Compositional Solution of the So Called Durujispira Basilika

In early 21st c. the so called “Durujispira” (the same – Dolochopi) church was discovered and excavated 6-7 km. from the regional centre Kvareli (Kakheti, eastern Georgia), on the left bank of the river Duruji. This is a large (36 x 22 m.) three-aisled basilica with south and north annexes. Main space of the church is divided into three parts by five pairs of cross-shaped pillars; a horseshoe shaped apse is in the East, flanked by square pastophoria, connected with the aisles by the doors (there is one more door in the north-east pastophorium leading to the east chamber of the north aisle); the church is provided with 5 entrances – one, in the West, 2 on each of the longitudinal walls; on the North, one entrance is shifted westwards and on the South – eastwards, while the rest are arranged in the middle of naos, opposite each other (their corresponding aisles-dividing arches are wider than the others). South annex is divided into two, while the north one – into three; in both cases, there are chambers with apse in the East (north apse is horseshoe shaped, while the south one is semi-circular, projecting from the east façade line; both have separate doors from the outside: south-west chamber – from the West, in other parts of the north wing – central one has a door and the west one – an arcade. A chamber of late date is attached to the church obliquely (Mr. Nodar Bakhtadze thinks that initially a narthex was located here).
4th-7th cc. western Georgian basilicas with projecting apse and narthex (in certain cases the latter is linked with the aisles, forming an ambulatory) connected with the Byzantine tradition proper, give little clue for the understanding of the composition of Dolochopi basilica. Basilicas of Kartli and Kakheti are more eloquent in this respect: Bolnisi Sion (478-483), firstly due to its cross shaped pillars and existence of south and north annexes, although articulation of the longitudinal wings is different, as well as location of the doors and projecting apse without pastophoria, which indicate different compositional and functional solution; preserved east part of the old basilica of Vachnadziani monastery, with lateral annexes also point to the three-aisled basilica, and the apse is provided with the lateral chambers, but they have doors leading eastwards, which implies less developed functional aspect; 5th c. Svetitskhoveli church inMtskheta, erected by the King Vakhtang Gorgasali, has lesser features in common with Dolochopi, showing greater affinity with Bolnisi Sion. Basilican scheme is the only feature that Dolochopi church has in common with the old basilica of Samtavro monastery in Mtskheta – even the pastophoria, if there are contemporary to the church (G. Kipiani) and not built to it later (D. Khoshtaria), give absolutely different picture: lateral chambers and faceted apse are independent volumes arranged along the common line, with triangular areas between them.
Dolochopi has certain traits (shape of the pillars, location of the entrances opposite each other, projecting tri-partite south annex) in common with the early 6th c. Anchiskhati church, however, a door in the East (walled up before long – R. Gverdtsiteli) again draws them apart. On the other hand, Dolochopi has much in common with the Urbnisi basilica (even the asymmetry of the east façade, although here the south annex surface is set back compared to others), which points to their chronological closeness and a distance from the predecessors – ca. to the mid-6th c. The same is confirmed by the comparison with the Katsareti Trinity church (first decades of the 6th c.), where the east wall follows a straight line, but instead of pastophoria here we see aisles along the entire depth of the apse and Vazisubani basilica with its developed ambulatory, which can be ascribable to the late 6th c. and even 7th c.
Additionally, reference can be made of Kondoli church (showing affinity with Katsareti) and Khirsa (mid-6th c.) basilica – most likely indicative of non-straight-line development. On the other hand, Natkori basilica, which should rather be dated to the mid-6th c. than 6th-7th cc., after excavation (see Vakht. Gagnidze’s publication) appeared by have many features similar to Dolochopi.