Yard Chapels in Rustavi: Sacralization or Desacralization of Public Spaces in the city?!

In the former socialist city, where Orthodox churces are being built on a massive scale and are found in virtually each neighborhood, yard chapels have sprung up. The building of the yard chapels is a simultaneous process of construction of the Orthodox churches and is carried out with the initiative and finances of the neighborhood community. The arrangement of the yard chapels turned into a massive project and continues to this day. They differ from one another in form and name, and even in the purpose to which they are ascribed. The main question regarding these chapels is related to their purpose and explanation of the purpose, why does the neighboring community build the chapels in the yards? Why and how does the neighborhood community mobilizes the financial resources to arrange them? Does the creation of the chapels in the yard serve the purpose of sacralizing the public space, or is it, in fact, the desacralization? I have carried out 12 in-depth interviews to find out the answers. The selection criterion was their relation to a particular chapel and the participation in the establishment of the chapel or at least relevant experience of living niearby the chapels. In the interviews, certain tendencies were revealed, which helped us to understand such an arrangement of space and allow us to draw relevant conclusions. As for the City Hall and specifically the Architecture Service, which is responsible for the architectural image of the city and the organization of public space, s not imvolved in the construction and the process goes beyond them. In conclusion, it can be said that the Orthodox chapels of the yards in Rustavi are represented by appropriate religious symbols, respond to the general public interest and go beyond only the sacral purpose. It is especially noteworthy that the whole neighborhood community participates in its building and this fact has not been the subject of protest from the side of the representatives of different religious groups.. It should be noted that the chapels, as revealed by the interviewees, are arranged mainly to occupy the place, not to sell the part of their yard and not to place any `ugly” building there. It is also believed that these chapels will serve the security of the yards. In addition, yard chapels are lush and tidy places where children and the elderly spend an important part of the day. According to some of the interviewees, a lot of old people found the purpose by taking care of the chapels. Thus, the chapels of the yard are multifunctional in nature and they meet not only the religious needs of the community, but also their social needs and, most importantly, have become an opportunity for self-organization of the neighborhood community.