Anchiskhati Basilica

Tbilisi's oldest surviving church, a 6th-century Georgian Orthodox basilica.

The Anchiskhati Basilica is the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi and one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in Georgia, dating from the sixth century. It takes its name from an icon of the Virgin Mary that has been venerated there for centuries. In the 18th century the church housed one of the city's first schools, cementing its role as a spiritual and intellectual centre. Today it belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church and stands quietly in the heart of the old town, just steps away from the busy streets of the historic quarter.