Mokva Cathedral of the Dormition is one of the architectural and religious attractions of the Republic of Abkhazia. Built in the second half of X century on the orders of the Abkhazian king Leon III, the Cathedral is located 15 km from the town of Ochamchira, on an island at the confluence of two rivers - a complete and Duab.

To have survived a terrible legend associated with the construction of this temple. According to legend, a very cruel and greedy king Leon III, refusing to pay the architect for the erection of the Cathedral, blamed the fact that from the top of the temple dome is not visible from immediate surroundings. At a time when the architect, trying to refute these accusations, climbed the stairs to the dome of the Cathedral, the king ordered to remove the ladder, leaving the master at the height of the die from hunger.

Status Mokvskogo of the Cathedral was very significant in the Abkhazian land, at one time it housed a monastery and Episcopal see, and it served as the burial place of the archbishops.

Mokva Cathedral is a cross-domed its temple. According to the data, preserved to our days, the interior of the Cathedral was very rich. The walls were covered with unique frescoes.

In the XVII century, when these lands were occupied by the Turks, the Church was completely looted. At the time, the Cathedral lost outdoor ornaments and iconostasis. And a huge number of Church utensils, jewelry and relics were removed from Abkhazia. So, in Khobi Dormition monastery discovered silver icon Mokvskogo temple in Mtskheta Cathedral was Bishop's staff, and in Martvilskom monastery were found ancient gospel and the Psalter of the eleventh century on parchment. The Cathedral simply left.

Large-scale reconstruction of the temple began in the mid XIX century was paved with slabs of the floor, in the Western part of the attached chapel, and on the dome he built a small rotunda. During reconstruction, carved cornices were removed and the tile roof was replaced by the iron. Inside the temple the walls were plastered and painted and mosaic on the altar Sabelli. These changes were influenced by both external and internal appearance of the Church. Around the same time the building of the Cathedral was turned into the crypt, where are buried many members of the local nobility, including the last ruling Prince of Abkhazia Mikhail Shervashidze.

Since 2002, the doors of the Cathedral of the Dormition re-opened for believers.