Architect(s) Avtandil Shulavreli Architectural style Georgian; Cathedral Address Bedia, Bedia Cathedral Rd Region Caucasus | Architectural type Domed cruciform plan Groundbreaking Late 10th century District Tkvarcheli District | |
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Location Bedia, Tkvarcheli District, Abkhazia /
Agubedia, Ochamchire Municipality, Georgia Affiliation Georgian Orthodox Church Similar Ilori Church, Dranda Cathedral, Pitsunda Cathedral, Anacopia Fortress, New Athos Monastery | ||
Bedia Cathedral (Georgian: ბედიის მონასტერი) is a medieval Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in Bedia, in the Tkvarcheli district of Abkhazia (or Ochamchire Municipality according to the Georgia's subdivision), a disputed region on the Black Sea coast.
Bedia Cathedral was originally built at the close of the 10th century and consecrated in 999 on the behest of King Bagrat II of Abkhazians, who would go on to become King of the Georgians as Bagrat III and who was interred at the church after his death. The extant edifices, however, date back to the 13th-14th centuries and include a domed cruciform church, a belltower resting upon the northern narthex and the ruins of an old palace. The southern wall of the main church contains fragments of contemporary murals, including the portraits of Bagrat II and the representatives of the Dadiani noble family of Georgia.
In the Catholicate of Abkhazia, Bedia was the centre of a diocese and the seat of a Bishop. In the 17th century, services were ceased, but resumed from the second half of the 19th century onwards.