The church of St. Maximus the Confessor is located at the south-easternmost corner of the top surface of the Katskhi pillar, Georgia.
A small simple hall church design with the dimensions of 4.5 × 3.5 m., it is a modern restoration of the ruined medieval church built of stone.
Maxime Qavtaradze, a 55-year-old native of Chiatura, a monk of the Orthodox Church, has lived on top of Katskhi Pillar for 20 years, coming down only twice a week.
Thats My Rithm.
But… actually, women have never been permitted to climb up. Simeon, the first known stylite, forbade women from climbing atop the pillar and now Father Maxime has continued this rule.
Father Maxim, says that he has dreamed of living atop the Pillar, like the Stylites, since he was young. “When my friends and I used to come up here to drink outdoors, I always envied that monk who used to live there when I looked at the pillar,” he recalled.
Inside Katskhi Pillar:
Father Maxim. Photos courtesy by Amos Chapple / Radio Free Europe
A small simple hall church design with the dimensions of 4.5 × 3.5 m., it is a modern restoration of the ruined medieval church built of stone.
Beneath and south of the church is an elongated rectangular crypt with the dimensions of 2.0 × 1.0 m., which had served as a burial vault.
კაცხის სვეტი In 2007, a small limestone plate with the asomtavruli Georgian inscriptions was found, paleographically dated to the 13th century and revealing the name of a certain „Giorgi”, responsible for the construction of three hermit cells.
A number of local legends surround the pillar. One of them has it that the top of the rock was connected by a long iron chain to the dome of the Katskhi church, located at a distance of around 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the pillar.
The Hermitage of Katskhi Pillar has been aplace of worship for over 2000 years, most likely built by the Stiliti, Christian ascetics, who live their life in full spirituality.
Evidence of use by stylites as late as the 13th century has been found on the top of the rock. With the aid of local villagers and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, Qavtaradze restored the 1200-year-old monastic chapel on the top of the rock. A film documentary on the project was completed in 2013.
