About the Center

The Beteli Center serves as a multipurpose center located near the center of Tbilisi, Georgia. The Center takes its name from the Hebrew word ל ֵא) Bethel), ბეთელი meaning “the house of God.” The Beteli Center works closely as an arm of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia to uphold its mission of reconciliation among the ethnic, religious, and social groups in Georgia. In addition, the Center also acts as a place to house international pilgrims who come to Georgia for cultural experiences. Finally, the Center also hosts cultural experiences which continue the centuries-long tradition of icon painting.

History

In 1999, following the aftermath of the Second Chechen-Russian War, Chechen refugees began fleeing into Georgia seeking asylum. During this time, members of the Cathedral Baptist Church, later known as the Peace Cathedral, sought to provide support for the refugees, which led to their work with the humanitarian organization Beteli. They began their relief efforts with the establishment of a school for the refugee children. In 2000, the organization moved on to construct a building as a continuation of its relief efforts. This building became the Beteli Center. It has been offering support to people from different countries of the world.

Mission

The primary mission of the Beteli Center at its founding was to provide aid to struggling Chechen refugees fleeing the Second Chechen-Russian War after the ECB community of Georgia began long-term relief efforts to attempt to help the refugees integrate and make a new life in Georgia. Since then, its mission has expanded with the goal that the Beteli Center itself will become a multipurpose center to help the Georgian people and Georgian society recover after the collapse of the Soviet Union through developing projects and plans meant to heal and advance the country’s society as a whole. Many of these new purposes for the Center include acting as a home for the elderly, many of whom became desperately poor after the collapse of the Soviet Union and unable to find jobs in the new economic environment of Georgia, to provide training seminars in a variety of fields of including computers, business, hand skill training, carpentry, etc. The center also functions as a library, conference center, Art school, carpenter’s workshop, and provides offices for the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia. Recently, it has been sheltering refugees from Ukraine. The Ukrainians have established their workshop “Kulbabka” – dandelion, where they produce ceramic artifacts.

Architecture and Layout

The Beteli Center’s total acreage encompasses roughly 4,300m with the building itself occupying 2,140m of that land. It consists of two floors, each divided into 3 parts. The center of the building’s front-facing façade is decorated with a mural of the three guests Abraham is said to have received in the book of Genesis and is meant to symbolize that the Center is openly hospitable to all who come to its doors. 

The 1st portion of the 1st floor is primarily designed to take care of the elderly or sickly and includes a common room, single and double apartments/guest rooms, single apartments with handicap accommodations, an elevator to the second floor, a washing room, and a therapeutic art room that also houses the Dianconicol Sisters. The 2nd portion of the 1st floor, often referred to as the main part of the building, includes the main entrance, a small dining room/conference room, a main dining room, kitchen, storage facilities, and a toilet and dressing room for the personnel. The 3rd portion is reserved for continuing skill development and job training. 

The 2nd floor of the Beteli Center is dedicated mostly to the upper management portions of the operation. The 1st part of the 2nd floor serves as the base of operations for the work the Center does through the Humanitarian Charity Association, “Beteli,” housing St. Luke’s Chapel, the main administration for the organization. The 2nd portion of the floor serves as the conference section of the main building, with a hall capable of housing approximately 400-500 people. Finally, the 3rd portion of the floor is reserved to act both as a library to store academic texts as well as an art gallery to display traditional Georgian artworks.