The shape of the cross, bearing three arms, indicates its function. Both sides are richly decorated, with high relief. On one side, the busts of the Virgin and Saint John flank a representation of the Crucifixion. On the other, Christ Pantocrator with the Virgin and the archangels are depicted. The cross bears characteristic elements of the Georgian art of the later centuries: the stylised drapery, the abundance of stones, the expressive means of the facial details and the rough rendering of the figures. The work was donated to the Monastery by Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1762-1796).