CHAPTER 4 THE ORTHODOX CHURCH In many European countries, especially Protestant ones, the church played an important role in creating and maintaining a sense of national community, serving as a link between the upper and lower layers of culture. Parish schools introduced children

3 BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY Attempts to prohibit wars and use force to resolve international conflicts have been made for a long time. The Hague Conventions for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes between States (1899-1907) played a special role. The Charter of the League of Nations in a number of articles

Besides St. app. Andrew in Georgia was preached by St. Apostles Simon the Zealot and Matthias. The most ancient sources report about the preaching in Eastern Georgia of St. app. Bartholomew and Thaddeus.

For the first centuries, Christianity in Georgia was persecuted. By the beginning of the second century, the martyrdom of St. Sukhiya and his retinues (Comm. 15/28 April). However, already in 326, Christianity became the state religion in Iberia thanks to the preaching of St. equal to ap. Nina (commemorated January 14/27 and May 19/June 1 - in the Georgian Church these days are considered among the great holidays). Fulfilling the will of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Nina from Jerusalem came to Georgia and finally confirmed her faith in Christ.

Initially, the Georgian Church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch, but already in the 5th century. according to the established opinion, she received autocephaly. This, apparently, was facilitated, among other things, by the fact that Georgia was an independent Christian state outside the borders of the Byzantine Empire. From the 11th century The primate of the Georgian Church bears the title of Catholicos-Patriarch.

Throughout its history, Georgia has been fighting against the invaders, who sought not only to seize the country, but also to eradicate Christianity in it. For example, in 1227 Tbilisi was invaded by the Khorezmians led by Jalal-ad-Din. Then the icons were brought to the bridge and all the inhabitants of the city had to spit on the faces of the icons when passing over the bridge. Those who did not do this were immediately cut off their heads and pushed into the river. On that day, 100,000 Christians in Tbilisi were martyred (they are commemorated on October 31/November 13).

The difficult situation of Orthodox Georgians forced them from the 15th century. from time to time to ask for help from the same-faith Russia. As a result, at the beginning of the XIX century. Georgia was annexed to the Russian Empire and the autocephaly of the Georgian Church was abolished. The Georgian Exarchate was formed, which was ruled by an exarch in the rank of metropolitan, later in the rank of archbishop. During the existence of the Exarchate, order was put in place in church life, the financial situation of the clergy improved, religious educational institutions were opened, and science developed. At the same time, the Georgian language was being squeezed out of worship, teaching in seminaries was also conducted in Russian. The number of dioceses was reduced, church property was at the disposal of the Russian authorities, bishops of Russian nationality were appointed exarchs. All this caused numerous protests.

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. there was a clearly expressed desire of Orthodox Georgians for autocephaly. In February 1917, a revolution took place in Russia, and on March 12, the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church was proclaimed in the ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta. On September 17, 1917, at the Council in Tbilisi, Bishop Kirion (Sadzaglishvili) was elected Catholicos-Patriarch. The Russian Church at first did not recognize the restoration of autocephaly, as a result of which there was a break in prayerful communion between the two Churches. Communication was restored in 1943 under Patriarch Sergius (Stargorodsky) and Catholicos-Patriarch Kallistrat (Tsintsadze). In 1990, the Ecumenical (Constantinople) Pariarchy recognized the autocephaly of the Georgian Church.

Since 1977 His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II has been the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

17:41, 25 Lipnya 2011

4005 0

Georgia (Iveria) - the apostolic lot of the Mother of God. However, the Lord told her to stay in Jerusalem. Apostle Andrew the First-Called went north...

In the Caucasus, between the Black and Caspian Seas, there is a country of ancient history and culture - Georgia. The beauty of Georgian nature, the originality of Georgian art and the unique color of the Georgian character delighted great poets and famous travelers. At the same time, it is one of the oldest Christian countries in the world, which is impossible to imagine without holy Orthodoxy.

Throughout its history, Georgia has been fighting against the invaders, who sought not only to enslave the country, but also to eradicate Christianity in it. Many conquerors were close to destroying Orthodox Iberia. But the Christ-loving Georgian people defended their homeland and preserved the right faith. Georgia is still one of the outposts of Orthodoxy in the modern world.
Portion of the Most Holy Theotokos

Georgia (Iveria) - the apostolic lot of the Mother of God. According to church tradition, after the Ascension, the apostles gathered in the Zion Room and cast lots on which country each of them should go to. The Blessed Virgin Mary wished to take part in the apostolic preaching. The lot fell to her to go to Iveria, but the Lord ordered her to stay in Jerusalem. The Apostle Andrew the First-Called set out to the north, taking with him the image of the Mother of God.

