UNESCO on the Gelati Cathedral, on February 14, the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church once again talks about the “critical” situation in Gelati and calls for dialogue between the stakeholders.

What Problems Does Patriarchate Talks about in its Statement?

According to the Patriarchate, the 21st century crisis of the Gelati Cathedral began in 2015-2019 when the work on the roof of the temple’s arms and building were carried out unprofessionally, using wrong methodology and low-quality materials. As a result, water started leaking into the temple and by 2021, the Gelati wall paintings were in a critical condition. “In the interior of the temple, the sings of salting and damage to the paintings appeared.”

According to the statement of the Patriarchate, it became clear that in order to save the Gelati mural, it was necessary to invite highly qualified foreign specialists with the appropriate competence and technical resources, who would work together with local specialists. According to the same statement, despite the work carried out by the group invited for the conservation of the Gelati wall paintings in the summer of 2021, “the Gelati wall paintings’ condition has reached a critical state”.

“The documentation is incomplete and scarce”- says the Patriarchate, adding that this is confirmed by four different conclusions on Gelati drawn up by internationally recognized scientists and qualified centers, including a document drawn up directly on behalf of Ministry of Culture.

These four reports’ conclusions fully coincide with the conclusions of the experts appointed by UNESCO, who carried out their mission in Gelati between November 28 and December 2, 2022″- the Patriarchate explains, adding- ” taking into consideration the intense criticism of the report provided by UNESCO, as well as from other experts’ conclusions and recommendations, the advocacy by the Ministry of Culture of the conservation group working presently, is hardly understandable.”

“The situation is not only serious, it is critical! It is necessary to correct the situation immediately and save the paintings! We believe that the aforementioned group should be replaced by specialists with higher competence,” reads the Patriarchate’s statement.

The Patriarchate also states that it is not going to be involved in “professional and scientific judgments and evaluations of restoration and art studies”, but emphasizes once again that the concurrence of the reports of international experts and Georgian scientists available to it “calls into question the expediency of continuing the conservation work by the current group of specialists.

“It is necessary to elaborate, according to modern standards, a unified management plan for the rehabilitation of Gelati. An international advisory board should be set up, which, together with scientists from our country, will work closely with the integrated group of invited highly qualified and local restoration experts.

At the end of the statement, the Patriarchate calls on political parties and television channels not to be biased and not to approach “this all-Georgian issue” from their narrow interests’ perspective. The Patriarchate offers all interested parties a “free and impartial dialogue” based on the best interests of Gelati, adding that “as a result of cooperation, the critical situation that has arisen can be overcome and resolved”.

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