Norashen Holy Mother of God Armenian Church

Tbilisi, Georgia

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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ReferenceKulturenvanteri↗

Norashen, a non-functioning Armenian Apostolic church in Tbilisi's old town near Sioni Cathedral, was built in the early 16th century and originally dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. The name Norashen means "newly built" in Armenian. Long a landmark of the Armenian community, the church was seized and shut down by Soviet authorities in the 1930s, subsequently serving as a library. Following the Soviet collapse, Georgian Orthodox clergy consecrated it as an Orthodox church in 1995, a move that sparked Armenian protests and led to its indefinite closure. The church remains a symbol of contested religious heritage in post-Soviet Tbilisi, with the Armenian Apostolic Church seeking unsuccessfully to reclaim it for worship.