Norashen Church stands at 41 Kote Abkhazi Street in the old town of Tbilisi, near Sioni Cathedral. A wealthy Armenian noble named Satat, probably a baron, built it in memory of his family. Construction ran from 1467 to 1507. The style is Armenian.
Hovnatan Hovnatanian painted the frescoes in 1793. The church was badly damaged in Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's invasion of 1795, and Melik Avetik Behbudian ordered a complete renovation.
The church was an Armenian Apostolic church until it was confiscated in the 1930s. It was closed in December 1933 and later used as a library. In 1995 it was consecrated as a Georgian Orthodox church and renamed Khareba, and Armenian elements were removed. The dome and walls were strengthened in a restoration in 2015 and 2016. The church remains non-functioning.
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