The holy apostle went to the country that kept the great Old Testament shrine - the mantle of the prophet Elijah. The Jews, persecuted by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, brought her there. In addition, the greatest Christian shrine was also in Georgia - the non-sewn chiton of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was brought to Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia, by a local resident, the Jew Elioz, who was present at the crucifixion.

In apostolic times, two Georgian states existed on the territory of modern Georgia: the eastern Georgian Kartli (Greek Iveria) and the western Georgian Egrisi (Greek Colchis). Apostle Andrew preached both in Eastern and Western Georgia.

In the city of Atskuri (near modern Akhaltsikhe), through the prayer of the apostle, the widow's son, who had died shortly before his arrival, was resurrected, and this miracle inspired the inhabitants of the city to accept holy Baptism. The Apostle Andrew appointed a newly enlightened bishop, priests and deacons, and before setting off on his journey he left in the city an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which had been in the cathedral for many centuries.

In Western Georgia, together with the Apostle Andrew, the teachings of Christ were preached by the Apostle Simon the Zealot, who was buried there, in the village of Komani. The Georgian land received another apostle, St. Matthias, he preached in the south-west of Georgia and was buried in Gonio, near modern Batumi. In addition, the most ancient sources point to the presence of the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in Eastern Georgia.
Baptism of Iberia

The preaching of the holy apostles did not go unnoticed. The first Christian communities and churches appeared in Georgia. An interesting fact is that in the works of St. Irenaeus of Lyons (II century), among the Christian peoples, the Ivers (Georgians) are already mentioned.

However, the mass baptism of Georgians took place only at the beginning of the 4th century thanks to the preaching of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia. Originally from Cappadocia, a relative of the Great Martyr George, Saint Nina arrived from Jerusalem in fulfillment of the will of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The preacher attracted the attention of the people with the holiness of life, as well as many miracles, in particular, the healing of the queen from illness. When King Mirian, having been in danger while hunting, was saved after praying to the Christian God, then, safely returning home, he accepted Christianity with his whole house and himself became a preacher of the teachings of Christ among his people.

In 326 Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in Georgia. King Mirian built a temple in the name of the Savior in the capital of the state - Mtskheta, and on the advice of St. Nina sent envoys to St. Constantine the Great with a request to send a bishop and clergy. Bishop John, sent by Saint Constantine, and the Greek priests continued the conversion of the Georgians.

Before the arrival of the clergy in Mtskheta, where the chiton of the Lord was kept, the construction of the church had already begun. This place is still the center of the spiritual life of the Georgian people. Here is the cathedral church in honor of the Twelve Apostles - “Svetitskhoveli” (“Life-Giving Pillar”).

The successor of the famous king Mirian, King Bakar (342–364), also worked hard in the field of Christianization of the country. Under him, liturgical books were translated into Georgian.

Since that time, the Georgians have become faithful followers of Christ and have always unwaveringly defended the Orthodox teaching. Byzantine historian of the 6th century. Procopius of Caesarea remarks that "Christians are Christians, and they observe the rules of faith better than anyone we know."
In the struggle for Orthodoxy

Georgia reached its power in the 5th century. under King Vakhtang I Gorgosali, who ruled the country for fifty-three years. Successfully defending the independence of his homeland, he did a lot for the Church. Under him, the collapsed at the beginning of the 5th century was rebuilt. Mtskheta temple.

With the transfer of the capital of Georgia from Mtskheta to Tiflis, Vakhtang I laid the foundation of the famous Zion Cathedral in the new capital, which exists to this day. Under King Vakhtang I, according to Georgian historians, 12 episcopal departments were opened. By the care of his mother Sagdukht, the widow of King Archil I, in 440 the books of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were translated into Georgian for the first time.

Initially, the Georgian Church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch, but already in the 5th century, according to the established opinion, it received autocephaly. This, apparently, was facilitated, among others, by the fact that Georgia was an independent Christian state outside the borders of the Byzantine Empire. From the 11th century The primate of the Georgian Church bears the title of Catholicos-Patriarch. (Katolikos - Greek “universal”, indicates that the jurisdiction of the Georgian Church extends not only to the borders of Georgia, but also to all Georgians, wherever they live. - Ed.)

