The Dukhobors are a movement that broke away from Orthodoxy and recognises neither churches, nor icons, nor priesthood: they prayed in an ordinary house, which they called the orphans house. That is why the place here is a house and not a church, and inside there is neither altar nor iconostasis.
Gorelovka stands on the Javakheti plateau south of Ninotsminda, among treeless uplands where winter lingers. The village is known as a Dukhobor one: settlers came here from the inner provinces of Russia and brought their way of life, houses with high roofs and a singing tradition without instruments.
The house stands in the inhabited part of the village, and one should behave as a guest: do not enter uninvited, do not photograph people or yards without asking. In summer the road across the plateau is easy, in winter it drifts with snow.
📜 Of interest
- A prayer house of the Dukhobors, a tradition that builds no churches
- Gorelovka on the Javakheti plateau south of Ninotsminda
- The village has kept the Dukhobor way of life and building
🚗 Getting there
- Landmark: Gorelovka village, Ninotsminda municipality; about ten kilometres to Ninotsminda
- A route is built with the Build Route button
✍️ Do you know this place? Leave a review on Madloba, so other travellers can find it sooner.
