Today I want to tell you about the amazing monument of architecture and cultural heritage of the past centuries of my homeland Russia.
In the south of the Russian Federation, in the mountains of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, an amazing Orthodox church stands on the top of Mount Shoana.
This temple is a monument of history and architecture.
It was built on the mountain at the beginning of the X century in the best traditions of Byzantine architecture!
That is, the history of the ancient Christian shrine has a thousand years!
If you look at this ancient temple from a bird's-eye view, you can see that it is built in the shape of a cross.
The cathedral has a height of 12.9 meters.
The temple is very strong and has not collapsed yet!
Look at how thick the walls are!
These walls are densely stacked rectangular natural stones.
They have been perfectly preserved to this day.
You may wonder – why did the ancient builders build this beautiful and massive temple on the very top of the cliff, in a hard-to-reach place?
Scientists believe that large Alan settlements used to be located on the slopes of Mount Shoan. In the vicinity of these mountains, after the arrival of Christian missionaries in the VII century, the Alan diocese was formed.
And the temple on the top of Mount Shoana was the center of the diocese. The temple could be reached by mountain paths.
The architecture of the temple on Mount Shoan is very beautiful!
There are many arches and columns inside the temple.
On the walls of the temple, you can still distinguish the remains of ancient frescoes with images of saints.
The ancient temple stands on a cliff surrounded by majestic mountains and greenery.
From a bird's-eye view, beautiful pictures of untouched nature open up.
Currently, divine services are held several times a year in the temple on Mount Shoan.
This temple is dedicated to St. George the Victorious.
On St. George's Memorial Day, May 6, our Archbishop Theophylact performs divine service in the church.
Many Christians from all over the North Caucasus come to it.
The temple on Mount Shoan is on the map pinmapple.com!