Since the adoption of Christianity, the Georgian people for centuries had to almost constantly fight against external enemies, who, along with the conquest of the country, tried to destroy the Christian religion. In the hardest struggle, the Georgian people were able to preserve statehood and defend Orthodoxy. For centuries, the struggle for statehood was identified with the struggle for Orthodoxy. Many people, both clergy and laity, were martyred here for the faith of Christ.

World history does not know such an example of self-sacrifice as shown by the inhabitants of the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 1227, when at the same time 100 thousand people - men, children and the elderly - refusing to fulfill the order of Khorezm Shah Jalal-ed-din - to desecrate the icons laid on bridge, received the martyr's crown.

In the crucible of trials, the faith and courage of the Georgian people only grew stronger. The flourishing of Christian Iberia was brought by the reign of the God-fearing king David IV (c. 1073-1125) and his pious descendants.
Golden age

At the dawn of its Christian history, Georgia was forced to wage a centuries-old bloody struggle against Islam, the bearers of which were, first of all, the Arabs. From the 7th century they captured the vast lands of the Persian and Byzantine empires, weakened by mutual struggle. In the 8th century Georgia was subjected to terrible devastation by the Arabs, led by Murvan, nicknamed "Deaf" for his ruthlessness. A new wave of violence arose in the second half of the 11th century, when the Seljuk Turks invaded Georgia, destroying churches, monasteries, settlements and the Orthodox Georgians themselves.

The position of the Iberian Church changed only with the accession to the royal throne of David IV the Builder (1089-1125), an intelligent, enlightened and God-fearing ruler. David IV put the church life in order, built temples and established monasteries. In 1103, on his initiative, a council was convened in Ruisi, whose decisions contributed to the strengthening of the canonical life of the Church and the establishment of church deanery.

The zenith of Georgia's glory was the age of the famous great-granddaughter of David, the holy Queen Tamara (1184-1213), who was able not only to preserve what was under her predecessors, but also to expand her power from the Black to the Caspian Sea. After the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, Georgia became the most powerful Christian state in the entire Eastern Mediterranean.

Legendary tales connect with the name of Queen Tamara almost all the remarkable monuments of the history of Georgia, including many towers and churches on the tops of the mountains. The saint was especially concerned about the enlightenment of her people. In her reign, a large number of orators, theologians, philosophers, historians, artists and poets appeared. However, with the death of St. Tamara, everything changed - she, as it were, took the happy years of her homeland with her to the grave.
Under the blows of enemies

The Mongol-Tatars who converted to Islam became a storm for Georgia. In 1387, Tamerlane entered Kartalinia, bringing destruction and devastation with him. “Georgia then presented a terrible sight,” writes priest Nikandr Pokrovsky. - Cities and villages in ruins, corpses lay in heaps on the streets. It seemed that a fiery river rushed through sad Georgia. Even after that, its sky was more than once illuminated by the glow of Mongolian fires, and the smoking blood of its ill-fated population marked the path of the formidable and cruel ruler of Samarkand in a long strip.

Following the Mongols, the Ottoman Turks brought suffering, the destruction of shrines and forced conversion to Islam to the Georgians.

A long series of disasters suffered by Georgia during its 1500-year history ended with the devastating invasion of the Persian Shah Aga Mohammed in 1795. On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, the Shah ordered that all the clergy of Tiflis be seized and thrown from the high bank into the Kura River. In terms of cruelty, this execution is equal to the massacre perpetrated on the Easter night of 1617 in the Gareji monastery, when, on the orders of the Persian Shah Abbas, his soldiers slaughtered six thousand monks. “The Kingdom of Georgia,” writes the historian Platon Ioseliani, “during fifteen centuries does not represent almost a single reign that would not be marked either by an attack, or ruin, or cruel oppression by the enemies of Christ.”

In times of distress for Iberia, monks and the white clergy acted as intercessors for ordinary people. “It is hardly possible to find any political or ecclesiastical society in the history of mankind,” wrote Bishop Kirion (Sadzaglishvili, later the Catholicos-Patriarch), “that would have made more sacrifices and shed more blood in defense of the Orthodox faith and nationality than did the Georgian clergy and especially monasticism. Due to the enormous influence of Georgian monasticism on the fate of the native Church, its history has become an integral and most important part of Georgian church-historical life, its valuable adornment, without which the history of subsequent centuries would have been colorless, incomprehensible, lifeless.
Together with Russia

The difficult situation of the Orthodox Georgians forced them to ask for help from the same faith Russia. Beginning in the 15th century, these appeals did not stop until the accession of Georgia to the Russian Empire. In response to the request of the last kings - George XII in Eastern Georgia and Solomon II in Western Georgia - on September 12, 1801, Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto, by which Georgia - first Eastern, and then Western - was finally annexed to Russia.

