Nino Bagrationi Giorgi Bagrationi	Giorgi Bagrationi Gia Shervashidze

The church is located in the gorge of the Gishi Tskali river, at 4 km from the historically town of Shaki.

Designed as kuppelhalle, the church lies on the most elevated point to the east of the village of Gishi. It was surrounded by a large wall. Traces of structures of various functions can be seen in the vicinity of the church and the wall. The 18^th century Georgian historian and geographerPrince Vakhushti Bagrationiprovides interesting notes about the village of Gishi and the church located therein: ‘Gishi lies at the foothills, it was a princedom of Tskuketi and had a large domed church, which was a sear of a bishop of Eliseni, Tsuketi and Shakikhi”. Gishi Church of the Virgin is referred to as a large domed church by Prince Vakhushti Bagrationi.

The entire structure and a tent-like octagonal pyramid-shaped dome of Gishi Church preserves in a good physical state. It has been established that the dome and other parts of the church were restored and rebuilt in the first half of the 19^th century.

G. Chubinashvili noted that it was possible to identify the traces of the severly destroyed church that was built here in the 11^th century. He also mentioned that the church, judging by its architectural features, cannot be identified with the cathedra, namely the cathedra of the Gishelis, which existed here as early as the 6^th century; he also asserted that the porch leading into the church was altered in the middle of the 19^th century.