Reliquary-chapel of Saint Demetrios at the Davitgareji Desert*

The paper addresses a recently discovered rock-hewn chapel in the Davitgareji Desert, which has preserved late twelfth-early thirteenth century wall paintings dominated by a cycle of St Demetrios. The cycle, which finds no parallel in Georgia, is remarkable in many regards and raises important questions as to the chronology and geographical spread of such cycles, the provenance of unknown iconographical redactions, the history of the relics of St Demetrios, the function of the chapel dedicated to the saint, and the interaction between Georgian and Byzantine artistic and cultural traditions, in general.

A lot has been written about the cult and the holy relics of the Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki, apprarently the most Byzantine of all Christian saints, as well as the religious, historical, political and social aspects relating to the veneration of the saint and his relics, his indvidual images and narrative vita cycles in medieval art. Therefore, presentation of new observations, not to mention a hitherto unknown artefact, to scholarly community would seem highly unexpected -especially from Georgia, where very little is known about the veneration of the saint.
Several years ago, a small single-nave church adorned with murals was discovered in the rock-hewn Dodorka Monastery of the Mother of God at Davitgareji ( fig. 1). Its location in a royal monastery next to the main church, as well as a high quality of its murals painted by using precious pigments (e.g. lapis lazuli in the backgrounds, gold on haloes, cinnabar in the background and on clothes) and above all, a distinctive painting programme, point to the importance of the commission. The murals are dominated by a cycle of the life of St Demetrios, which finds no parallel in Georgia.
The painting programme at Dodorka is highly laconic with its conceptual accents being strongly pronounced. The sanctuary features a bust image of the Virgin Platytera (figs. 2, 3), a symbolic icon of the Incarnation of Christ, 1 flanked by two bishops; on both sides of the sanctuary niche is depicted the Annunciation, a historical illustration of the Incarnation and its narrative confirmation 2 (figs. 4, 5, 6); the vault has a large triumphal scen e of the Ascension of the Holy  The remaining section of the chapel, i.e. the area extending from the south-west corner to the north, presents the scenes from the life of St Demetrios arranged in a single register. The vita cycle illustrates only the Passio text depicting its six episodes combined in four scenes, namely: St Demetrios before Emperor Maximian (figs. 10, 11); the Scorpion Miracle and an Angel Placing a Crown of Martyrdom on the Head of St Demetrios presented in one scene (figs. 12, 13, 14); St Demetrios Blessing St Nestor and Triumph over Lyaios also united in one scene (fig. 15); and lastly, the Martyrdom of St Demetrios (figs. 16,17).
In terms of its scenes, the Dodorka cycle follows the Byzantine cycles the majority of which also serve to illustrate the Passio scenes. 3 The scenes included in it can be 1 Ph. Grierson, Byzantine coins, London-Berkeley 1982, 211-238, 276-310;Virgin Blachernitissa, in: ODB III, 2170-2171; R. G. Ousterhout, The Virgin of the Hora: an image and its contexts, in: The sacred image East and West, ed. idem, L. Brubaker, Urbana-Chicago 1995, 94-96;E. Tsigaridas, The Mother of God in wallpaintings, in Vienna 2015, 139-152, etc. 2 It is noteworthy that the figures represented in the sanctuary, as well as in the Annunciation scene bear golden halos. Of the original gold halos only the violet lining used for gold has survived. 3 For example, the miniatures of the menologion of Demetrios Palaiologos (Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS. Gr. th. f.1, fol. 54v-55r;1322-1340, Church of St. Demetrios at Mistra (late thirteenth century murals), Bogorodica Ljeviška at Prizren (1310-1313), Markov monastery (1376-1377), the Church of Prophet Elijah in Thalames found separately in almost all the known cycles depicting the life of the saint. 4 The Dodorka cycle differs from them only in terms of the arrangement of certain scenes. 5 The scenes from the vita of the saint, lacking detail and narrative richness, presumably follow iconographic redactions from an early period. 