Upper Betlemi church is located at the foot of Narikala fortress in Kldis-Ubani (Roch District) district of Tbilisi. Firstly the chapel was founded, but the manager of construction priest Gregory died and was buried near the chapel.[citation needed] The work was completed by his grandson Barsegh. For long time services was held in that chapel.[citation needed] and the church remained unfinished. The upper parts, constructed of black stone, were built by Agha-Meliq Bebutyan, a participant of the Indian crusade of Nadir Shah and who was killed in battle against the Turks in 1724. He invited two nuns from the St. Yekaterina Monastery in New Julfa.[citation needed] His son Meliq Avetis built the fence.[citation needed] According to priests of the church Melikset and Mesrop Ter-Grigoryan the new church was founded by priest Sargis in cooperation with Khoja-Parukh, Baghdasar, Harutyun and Stepan. The foundation of the chapel was in the end of the 13th century. Construction of bigger church was held during reign of catholicos Eghiazar (1681–1691) and Alexander (1706–1714).[citation needed] During the second half of the 18th century the Archpriest of the church was Mkhitar, who was murdered by Agha Mohammed Khan for refusing to show the hiding-place where the church treasures were kept. After Mikhtar his son Stepanos becomes the Prior, "a priest gifted", who is much described in scripts. In 1981, during excavations inside the church, the basement of the chapel was found[1][unreliable source?]. The church is headed by Father Ioane Rostiashvili.