In the 6th century CE, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus fell under the cultural influence of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine missionaries actively helped to build over a dozen Christian churches on the coast, and Christian culture became widespread among local tribes in the 7th–12th centuries. The Museum of the History of the Resort City of Sochi exhibits a number of items, including those of church art, that reflect the importance of Eastern Christianity culture and its influence on the history of the city.
The items from this era include a bronze altar lamp (censer). The exhibit, which is a metal spherical vessel on a small platform leg, is well preserved. The edge of the vessel is outlined with a wide rim, and its upper part has brackets for chain holders attached to it. Three massive bronze chains converge on a ring holder and connect to the lamp itself. Most likely, this massive and heavy bronze lamp was not used for censing due to its great weight. The item was made using engraving and casting. The body is decorated with images of gospel scenes reflecting the main events in the life of Jesus Christ: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Baptism, the Crucifixion, the Myrrh-Bearing Women at the Holy Sepulcher. The faces of many figures are roughly outlined, and some features are disproportionately enlarged. The bottom of the censer depicts the sitting Mother of God with the Child in her arms. In general, the iconography of this bronze censer is typical of many Eastern Christianity liturgical objects in the Middle Ages. Similar items can be found in museums in Feodosia, Kerch and Sudak, as well as in churches and museums of Georgia. For example, the Georgian National Museum has two bronze censers in its collection that are very similar to the item in the Sochi museum.
The bronze lamp entered the museum in the 1970s. The lamp, dating back to the 10th century CE, was found on the territory of a medieval monument — the Monastyr temple-fortress, located in the Adler district of Sochi, two kilometers from the Monastyr village along the Mzymta River.
