The St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Sagarejo (Sagarejo Region) was built under the command of the Honored Superior of Davit Gareja Monastery – Onophre Machutadze during his superiority term in Gareja in 1690-1712. The decor of the western facade of the church attracts the special attention, it quite differs from decors of other facades by its explicitly expressed Islamic, the so called Seljuk ornament, which has hardly got any direct analogues in the Georgian medieval ecclesiastic architecture. The most noteworthy architectural and decorative element of the facade is its impressive portal, which is richly decorated with Seljuk ornaments (stalactitic, geometrical figures, star-shaped images).

In the thesis the Georgian (almost all examples), as well as Armenian churches with Seljuk influences are discussed; also the parallel “prototype “ monuments are presented.

Thus, St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Sagarejo is the noteworthy monument not only from the aspect of the iconography program permeated with the significant Christian idea typical for the Georgian facade sculpture of the “Renascence“ йpoque, implemented on its eastern and southern facades, but from the aspect of revelation of the Seljuk ornamental decors (portal) of the western facade of the church which had been already approved by the perfect artistic skills of the craftsmen. It is obvious that at this difficult historical and political stage the Georgian art was able to compose constructively the alien artistic motives (the craftsman applied the explicit Seljuk ornaments only on one facade of the church). The existence of Seljuk ornamental decoration on Georgian churches is an essential fact. Those monuments reveal that place of the Georgian culture between the East and the West where the paths of various cultures intersect.