6 They feature only two at Mani (late thirteenth-early fourteenth century), etc. Of the mural cycles, the Dečani cycle (around 1345) that includes several scenes of the posthumous miracles of the saint, is an exception. Cf. I. Hutter, Der despotes Demetrios Palaiologos und sein "Bildmenologion" in Oxford, JOB 57 (2007)  or three characters represented against a plain background marked by a hill, an arch or few buildings. Each scene contains a traditional iconographic image showing St Demetrios as a young man, which can be found in the fifth-seventh century mosaics adorning the basilica erected on his tomb in Thessaloniki. 7 In Dodorka the saint is depicted with a yellow halo and short hair, wearing the garments of patricians -a long rose tunic and emeraldgreen chlamys ( fig. 13). Only the image in the Martyrdom scene ( fig. 16) and a separately standing figure of the saint, the largest in size, bear golden halos to indicate their centrality in the entire cycle. One of them shows him as a martyr, while another points to his military prowess and protective power. Although the fu ll figure representation of St Demetrios is not framed, it assumes the role of a cult icon and is reminiscent of Byzantine proskynetaria icons of church patron saints ( fig. 9). 8 Given that the Dodorka cycle finds no parallel in Georgia, it is natural to assume that the majority of the 5 (1950) 3-28; idem, Un nouveau reliquaire de saint Démétrios, DOP 8 (1954)   scenes of this typically Byzantine cycle were rendered according to traditional Byzantine iconographic models. However strange it may seem, some of the scenes contain iconographic elements that could be found neither in the Greek texts on the passion of the saint nor in the images illustrating such texts.
In this light, of particular note is the Martyrdom of St Demetrios, which differs from all the other works featuring this scene to such extent that it would be difficult to identify it if not its belonging to the cycle. Its iconographic scheme is similar neither to earlier Byzantine works offering a short redaction, in which St Demetrios stands on his feet facing one or two executioners bearing spears [Menologion of Basil II, late tenth century, Ms. Vat. gr. 1613 (fig. 18); Vatopedi reliquary, second half of the twelfth century ( fig. 19)], nor to standardized scenes offering extensive iconographic redactions known from the Palaiologan times. The latter commonly present an angel placing a crown on the head of the enthroned saint with his right hand raised and a group of executioners, on the opposite, piercing the saint, behind whom his servant, St Lupus, is visible ( fig. 20). 9 The Dodorka scene features naked St Demetrios with a loincloth. He is shown severed, facing two executioners armed with a spear and a dagger. Parts of the saint's dismembered body are depicted in the lower section of the scene, in the forefront. The right hand extendi ng from heaven gives blessing to the Great Martyr (figs. 16,17).
The theme of equating the passion of St Demetrios with that of Christ that is highlighted in numerous encomia to St Demetrios (including those by Theodore Metochites, Nikephoros Gregoras, Gregory Palamas, Nicholas Kabasilas, Symeon of Thessalonike), 10 and is 9 Α. Ξυγγόπουλος, Η τοιχογραφία του μαρτυρίου του Αγίου Δημητρίου εις τους Αγίους Αποστόλους Θεσσαλονίκης, ΔΧΑΕ 8 (1975-1976)   Peculiar interpretation of the Passion scene at Dodorka, which differs markedly from the one offered in the Byzantine originals, can be explained not only by the adherence to different visual models, but also by a different redaction of the saint's vita. Close comparison of the images and the texts led us to believe that it was the Georgian redaction that was followed.
The earliest known, i.e. the eleventh century Georgian redaction of the Martyrdom of St Demetrios belongs to St Euthymios of Athos and represents a translation of an interim redaction -the so-called Passio Altera. The text contains several important elements absent in the Greek originals, 11 including an unusual version of the martyrdom of the saint according to which St Demetrios is killed not only with spears, but also with a dagger. He is first dismembered and then pierced by spears. 12 All these innovations are accurately illustrated in the Dodorka paintings.
