Three-church basilica

[2] However, unlike a conventional three-aisled basilica—terminating in a sanctuary on the east and possessing north and south aisles—a three-church basilica was designed so that there was either no direct communication between the central nave and the side aisles except through a narthex at the west end or, alternatively, they were only accessed through one door from the central nave into the auxiliary space formed by the aisles.

The aisles were commonly semi-open due to the central sections of the north and south exterior walls being replaced by an arched arcade.

[1] Existence of such churches in Syria has not been proven, making three-church basilica a peculiar Georgian phenomenon—a local adaptation of an Eastern Roman three-aisled model.

From the late 5th century onward, the Georgian church builders moved towards smaller, centrally planned edifices; how this transition occurred is not fully understood.

[1] According to Zaza Aleksidze, a triple-church design was an architectural solution to substantial confessional dualism that existed in late antique Kartli and these forms of basilica served to both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian communities.