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While visiting Constantinople, King Vakhtang met two men of God, whom later he asked the emperor and patriarch to be elevated to the episcopacy. As the Church of Georgia was under the [[jurisdiction]] of the patriarch of Antioch [[Peter I of Georgia|Peter]] and [[Samuel I of Georgia|Samuel]] were sent to the [[Church of Antioch]] where they were [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]], Peter as [[Catholicos]] and Samuel as bishop. Peter, Samuel, and twelve other bishop traveled to Kartli. With the arrival of Catholicos Peter, the Church of Georgia gained its autocephaly.
King Vakhtang actively supported the evangelizing of the Orthodox faith. He fulfilled the will of King Mirian by founding the Georgian [[Monastery of the Cross (Jerusalem)|Holy Cross Monastery ]] in Jerusalem. He also replaced a wooden [[church]] that had been built in Mtskheta during the time of St. [[Nino of Cappadocia|Nino]] with one made of stone. During his reign several new [[diocese]]s were founded. At the new diocese in Nikozi (Inner Kartli) he built a [[cathedral]]. To this cathedral he translated the holy [[relics]] of the Protomartyr Razhden.
As Vakhtang freed the Georgian lands from the Persians, Ossetians, and other enemies, he built fortresses and strongholds. He also founded monasteries in Klarjeti at Artanuji, Mere, Shindobi, and Akhiza. He built a new royal residence in Ujarma and laid the foundations of the new Georgian capital, Tbilisi. His political creed consisted of three parts: an equal union of the Georgian Church with the [[Church of Constantinople]], national independence, and the unity of the Church and nation.
