Breti
Breti is a village in Kareli Municipality (Shida Kartli region), on the Doghlauri Plain (western part of the Shida Kartli Plain), on the left bank of the river Eastern Froni. It's the community center (villages: Breti, Aradeti, Doghlauri, Sagholasheni, Tsveri). Breti is 710 m above sea level and 9 km from Kareli. Its population is 899 000 (2014).
In the middle of the village stands a monument of Georgian architecture, the Church of St. George, which also has a second name - Father Pyrrhus. It is associated with the name of one of the Assyrian fathers — Pyrrhus of Breti.
Vakhushti Batonishvili pointed out the existence of a monastery here and noted that it was founded by Father Pyrrhus and that he is buried here. The oblong stone in front of the altar of the church is considered to be Pyrrhus's tombstone.
The study of the church revealed that it consists of two construction layers: the first dates back to the second half of the 6th century, when Pyrrhus and his disciples built an eukterion here, and the second dates back to the 8th–9th centuries (St. George's Church), when the increased needs of the monastery made it necessary to build larger churches, for which the eukterion was repaired and organically connected to the large church built later (the eukterion has the only entrance from the church).
The church has 3 doors inside, and the only entrance from the outside is in the middle of the southern fence. The floor is 1 m lower than the external ground level and there is a staircase arranged for entry. The monument is built of cut stone and is plastered. A bell tower stands on the southwestern corner of the fence.
The monument was thoroughly repaired in the middle of the 19th century. The latest repair work was in the 1950s. It has been restored to its original appearance as much as possible.
Literature: გ ვ ა ს ა ლ ი ა ჯ., ფრონის ხეობათა ისტორიული გეოგრაფიის საკითხები, კრ.: საქართველოს ისტორიული გეოგრაფიის კრებული, [ტ] 7, თბ., 1989; ს ა ნ ი კ ი ძ ე თ., ბრეთის „მამა პიროსი“, «ძეგლის მეგობარი», 1974, № 35; საქართველოს ისტორიისა და კულტურის ძეგლთა აღწერილობა, ტ. 5, თბ., 1990.
J. Gvasalia
T. Sanikidze
