Ministry of Culture Handed Over the Rehabilitation Works of Gelati to the Patriarchate

The meeting about the problems created in Gelati, which was attended by the Minister of Culture Thea Tsulukiani and representatives of the Patriarchate, was held on February 24, at the National Museum. It was preceded by the assessment of the Patriarchate that the situation in Gelati is not only serious, but also critical, and the conservation group must be changed to save the painting.

“A very important meeting took place. We based our discussion on the problems, which during my ministry began to be eliminated very actively in the Gelati monastic complex, and we agreed on the following, that the Patriarchate of Georgia - I would like to thank publicly - shares my initiative regarding the process of problem elimination, conservation and restoration in the Gelati monastery complex, when the time will come for this, when both the painting of the wall and the roofing will be fully taken care of, and the Ministry will no longer be the leader in this process.

The Ministry will transfer the financial resources that it had to spend to the Patriarchate of Georgia, and with this financial resource, it will be able to lead the process of eliminating problems, both inside and around the main temple, as well as in relation to other components of the complex. There are several other problems and we have started the process of solving, and the Patriarchate of Georgia will continue to solve these problems.

Also, we agreed that the platform and format of the discussion will be in the Patriarchate of Georgia, under their leadership, and that's where all art experts, professionals, I hope, will be able to participate in a discussion devoid of politics, because it is clear that no one can introduce a political element into the Patriarchate of Georgia. I think it will be very good for the interest of the monument in the future. I want to wish our church, whose children we all are, great success in the process of eliminating the problems created in the Gelati monastery complex”, said the Minister of Culture Thea Tsulukiani.

According to the Deputy Head of the Architecture, Art and Restoration Center of the Patriarchate of Georgia, Metropolitan Davit Makharadze of Alaverdi, the works will be led by the Patriarchate, and the Ministry of Culture will participate in monitoring and inspection in this process.

“All kinds of resources will be given to the Patriarchate - financial budget, scaffolding, which is necessary to continue the works there, inside and outside, with the necessary condition that the group sent by UNESCO will be the leader of the works. If the need to replace the group becomes apparent during joint meetings, we will make a decision about it later. There was no talk about specific individuals today. The authority of the next meetings will be to select the members of the group of this or that direction one by one, and probably Chubinashvili Institute will also be involved, but specifically those who took steps prematurely, in advance, or not, it cannot be said yet, but at the next meeting, the entire working group will be formed, by mutual agreement,”said the Metropolitan of Alaverdi.

Thea Tsulukiani, who was appointed as the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Youth in March 2021, announced in September 2022 that the process in Gelati was on the right track and she will not be held accountable for what happened there until March 2021.

George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection, published a critical and alarming conclusion on the problems of conservation of the World Heritage Monument, Gelati painted temples two weeks ago. In the report, which was prepared on the basis of the appeal of the Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church, a number of facts containing signs of a criminal offense were revealed.

• The work was done by unqualified people without a preliminary project. The reason for water leaking into the roof was not only poor-quality tiles, but also unprofessional laying, incorrectly made gutters, joints and connections with the walls.
• As a result, tens of liters of water got into the walls and vaults during every heavy rain for several years. Sometimes the water found its way and poured into the interior (for example, from the south-west sail), and the largest part was absorbed by the building, which had a severe effect on the wall paintings.
• While installing the temporary roof, the same mistake that was made when laying the tiles was repeated - it was not protruded enough from the walls.
• Partial removal of the roof caused the problem of uneven drying of the building. Evaporation of moisture went created additional problems for the painting of the wall of the western arm.
• The process of making decisions regarding the Gelati Monastery is extremely centralized and non-transparent

Authors of the report single out the intervention of restorers on the original plasterwork in Gelati as an extremely disturbing methodological violation – “replacing the historical reality with the reality interpreted by them is essentially a falsification of painting and damages the appearance of the world heritage monument.”

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the offensive interventions of the authentic face of Western Arm painting were carried out in secret from the professional circle- it did not go through any hoops of professional evaluation, review, or approval.

The Prosecutor General's Office told the Georgian News that the investigation service of the Ministry of Finance has started an investigation into the possible crimes committed in Gelati Monastery.