Katskhi stone column by G.N. is used under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Cropped from original
Located in the country of Georgia, the Katskhi Pillar is about 130 feet high. A small structure is clearly visible at the top. The pillar was left untouched and unscaled for centuries until 1944 when a group lead by mountaineer Alexander Japaridze and writer Levan Gotua climbed to the top. There they discovered the ruins of two churches.
In 2006, art historian Giorgi Gagoshidze completed further studies and identified the ruins as being built in the 9th or 10th centuries. At that time, they think that early Christian hermits inhabited the Katskhi Pillar.
In 1993, monk, Maxime Qavtaradze moved in and has been living there ever since. Qavtaradze felt that being in this removed place helped his spiritual practice. This is following in line with the ancient traditions of the Stylites or “pillar saints.”
Katskhi pillar and Maximus the Confessor church by Jaba1977 is used under CC BY-SA 4.0 / Cropped from edited version
Qavtaradze makes the 20-minute trip down twice a week by means of a dizzying iron ladder and scaffolding to pray at a small monastery at the foot of the Pillar. He is winched food each day from below. At first, he reported it was quite difficult living there. He slept inside an old refrigerator for the first two years to shelter himself from the weather. Later, residents refurbished the chapel and built a small cottage to give him some better living spaces.
Today the Katskhi Pillar is once again a place of inspiration, thanks to the life example of Qavtaradze and the local people who support him.