Furthermore, the use of several uncommon iconographic details in the scenes depicting the conversation between St Demetrios and Emperor Maximian and the Scorpion Miracle can be explained by the adherence to St Euthymios' redaction. According to the text, the saint drops an honorary regalia at the feet of the Emperor as a gesture of his rejection of earthly honours. That the regalia is a belt is indicated only in the Georgian text. 13 11 M. Matchavariani, Cminda Dimitris c'ikli (cameba, sascaulebi, šesxma) . 10). In the Scorpion Miracle scene, St Euthymios offers a more vivid and emphatic description of the unbearable heat of the Roman thermae, where the saint was kept prison, and of the unnaturally large size of the scorpion, than the authors of the Greek originals. 14 The prison in which the saint is detained is rendered in red to indicate the raging fire, while the scorpion is represented as an enormous creature also caught in fire ( fig.  13). Unlike the Martyrdom scene, the new iconographic details included in these episodes do not change the traditional iconographic scheme. Present in the Georgian redaction of the Martyrdom of St Demetrios, these details provide sufficient evidence to believe that the redaction of the now lost vita or the oral narratives that St Euthymius the Athonite followed were available in the eleventh century, i.e. at the time when the translation was made. 15 Yet the fact that they are present only in the Georgian painted cycles indicates that by the time of the creation of the cycles of the saint's live in Byzantium, these sources had either been neglected or were regarded unreliable. 14 Ibid., 347. 15 The presence of such sources dating from before the seventh century is attested by John Archbishop of Thessaloniki (seventh century), an editor of the earliest redaction of the saint's miracles. The existence of similar sources is further evidenced by two Greek icons of the sixteenth century from the Karakalou Monastery and the Church of St. Helena in Mykonos, both of which feature St. Demetrios praying in front of the icons of the Virgin and Christ. Of note is also a miracle performed after the death of St. Demetrios, which was often represented in Russian painted icons. The miracle was about two maidens from Thessaloniki, holding an icon embroidered by themselves, who were freed from captivity by the saint and transferred to the basilica dedicated to him. Despite an obvious Thessalonian origin of the miracle of the embroidered icon, these stories do not appear in Greek texts available today. The presence of such scenes in Byzantine and Russian icons has been explained by the adherence to written sources or oral narratives that have not survived to our day. Ė. S . Smirnova, Ikonografii͡ a žitii͡ a sv. Dimitrii͡ a Solunskogo: eë obnovlenie v russkoĭ ikonopisi kont͡ sa XVIInachala XVIII veka, ZRVI 44/2 (2007) 613-625.

Fig. 3. The Virgin Platytera, the sanctuary
Both the chronology and the geographical distribution of the life cycles of St Demetrios have been firmly established. The earliest of the preserved cycles, dated to the second half of the twelfth century, is featured on the Vatopedi silver reliquary designed to contain the blood and myrrh of St Demetrios ( fig. 19). 16 Judging by the dates of all the other painted works, it is believed that these cycles did not spread wide until the Palaiologan times. 17 They 16   became especially popular in Byzantium proper as well as in its Slavic neighbourhood. 18 In this light, the early iconographic redactions of the Dodorka scenes and their similarity with the Vatopedi reliquary scenes of the second half of the twelfth century are highly remarkable.
That the paintings date from before the Palaiologan period is also suggested by their artistic peculiarities. Extending on a single plane, its placid, balanced compositions feature elegant figures with almost classic proportions, in standing positions, either static or in slight motion, dominating against plain backgrounds in which settings are only conventionally marked; the figures are drawn with thin, placid lines marking the forms hidden behind the freely falling drapery. On the other hand, the overall structure of the paintings is characterized by certain latitude and dynamism, which is achieved by extending separate scenes along walls (St Demetrios before Emperor Maximian in the south-west corner - fig Crestwood -New York 1994, 280-300. 19 The free structure of the Dodorka murals reflects the trend toward dynamism that can be traced in Georgian wall paintings from the late twelfth and early thirteenth c entury (i.e. Vardzia, Betania and Timotesubani). In this light, the more conservative character of the scenes can be explained by the earlier date of the model. Cf. Е. L. Privalova, Rospisʹ Timotesubani. Issledovanie Judging by the iconographic and artistic peculiarities, the Dodorka paintings must be dating from the late twelfth-early thirteenth century. 20 If this were the case, Dodorka is the earliest painted cycle, indicating that such cycles were created even before the Palaiologan period, 21 and that they spread farther to include the eastern regions of the Orthodox oikoumene.
