Prace konserwatorskie przy wyposażeniu kościoła rzymskokatolickiego pw. św. św. Piotra i Pawła w Tbilisi, Gruzja
Conservation of the Equipment of a Roman Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Tbilisi, Georgia

Author(s): Jerzy Szałygin
Subject(s): History
Published by: Instytut Badań nad Dziedzictwem Kulturowym Europy
Summary/Abstract: The church of Saints Peter and Paul in Tbilisi constructed in the years1870–1877 according to the design by a German architect Albert Zalcman is themost important witness to the many centuries of presence of Poles in Georgia.The church gathering and consolidating Polish community for decades andgiving energy for the preservation of Polishness survived and functioned incessantlyduring the most bloody communist terror (1937–1980), and duringthe collapse of communism it became the germ of revival of Catholicism inGeorgia. It still serves its outstanding role, after the departure of many Polesto the homeland in the years 1919–1921 not only gathering the descendants ofPoles but also other Roman Catholics in Georgia.The church is richly equipped, with items founded in the 19th c. and inthe early 20th c. among others by Poles living in Caucasus and Transcaucasia,which were cataloged in 2008 by members of the Terpa Foundation. The scopeof the study was to describe the whole equipment and determine the state ofpreservation of its elements. The alarming condition of some of them calledfor conservation works based on annual design conservation documentation.Works concerning the most valuable and worst preserved elements of equipmenthave been carried out since 2009 until now. They have a fundamentalimportance for the Polish community living in Georgia. The church with itsrich equipment is the focal place for the Roman Catholic minority in the country. It also has a symbolic significance, as the place where John Paul II prayedduring his visit to Georgia in 1999.Polish conservators have been participating in the works at the churchequipment during the six years, giving excellent proof of their skills and knowledgewhich enabled them to save the historic objects for the future generations.Works at the other objects will be continued and hopefully end with therestoration of the magnificence of the church that is most important for Polesand their offspring.

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