manglisi became a seat of the homonymous bishopric under vakhtang i in the 5th century. the diocesan territory of manglisi covered much of the algeti valley and at times expanded beyond it. the church of manglisi was also a site of pilgrimage for the neighboring armenians until the catholicos abraham of armenia excommunicated the georgians following an ecclesiastic schism between the two peoples in 607 and instructed his compatriots not to go on pilgrimage to mtskheta and manglisi. manglisi was dispossessed of its relic, the foot-rest ("suppedaneum") of the lord, by the byzantine emperor heraclius who passed through kartli during his war with iran in the 620s.