po istorii gruzinskoĭ srednevekovoĭ monumentalʹnoĭ zhivopisi, Tbilisi 1980, 51-88; T. B. Virsa ladze, Osnovnye ėtapy razvitii͡ a gruzinskoĭ srednovekovoĭ monumentalʹnoĭ zhivopisi, in: Gruzinski͡ a srednevekovai͡ a monumentalʹnai͡ a zhivopisʹ: izbrannye trudy, ed. V. Beridze, Tbilisi 2007, 10-24; M. Didebulidze, Wall paint ings, in: Georgian Christian art, ed. D. Tumanishvili et al., Tbilisi 2008, 45-49, etc. 20 The proposed date is suggested by separate iconographic elements and painting techniques, e.g. the Ascension of the Holy Cross, a scene traditionally represented in the domes of Georgian churches, which first appears in the vaults of the Gareji rock-hewn churches from exactly the same period (The Motsameta chapel and the diaconicon of the main church of Udabno monastery, main church of Bertubani monastery  The content of the Dodorka paintings reflects the increased interest in Warrior Saints in the eleventhtwelfth century Byzantium and the tendency of replacement of the early Christian ideal of holy martyrs by military saints. 22 As is well known, being a protector and patron of Thessaloniki, St Demetrios was also recognized as an intercessor and patron of warriors during battles. Remarkably, it was the Virgin Platytera, one of the Blachernai icons representing both the protective power associated with the Virgin Orans and military prowess of the Nikopois, rarely used in Georgia at the time, that was selected for decorating the apse. 23  vested with the power of miraculous protection and believed to bring victory. 24 However, bearing in mind that St Demetrios (unlike the Virgin, St George and St Nino) was not an object of particular veneration in Georgia, it can be assumed that 24 The protective and military functions of the Blachernai icons of the Virgin and the maphorion have been noted many times. However, an exact iconographic type of the icons often referred to as Blachernitissa has not been always established. In this regard, of note is an episode from the history of Rus sia, namely the 1169 battle of Novgorodians against the army led by the Prince of Suzdal, during which the former displayed on the city walls the icon of the Virgin Platytera, known as Bogomater' Znamenie in Russian tradition, as a protection from the enemy and a sign of their hope for victory. Cf  the creation of a typically Byzantine cycle in a royal monastery was guided by a more specific reason.
In this light, of note again is the scene of the saint's martyrdom, which includes an iconographic detail not found in any of the other scenes from his vita. This is St Demetrios' miracle-working emerald-green chlamys, which, as if deliberately, recurs as a vivid, colourful accent on the saint's attire, including on his military dress, and is inserted in the foreground as an important relic, rather than a mere illustration, unlike the dismembered parts of the body. 25 Instead of spreading out as a piece of fabric, it is placed obliquely and is knotted at the neck as if worn by a man (fig. 21).
The relation between the hagiographic cycle and the representation of a holy relic in this scene is very similar 25 That the chlamys is deliberately included into the scene is, along with artistic accents, suggested by the fact that it is absent in the martyrdom episode of any of the vita redactions. This is even more remarkable if we take into account the fact the painter of Dodorka closely follows the Georgian redaction of the Passio text.
to the one observed on the reliquary, 26 which features an image of the saint on its surface pointing to the contents of the repository. Dodorka only combines the two sides within a single plane.
Such an unparalleled r epresentation of the relic of St Demetrios, as well as the dedication of the entire painting programme to the saint's life, 27 appears to suggest that this small chapel served as a so-called 'monumental reliquary' and was created specifically for the relic of the saint translated to the royal monastery.
Along with an unusual representation of a chlamys, my assumption that the holy relic was kept at Dodorka is supported by a strange architectural layout of the chapel apse and its artistic solution, which finds parallel neither in Gareji, nor in Georgian or Byzantine architecture, in general.
