The name of this monastery translated as the "Monastery of the Cross". For the Georgian monastery in Jerusalem with the same name, see Monastery of the Cross. Jvari Monastery () is a sixth-century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern Georgia. Jvari is a rare case of an Early Medieval Georgian church that has survived to the present day almost unchanged. The church became the founder of its type, the Jvari type of church architecture, prevalent in Georgia and Armenia. Built atop of Jvari Mount (656 m a.s.l.), the monastery is an example of harmonious connection with the natural environment, characteristic to medieval Georgian architecture. Along with other historic structures of Mtskheta, the monastery was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. History Jvari Monastery stands on the rocky mountaintop at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, overlooking the town of Mtskheta, which was formerly the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. According to traditional accounts, on this location in the early 4th century Saint Nino, a female evangelist credited with converting King Mirian III of Iberia to Christianity, erected a large wooden (or vine) cross on the site of a pagan temple. The cross was reportedly able to work miracles and therefore drew pilgrims from all over the Caucasus. A small church was erected over the remnants of the wooden cross in c.545 during the rule of Guaram I, and named the "Small Church of Jvari", which can still be seen adjacent to the main church from the north. The small church did not satisfy the needs of popular pilgrimage site, and the present building, or "Great Church of Jvari", is generally held to have been built between 590 and 605 by Guaram's son Erismtavari Stepanoz I. This is based on the Jvari inscriptions on its facade which mentions the principal builders of the church: Stephanos the patricius, Demetrius the hypatos, and Adarnase the hypatos. Professor Cyril Toumanoff disagrees with this view, identifying these individuals as Stepanoz II, Demetre (brother of Stepanoz I), and Adarnase II (son of Stepanoz II), respectively. Nino's cross remained inside of the church, and its original postament can still be found here. In 914, during the Sajid invasion of Georgia, the church was burned by Arabs, but it managed to survive with only minor repairments. The importance of Jvari complex increased over time and attracted many pilgrims. In the late