Tbilisi City Guide

The Blue Monastery is one of the finest monuments of Georgian architecture, located on the right bank of the Mtkvari River in the city of Tbilisi, near Vera Park.
According to historical records, the Monastery of St. John the Theologian was founded in the 7th century on land adjacent to the present-day church. However, it was destroyed during the Persian invasion in the 16th century and was never rebuilt.
The current building of the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called, according to tradition, was constructed at the end of the 12th century by Basil, the former Archbishop of Kartli and brother of Abulasani, the Eristavi of Kartli—a political figure during the reign of Queen Tamar.
Over the centuries, the church has undergone numerous restorations. At times, its purpose even changed. In the first half of the 19th century, the Russian authorities turned the church building into a warehouse for gunpowder and weapons.
Grigol Chrelashvili, the priest of St. Nicholas Church at the Vera Cemetery, developed a plan to restore the church with the help of engineer Bikhold. He submitted a request to the Main Headquarters of the Caucasus Army to vacate the church building, but it was rejected due to the lack of a suitable alternative warehouse for the army.
On the 1867 plan of Tbilisi, the church was marked as a warehouse for artillery materials.
The temple was finally completed in 1871. The following year, the restoration plan was officially approved, and on November 25, 1873, the church—rebuilt according to the design of architect Alexander Chizhov—was consecrated in the name of Saint John the Theologian by the Exarch of Georgia, Evsesi.
The name of the church, Blue Monastery, is directly related to its roof, which was covered with blue glazed tiles as early as the 18th century. Today, the church is topped with a blue-painted tin roof instead of glazed tiles.
The Blue Monastery remains one of the most distinctive monuments of Georgian architecture and a symbol of Tbilisi’s rich historical heritage. A visit to this serene and storied site offers a unique glimpse into the city’s spiritual and cultural past.