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This [[eparchy]] includes the ancient Georgian region of Adjaria.
According to Georgian chronicles, the [[Apostle Andrew|St Andrew the First-called]] entered Georgia through Adjaria. The first [[church]]es were erected here in villages near the Black Sea. Adjaria had its own [[hierarch]] even in the fourth century, under the reign of King Mirdat III. Later, during the reign of [[King VakhtangI Gorgasali of Iberia|St . King Vakhtang Gorgasali]] (remembered [[November 30]]), the diocese of Skhalta (i.e. Adjaria) was united into the diocese of Akhizi.
[[Image:Skhalta.jpg|thumb|right|Skhalta Cathedral]]
In the seventeenth century the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman Empire ]] invaded Adjaria and cut it off from Georgia. For three hundred years Adjaria was under Islamic rule. Many Georgians were [[martyr]]ed by the Turks; the Church comemorates them at [[Pentecost]] under the name “Georgian "Georgian priests and laymen, martyred by the Turks."
After the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Adjaria was returned to Georgia. At that time nearly no Adjarians were Christians. But eventually Christianity began to revive, especially during the 1990s. By now, most Adjarians are Christians, though Islam is also practiced in the region.
==External link==
*[http://eparchy.batumi.net/ Official web-site of the Batumi and Skhalta Eparchy]
[[Category: Dioceses|Batumi and Skhalta]][[Category:Georgian Dioceses|Batumi and Skhalta]]