The sanctuary of this chapel, which actually represents a small niche terminating in a conch, is cut in rock. The surrounding walls are built, as is a recess with semicircular summit, coloured in red, which extends along the entire width (2.50 m.) of the church and is about ten centimeter deep. It dominates the east section of the chapel forming a strong, vivid and architectural accent in the simple rock-hewn space articulated by few small niches. The artistic decoration of the niche is designed so that the arch, which actually represents a triumphal arch of the sanctuary (the surface bears the text of Psalm 93.5 -Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever), appears to 'rest' upon the pillars of the structures which are part of the Annunciation scene. Their spherical roofs of tile project into an inscription area from both sides. Close visual observation, as well as a technical study of the paint layer revealed that the niche had never been covered with paintings, but it was coloured in red, by applying a layer of ochre beneath and cinnabar on top (figs. 2, 23). 28 The fact of designing such a structure specifically for the chapel and painting its surface with precious cinnabar, and above all, the representations of Warrior Saints, near the sanctuary, as guardians, clearly indicates that it was to serve a special function by being home to a precious object, possibly a part of the saint's chlamys.  27 The painted cycles of St Demetrios are usually included in extensive iconographic programmes. 28 A technical study of the paintings has been conducted by Prof. Nana Kuprashvili. 29 As is known, the Thessaloniki clergy refused to disclose the location of the bodily relics of the saint and rejected the emperors Justinian (527-565) and Maurice (582-602) who made numerous attempts to obtain the relics and translate them to Constantinople. The refusal would be justified by the will of the saint and the emperors would get only contact relics. Contact relics of St. Demetrios included an orarion, a ring, fragrant earth from his tomb and later, myrrh that The texts of the vita first refer to the chlamys in relation to the story of Leontius, Praetorian Prefect of Illyricum, who was miraculously healed at the tomb on St Demetrios. As willed by Demetrios Leontius, transferred the chlamys and a part of an orarion, instead of the desired bodily relics, from Thessaloniki to the city of Sirmium and placed them in the church dedicated to the saint, exuded from his tomb according to the sources dating from 904, a year when the Muslims invaded Thessaloniki, but became widely known from the twelfth century. Cf. J. C. Skedros which he had built himself. Later, the chlamys was to be found in Constantinople and according to the Latin version of the Greek description of the metropolitan relics, it was stored in Constantinople in the eleventh century. 30 As long as the bodily relics of St Demetrios could not be traced, the chlamys, the miracle-working powers of which were affirmed by the saint's vita, 31 was regarded so precious that instead of being placed in any of the churches  Lidov, Moskva 1996, 436-463. 31 The vita tells the story of how the prefect Leontius and persons accompanying him were rescued from the overflowing Danube on their way to Sirmium thanks to the chlamys of St Demetrios; it also accounts numerous miracles and healings performed in Sirmium. 32 There are sources that indicate the presence of several churches of this type, e.g., according to Konstantin Porfirogenet's Vita Basilii, among thirty one churches restored by Emperor Basil I, was a church of St. Demetrios in the district of Deuteron, which confirms the presence of such churches before the ninth century. It is also known that the Grand Heteriarch George Palaiologos, who had made a highly successful career at the court of Manuel Komnenos, dedicated a monastery to St. Demetrios, a celestial protector of the Palaiologan dynasty, in Constantinople. Cf. R. Janin, La géographie ecclésiastique de l' empire byzantin. Première partie. Le  There is no written evidence to prove that the chlamys of St Demetrios was kept in Thessaloniki. However, there is a seal of the late twelfth-early thirteenth century commissioned by Constantine Mesopotamites, Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, which features St Demetrios placing his own chlamys, as a sign of protection, over the head of the commissioner, who is shown in the pose of proskynesis. The inscription imprinted on the seal refers to the chlamys as a guardian and protector of the archbishop ( fig. 22). 35 The scene on the seal cannot certainly serve as conclusive evidence for proving the presence of this relic in Thessaloniki, yet it clearly indicates that at the turn of the thirteenth century, the cult of chlamys did exist and that it was firmly believed to have protective powers. 36 Therefore, the Thessalonian origin of the relic shall not be ruled out.
