A scientific article by Giorgi Gagoshidze, Principal Researcher at the Tamaz Beradze Institute of Kartvelology of the University of Georgia and Doctor of Art History, has been published in the international academic volume Writing in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Inscriptions and Graffiti in a Multilingual and Multigraphic Perspective.
The volume was published in 2026 by the Belgian publishing house Brepols. It was edited by Estelle Ingrand-Varenne and Clément Dussart and presents scholarly research on the multilingual medieval inscriptions and graffiti preserved on the walls of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is an important historical and religious monument. Over different periods, pilgrims and visitors left inscriptions on its walls. These inscriptions serve as valuable sources for studying the history of the church, cultural connections between different peoples, and the traditions of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages.
Alongside Greek, Arabic, Armenian, and Slavic inscriptions, the volume also examines Georgian inscriptions left by Georgian pilgrims.
Giorgi Gagoshidze’s article, “Ancient Georgian Inscriptions in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and ‘Bethlehems’ in Georgia,” focuses on the ancient Georgian inscriptions preserved in the Church of the Nativity, as well as historical sites in Georgia that bear the name Bethlehem.
Giorgi Gagoshidze’s contribution presents research on Georgia’s historical and cultural heritage in an international academic publication. Published on pages 225–239 of the volume, the article brings together two important subjects: the study of Georgian epigraphic heritage preserved in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the examination of historical sites in Georgia bearing the name Bethlehem.
The Georgian inscriptions preserved in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem constitute an important part of the historical and cultural relations between Georgia and the wider Christian world. Studying these inscriptions helps shed light on the historical presence of Georgian pilgrims in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as Georgia’s cultural connections with the Holy Land.
Research bringing these subjects together is important for presenting Georgian epigraphy, historical heritage, and Kartvelological studies within the international academic community.
The article appears on pages 225–239 of the volume.
