The Church of Saint Hypatius is located within the grounds of the Abaata Fortress in Gagra.
It is believed to have been built in the VI-VII centuries, at a time when Byzantium was actively strengthening its Black Sea frontiers.
Like most early Christian monuments in the region, this three-aisled basilica was constructed from roughly hewn limestone blocks.
The only decoration on its modest façade is a Bolnisi cross carved above the entrance.
The church is dedicated to the holy martyr Hypatius of Gagra.
According to tradition, he preached Christianity in the vicinity of the city and was buried beneath the walls of the basilica.
In the XVI century, amid religious pressure and Ottoman raids along the Black Sea coast, the church was abandoned and remained derelict for nearly three centuries.
After the Russian landing in 1830, the historic building was converted into a powder magazine.
During the Crimean War (1853–1856), the Abaata fortifications were blown up and abandoned by the garrison due to the threat posed by the British fleet.
The church, which had miraculously survived, was to face further trials.
When the fortifications began to be restored after the war, a military hospital was established within the fortress, and the church was once again converted into a storage facility.
It was not until 1902, at the initiative of Princess Evgenia Maximilianovna Romanovskaya, wife of the Prince of Oldenburg, that the building’s vault was restored and religious services resumed.