It then appears that a part of the chlamys, supposedly kept in Dodorka, may have originated either from Constantinople or from Thessaloniki. At present, it is not possible to establish with certainty how this relic could reach Georgia. It may have been given as a gift by a Byzantine Emperor or high-ranking authorities of the Thessaloniki  Church, or have been purchased either from them or, after 1204 -from the Latins. 37 What is without doubt, judging by the earlier (the Pharos chapel) and later (the Davitgareji royal monasteries) locations of the relic, is the high social status of its owner. By all indications, it belonged to a royal family. It is possible that the part of chlamys was placed in the reliquary, but it appears more plausible to believe that it was located in the reliquary icon of St Demetrios, which was the main, proskynesis icon of the church. 38 This assumption seems to be further supported by historical records, according to which, in the middle of or at the end of the twelfth century, i.e. by around the time when Dodorka was decorated with paintings, apart from relics, 37 These were accepted ways of acquiring relics, while presenting the latter as gifts to the rulers of foreign countries was a constitutive part of imperial diplomatic practice. Cf. P. V. Geary, Sacred commodities: the circulation of medieval relics, in: The social life of things. Commodities in social perspective, ed. A. Appadurai, Cambridge 1986, 169-191;H. A. Klein, Eastern objects and western desires: relics and reliquaries between Byzantium and the West, DOP 58 (2004) 283-314. 38 Kalopissi-Verti, The proskynetaria of the templon and narthex, 107-132. icons began to be disseminated from Thessaloniki, including those that represented the saint depicted on the lid of the sarcophagus placed in the ciborion. 39 It has been as- 39 The first among them was a myrrh-exuding grave 'covering' -προκαλυμμα, which Manuel Komnenos requisitioned from the Thessaloniki cathedral in 1149 and deposited it in his family monastery of the Pantokrator in Constantinople. It is difficult to ascertain whether the icon was a piece of embroidered shroud or a relief plate. What is known though is that its translation was regarded so important that the incident is reported in the liturgical calendar of Constantinople. R. J. Macrides, Subversion and loyalty in the cult of Saint Demetrios, BS 51/2 (1990) 189-197;P. Magdalino, The empire of Manuel I Komnenos: 1142-1180, Cambridge -New York 1993 It may well be that the Vsevolod the Big Nest, who translated such a myrrh-exuding icon to Vladimir together with a part of a holy shirt to place it in a reliquary church of St. Demetrios built for it in 1197, was inspired by Manuel. In Russian sources the icon is also referred to as a 'grave slab' (доска гробная). V. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopiseĭ I.  It may well be that in the chapel, which lacked a chancel barrier and in which points of attachment of altar veil have not been discovered so far, the icon was placed in the above the sanctuary niche 41 in imitation of Byzantine templons, the architraves of which were traditionally decorated with stationary icons and crosses. 42 The backits frame, in: New research on late Byzantine goldsmiths' works (13 th -15 th centuries), ed. A. Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Mainz 2019, 43-54. 41 It may well be that the reliquary icon was placed deep in the niche of the chapel of St Demetrios, rather than hung, as was the case in some of the rock-hewn chapels at Gareji, whose niches were definitely used to hold icons.  The placement of relics in the east niche does not seem to contradict the tradition of the time, bearing in mind the versatility of the locations used for keeping relics. 47 A portico-like architectural element with its tympanum supported by two pillars, the design of which looks very similar to the Dodorka apse, often recurs on early Christian, i.e. fourth-seventh century ivory, marble and silver objects. It conventionally marks a background structure before which is represented either a saint or a certain scene. 48 A similar structure forms a background of the im-  Farnham-Burlington 2014, 179-205, etc. 48 V. Age of spirituality. Late Antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, ed. K. Weitzmann, New York 1979, cat. no. 474, 481, 486, 502, 517, 547. Fig. 17. St Demetrios Blesses St Nestor (detail)  age of St Demetrios in the fifth-sixth century mosaic decoration adorning the little north colonnade in the Thessaloniki basilica dedicated to the saint. 49 The structure has been identified by scholars as the saint's ciborion ( fig. 24). Set halfway down the nave of the basilica of St Demetrios, on the north side, the ciborion -a hexagonal silver structure with a cone-shaped roof supported by six columns -sheltered a silver bed or couch upon which was engraved a bust or effigy of the saint, 50 which was believed to be the tomb of the saint and the site of his true presence. Due to the lack of bodily relics, it was a main object of veneration related to St Demetrios. Of note is that the saint's relics (i.e. blood and myrrh) were disseminated both within and outside the Empire through reliquaries, the majority of which were associated with a ciborion. 