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The Georgian Orthodox Church is a major part of Orthodox Christianity in Turkey. Georgian churches in Turkey, namely in Artvin, Ardahan, Kars, and Erzurum, are under the jurisdiction of Batumi and Lazeti, Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti, and Akhalkalaki, Kumurdo and Kars eparchies.
| Church name | Picture | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Oshki (Öşk Vank/Çamlıyamaç) |  | abandoned |
| Khakhuli Monastery (Haho/Bağbaşi) |  | converted into a mosque |
| Doliskana (Dolişhane/Hamamlıköy) |  | abandoned |
| Bana cathedral (Penek) |  | ruins |
| Tbeti Monastery (Cevizli) |  | ruins |
| Ani Georgian Church |  | ruins |
| Ishkhani (İşhan) |  | protected |
| Parkhali (Barhal/Altıparmak) |  | converted into a mosque |
| Khandzta |  | ruins |
| Ekeki |  | ruins |
| Otkhta Eklesia ((Dörtkilise)) |  | abandoned |
| Parekhi |  | ruins |
| Vachedzori Monastery | ruins | |
| Ancha monastery |  | ruins |
| Ardashen Church |  | ruins |
| Makriali Church |  | ruins |
| Pironity Church | ruins | |
| Ts'q'arostavi (in Javakheti) monastery |  | ruins |
| Opiza |  | ruins |
| Kamhisi |  | ruins |
| Artanuji citadel church |  | ruins |
| Esbeki monastery |  | ruins |
| Sveti church |  | ruins |
| Zegani church |  | ruins |
| Ts'q'arostavi (in Klarjeti) monastery | ruins | |
| Enirabati |  | ruins |
| Ali monastery |  | ruins |
| Leksori monastery | ruins | |
| K'ineposi complex | ruins | |
| Ch'ala church | converted into a mosque | |
| Gogiuba church |  | ruins |
| Sik'iarebi church | turned into a barn | |
| Samts'q'ari |  | ruins |
| Mamats'minda church | ruins | |
| Chaisi church | turned into a mosque | |
| Changli church |  | abandoned |
| Taoskari Church | ruins | |
| Tadzarani Monastery | ruins |
| Church name | Picture | Status |
|---|---|---|
| St. Barlaam Monastery წმ. ბარლაამის მონასტერი კასიუსის მთაზე |  | ruins |
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Western Asia, Northeast Africa, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Malabar coast of South Asia, and parts of the Far East. The term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter and Paul.
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, which are sometimes collectively known as the Caucasian States. The total area of these countries measures about 186,100 square kilometres. The South Caucasus and the North Caucasus together comprise the larger Caucasus geographical region that divides Eurasia.
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, commonly known as the Georgian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Georgia, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with the other churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. It is Georgia's dominant religious institution, and a majority of Georgian people are members. The Orthodox Church of Georgia is one of the oldest churches in the world. It asserts apostolic foundation, and that its historical roots can be traced to the early and late Christianization of Iberia and Colchis by Saint Andrew in the 1st century AD and by Saint Nino in the 4th century AD, respectively. As in similar autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, the church's highest governing body is the holy synod of bishops. The church is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, who was elected in 1977.
The Georgians, or Kartvelians, are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, the United States and European Union.
Kars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its closed border with Armenia. The provincial capital is the city of Kars. The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.
Saint NinoEqual to the Apostles and the Enlightener of Georgia was a woman who preached Christianity in the territory of Caucasian Iberia, of what is now part of Georgia. It resulted in the Christianization of the royal house of Iberia, with the consequent Christianization of Iberia.
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 as of 2011.
The Pontic Greeks are an ethnically Greek group who traditionally lived in the region of Pontus, on the shores of the Black Sea and in the Pontic Mountains of northeastern Anatolia. Many later migrated to other parts of Eastern Anatolia, to the former Russian province of Kars Oblast in the Transcaucasus, and to Georgia in various waves between the Ottoman conquest of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829. Those from southern Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea are often referred to as "Northern Pontic [Greeks]", in contrast to those from "South Pontus", which strictly speaking is Pontus proper. Those from Georgia, northeastern Anatolia, and the former Russian Caucasus are in contemporary Greek academic circles often referred to as "Eastern Pontic [Greeks]" or as Caucasian Greeks, but also include the Turkic-speaking Urums.
