Lagurka

The Kala church of Saints Cyricus and Julitta (Georgian: კალას წმინდა კვირიკესა და ივლიტას სახელობის ეკლესია, romanized: k'alas ts'minda k'virik'esa da ivlit'as sakhelobis ek'lesia), locally known as Lagurka (ლაგურკა), is a medieval church in the Mestia Municipality in Georgia's region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.

The area is part of the highland historical and cultural region of Upper Svaneti where Lagurka is regarded as the principal Christian shrine, its designation deriving from the name of Cyricus in the local Svan language.

It is a hall church, adorned with frescoes painted by Tevdore in 1111/1112, one of the high points of medieval Georgian monumental art.

[1] Lagurka is nested on a high hill above the village of Khe in the Kala territorial unit, Mestia Municipality, on the left bank of the upper Enguri River, at about 2200 metres[2] above sea level.

The church is dedicated to the early Christian martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, who are venerated as the patron saints of the Kala community.

The paintings in the conch and iconostasis, damaged by an earthquake, were restored at a later date by the certain Giorgi, son of Anton, as revealed in an inscription on the south pilaster.

The iconographic program also includes depictions of several saints such as Barbara, Catherine, Stephen, Christina, George, and Theodore, and two scenes of the martyrdom of the church's titular saints—Cyricus and Julitta.

Lagurka
Martyrdom of St. Julitta. A fresco from Lagurka.