51   It might be possible to assume that the unusual design of the apse of the 'monumental reliquary' at Dodorka symbolized a ciborion, conventionally replicating the open tympana supported by columns, elements that can be best adapted to the shape of the apse. This is just an assumption, yet, irrespective of what this specific architectural element might be suggesting, the content of the paintings and the representation of a relic provide sufficient evidence to conclude that this small chapel at Dodorka was conceived in memoria of the Thessaloniki basilica of St Demetrios, 'the most sacred church of all-glorious martyr' . 54 40; B. A. Hostetler, The function of text: Byzantine reliquaries with epigrams, 843-1204, Florida 2016. 54 Among numerous examples of replicating the sacred sites, the main church of the Encleistra monastery near Paphos (Cyprus) is especially noteworthy for its typological similarity with Dodorka. Founded by St. Neophytos in memoria of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, it was built for storing a part of the True Cross. Main architectural It is well known that in the Middle Ages, replication of the holy sites and sacred spaces did not necessarily involve precise imitation of their topography and architectural forms; just the opposite -craftsmen show certain 'indifference' towards precise imitation of the original. To indicate spiritual connection or identity with the prototype, repetition of certain elements, measurement units or even a name was believed sufficient. The reference to the archetype was even stronger if it was materially represented and if the newly created space sheltered icons and more importantly, relics associated with it. 55 Relics formed a material and spiritual axis of the sacred space they created around themselves, space in which believers could experience a sense of spiritual connection with or true presence in the famous locus sanctus.
It is remarkable that two other reliquary churches of St Demetrios, namely that of Vladimir (1197)  thodox world cannot be coincidental and must be indicative of a trend associated with the spread of the saint's cult and, Georgia's being part of this process.
That Georgians were fully familiar with the cult of St Demetrios and acknowledged the sacral value of his holy relics is without doubt. Although very little is known of the exchange between Georgia and the 'second city' of the Byzantine Empire, as well as of the spread of the cult of St Demetrios in the early period, it is apparent. That already in the ninth century Demetrios was regarded a Great Martyr and his tomb was believed so sacred that it was one of the sites, along with the first-rate relics in Palestine, Rome and Constantinople, to which the great Georgian  ety, according to Timarion, an anonymous Byzantine satirical dialogue, in the twelfth century large numbers of Georgian pilgrims visited the saint's tomb in Thessaloniki and participated in a great feast dedicated to him. 58 It is therefore possible to assume that a model of ciborion or a holy relic of St Demetrios was brought to Georgia from Thessaloniki. As is well known, apart from its religious and ideological importance, the possession of holy relics in the Middle Ages had a political bearing. Sacred objects, and especially primary relics, highlighted the legitimacy of the rule of their owners and granted a state posessing them a privileged status among other Christian countries.  Relics of St Demetrios were among highly desired sacred objects. The strong determination to retain the holy relics of the saint and enjoy his undivided protection encouraged separatist movements in Thessaloniki, which, by the thirteenth century, generated the city's ambition to seek ecclesiastical and political independence from Constantinople. 60 By claiming the saint's patronage, Bulgarian and Russian rulers strived to demonstrate their status, political legitimacy and power; 61 while the Holy See sought to use the cult of St Demetrios as an instrument in its competition with Byzantium, and also, as a political and diplomatic message for internal allies both when in 867 Anastasius Bibliothecarius (Anastasius the Librarian) translated the saint's passion and miracles for the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald into Latin and later, in 1098, when the Crusaders attempted to 'obtain' his protection. 62 Having centuries-old uninterrupted dynastic monarchical tradition, Georgia would have no need to prove the legitimacy of the Bagrationi house or to seek the strengthening of its royal power. But that the Georgian crown would have a desire to become a regional player and cherish an ambition to emulate Constantinople at the end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth century is natural, and also supported by evidence. For the Bagrationi royal house, then at the zenith of its military power and glory, it was a matter of prestige to gain the protection and benediction of the saint which, by that time, had become a symbol of the military victory of the Empire, and the possession of his holy relics and the creation of sacred space for them in memoria of the Thessaloniki loca sancta had become a trend.