The Catholic Church in Georgia, since the 11th-century East–West Schism, has been composed mainly of Latin-Rite Catholics; Catholic communities of the Armenian Rite have existed in the country since the 18th century.
Christianity in Azerbaijan is a minority religion. Christians who estimated between 280,000 and 450,000 (3.1%-4.8%) are mostly Russian and Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic. There is also a small Protestant Christian community which mostly came from Muslim backgrounds.
Christianity has been, historically a Middle Eastern religion with its origin in Judaism. Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Middle East, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Far East, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. It is contrasted with Western Christianity which developed in Western Europe. As a historical definition the term relates to the earliest Christian communities and their long standing traditions that still exist.
Christianity, which originated in the Middle East in the 1st century AD, is a significant minority religion within the region. Christianity in the Middle East is characterized by the diversity of its beliefs and traditions, compared to Christianity in other parts of the Old World. Christians now make up approximately 5% of the total Middle Eastern population, down from 20% in the early 20th century. Cyprus is the only Christian majority country in the Middle East, with Christians forming between 76% and 78% of the country's total population, and most of them adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Lebanon has the second highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, ranging between 39% and 41% and predominantly consisting of Maronite Christians. Egypt has the next largest proportion of Christians, at around 10% of its total population. Copts, numbering around 10 million, constitute the single largest Christian community in the Middle East.
The Kars Oblast was an oblast (region) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in the Republic of Turkey. The oblast bordered the Ottoman Empire, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate, Erivan Governorate, and from 1883 to 1903 the Kutais Governorate. The Kars Oblast included parts of the contemporary provinces of Kars, Ardahan and Erzurum Province of Turkey, and the Amasia municipality of the Shirak Province of Armenia.
The wide variety of peoples inhabiting Georgia has meant a correspondingly rich array of active religions in the country. Today most of the population in Georgia practices Orthodox Christianity, primarily in the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose faithful make up 83.4% of the population. Around 1% belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, while about 3.9% of the population follow the Armenian Apostolic Church, almost all of which are ethnic Armenians. Adherents of Islam make up 10.7% of the population and are mainly found in the Adjara and Kvemo Kartli regions and as a sizeable minority in Tbilisi. Catholics of the Armenian and Latin churches make up around 0.8% of the population and are mainly found in the south of Georgia and a small number in Tbilisi. There is also a sizeable Jewish community in Tbilisi served by two synagogues.
Today 84% of the population in Georgia practices Orthodox Christianity, primarily the Georgian Orthodox Church. Of these, around 2% follow the Russian Orthodox Church, around 5.9% follow the Armenian Apostolic Church and 0.8% are Catholics and are mainly found in the south of Georgia but with a small number in its capital, Tbilisi.
The Cathedral of Kars, also known as the Holy Apostles Church is a former Armenian Apostolic church in Kars, eastern Turkey. Built in the mid-10th century by the Armenian Bagratid King Abas I, it was converted into a mosque in 1579. In the 19th and early 20th century it was converted into a Russian Orthodox and later Armenian cathedral. In 1993 it was again converted into a mosque and is called Kümbet Mosque. It currently comprises part of a larger Islamic complex that includes the Evliya Mosque, the biggest mosque in Kars.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is today the religion of only a minority in Turkey. It was once the dominant religion, during the time of the Byzantine Empire, as the region that comprises Turkey today was a central part of the Byzantine heritage. Today, less than one tenth of one percent of the population are Orthodox Christians. The provinces of Istanbul and Hatay, which includes Antakya, are the main centers of Christianity in Turkey, with comparatively dense Christian populations, though they are minorities in these areas. The traditional variant of Orthodox Christianity present in Turkey is the Eastern Orthodox branch, focused mainly in the Greek Orthodox Church.
The Caucasus Greeks, also known as the Greeks of Transcaucasia and Russian Asia Minor, are the ethnic Greeks of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in what is now southwestern Russia, Georgia, and northeastern Turkey. These specifically include the Pontic Greeks, though they today span a much wider region including the Russian north Caucasus, and the former Russian Caucasus provinces of Batum Oblast' and Kars Oblast', now in north-eastern Turkey and Adjara in Georgia.
The Eparchy of Akhalkalaki, Kumurdo and Kars is an eparchy (diocese) of the Georgian Orthodox Church with its seat in Akhalkalaki, Georgia. It has jurisdiction over Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda municipalities in Georgia and historical region of Kari, currently part of Turkey.
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