Four chapters of the 12th-century Kurashi Gospel, one of the outstanding monuments of Georgian culture, have been returned to the Etseri community. The Deputy Minister of Justice, Buba Lomuashvili, the Director General of the National Archives, Teona Iashvili, and the Head of the Restoration Department of the National Archives, Tamila Apakidze, officially handed over the restored chapters to representatives of the Etseri community. The chapters are now returned to the Church of St. George in the village of Kurashi. Reverend Ilarion, Bishop of Mestia and the Zemo Svaneti Diocese, offered a special prayer during the ceremony.

The restorers at the National Archives dedicated 18 months to the restoration and conservation of the manuscript, which consists of 151 pages, including four chapters of Giorgi Mtatsmindelisi's edition. The book also features wills and inscriptions from various periods, and two pages are palimpsests containing fragments of the 9th-10th century Jerusalem lectionary.

Prior to restoration, the manuscript was in a state of severe decay, missing its cover and plagued by damaged and torn sheets, stains, dust, mold, and candle wax deposits. The page order was also disrupted.

The restoration process involved disinfecting each sheet, cleaning with both dry and wet methods to remove dust, mold, and candle stains, and softening and straightening torn and deformed sheets. Damaged edges were repaired with artificial parchment, and the text was reorganized, renumbered, bound, and placed in a new leather cover.

The Kurashi Gospel is the second Svanetian manuscript to undergo restoration and conservation at the National Archives laboratory. Previously, in 2021, the four chapters of the 12th-century Lakhamuli Gospel were restored.

Both restoration projects were made possible through prior negotiations with the local community.

The event was attended by numerous dignitaries, including the Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili; the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Youth of Georgia, Tea Tsulukiani; the Chair of the People's Power party, Sozar Subari; and various representatives from legislative and executive authorities.