History of the Convent
The Bodbe Convent is situated in the historic region of Kiziki, 2 km from Sighnaghi, at an elevation of 750 meters above sea level. It was founded in the first half of the 4th century by Saint King Mirian on the burial site of Saint Nino.
From its earliest days, Bodbe served as an important ecclesiastical centre. In 506, the Bishop of Bodbe participated in the Council of Dvin, and according to the 13th-century royal decree “Arrangement of the Royal Court”, the Bishop of Bodbe ranked seventh in the hierarchy of the Georgian Church. From the 15th century onward, the kings of Kakheti were crowned here.
From the 17th century, a theological school and a rich library operated at Bodbe.
In 1837, the Russian Synod abolished the Bodbe diocese, after which the convent came under the authority of archimandrites appointed by the Russian Exarchate.
In 1889, a convent and a girls’ school were established at Bodbe. Following the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church in 1917, the first ecclesiastical council of Georgia reestablished the Bodbe episcopate.
In 1924, the Communists closed the convent and expelled the nuns. During the Soviet period, the site was first converted into a hospital and later into a museum of regional studies, while the Church of Saint George was used as a warehouse.
In the 1950s, divine services resumed in the Church of Saint George. In 1991, with the blessing of His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the convent was restored. Today, the diocese is headed by Archbishop Iakob Iakobashvili of Bodbe, and since 1995, the abbess of the convent has been Mother Theodora Makhviladze.
From its earliest days, Bodbe served as an important ecclesiastical centre. In 506, the Bishop of Bodbe participated in the Council of Dvin, and according to the 13th-century royal decree “Arrangement of the Royal Court”, the Bishop of Bodbe ranked seventh in the hierarchy of the Georgian Church. From the 15th century onward, the kings of Kakheti were crowned here.
From the 17th century, a theological school and a rich library operated at Bodbe.
In 1837, the Russian Synod abolished the Bodbe diocese, after which the convent came under the authority of archimandrites appointed by the Russian Exarchate.
In 1889, a convent and a girls’ school were established at Bodbe. Following the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church in 1917, the first ecclesiastical council of Georgia reestablished the Bodbe episcopate.
In 1924, the Communists closed the convent and expelled the nuns. During the Soviet period, the site was first converted into a hospital and later into a museum of regional studies, while the Church of Saint George was used as a warehouse.
In the 1950s, divine services resumed in the Church of Saint George. In 1991, with the blessing of His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the convent was restored. Today, the diocese is headed by Archbishop Iakob Iakobashvili of Bodbe, and since 1995, the abbess of the convent has been Mother Theodora Makhviladze.
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