Holy Trinity Cathedral, called Sameba, is the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church. It stands on Elia Hill above the Kura River in Tbilisi. A contest announced in May 1989 by the church and city produced Archil Mindiashvili's winning design. Donations paid for most of it. The foundation was laid on November 23, 1995, and Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II consecrated it on November 23, 2004.
The article describes a Georgian cross-dome style that blends traditional Georgian forms with some Byzantine undertones. The plan is cruciform, with a dome on eight columns. Length is 231 feet (70.45 m), and with its cross the cathedral is 282 feet (86.1 m) tall. It has nine chapels, five of them underground. Floors are marble.
The complex adds a bell tower, the Patriarch's residence, a monastery and a seminary. It ranks as the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral. Construction disturbed an Armenian cemetery, which caused controversy.
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