After the reunification, the Georgian Church became part of the Russian Orthodox Church with the rights of an exarchate. In 1811, according to the imperial order, instead of the Catholicos, an exarch of Iberia was appointed, who received the right to be a member of the Holy Synod.

During the existence of the exarchate, order was put in place in church life, the financial situation of the clergy improved, theological educational institutions were opened, and science developed. At the same time, the Georgian language was gradually being squeezed out of worship, teaching in seminaries was also conducted in Russian. There were also questions related to church property.
Autocephalous Georgian Orthodox Church

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. there was a clearly expressed desire of Orthodox Georgians for autocephaly. In February 1917, a revolution took place in Russia, and on March 12, the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church was proclaimed in the ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta. On September 17, 1917, at the Council in Tbilisi, Bishop Kirion (Sadzaglishvili) was elected Catholicos-Patriarch. The Russian Church at first did not recognize the restoration of autocephaly, as a result of which there was a break in prayerful communion between the two Churches. Communication was restored in 1943 under Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky) and Catholicos-Patriarch Kallistrat (Tsintsadze). In 1990, the Ecumenical (Constantinople) Patriarchate recognized the autocephaly of the Georgian Church.

Currently, the Georgian Church has about three million believers, 27 dioceses, 53 monasteries, and about 300 parishes. Divine services are performed in Georgian, in some parishes - in Church Slavonic or Greek.

The Orthodox Church occupies a special place in modern Georgia. The state recognizes marriages registered by the Church, ensures the operation of the institute of chaplains in the army and prisons, teaches the basics of the Orthodox faith in educational institutions, and recognizes diplomas from theological schools. In turn, the Church approves the projects of Orthodox churches and issues a permit for their construction; its property is exempt from taxes. All great Orthodox holidays are declared state holidays in Georgia and are days off. Orthodox Iveria lives and looks to the future with hope.

Oleg Karpenko, "Church Orthodox Newspaper"

As if you knew a pardon, see it with a bear and press Ctrl + Enter

7.1. The emergence of the Georgian Church. Christianity in Georgia 1st-5th centuries The problem of autocephaly

The first preachers of Christianity on the territory of Georgia (Iberia) were the holy apostles Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Zealot. Since the Black Sea coast often served as a place of exile for many objectionable persons in the Roman Empire, the preaching of the Gospel was carried out here by exiled representatives of the clergy, in particular, one of these was St. Clement, Bishop of Rome, exiled by Emperor Trajan. St. Clement preached in Chersonese Tauride.

Subsequently, Christianity was spread by missionaries who left the border Christian provinces (mainly Asia Minor), as well as through contacts through clashes between Georgians and Christian Greeks.

The mass baptism of Georgians took place in the 1920s. 4th century thanks to the work of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina (d. 335), who is rightfully considered the enlightener of Georgia. Arriving in Georgia, she glorified herself with a holy life and many miracles.

In 326, under King Mirian, Christianity was proclaimed the state religion of the country. Mirian built a temple in the name of the Savior in the capital of Iveria - Mtskheta, and on the advice of St. Nina sent envoys to the emperor, asking him to send a bishop and clergy. Emperor Constantine sent Bishop John to Georgia and the Greek priests continued the conversion of the Georgians.

It should be noted that until its independence, the Georgian Orthodox Church was in canonical subordination not to the Constantinople, but to the Antiochian Orthodox Church.

In the second half of the 4th c. part of the liturgical books was translated from Greek into Georgian.

Under the Iberian king Vakhtang I Gorgaslan (446 - 499), Georgia reached its power. In 455, he moved the capital of the state from Mtskheta to Tiflis and laid the foundation of the famous Sion Cathedral in the new capital. From ancient times to the present, the Sioni Cathedral has been the cathedral church of the Georgian Primate. Among the shrines of the Cathedral, the most famous is the cross of St. Nina, made from the branches of a vine and tied with the hair of the Enlightener of Georgia. Under Vakhtang, 12 episcopal departments were opened in Georgia, and the books of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were translated into Georgian.

The issue of autocephaly is extremely controversial in the history of the Georgian Church. In science, there are many opinions about the exact date of autocephaly. The discrepancies are explained by the lack of necessary sources that would allow us to accurately indicate the date of the proclamation of the independence of the Georgian Church. In our opinion, the view that the See of Antioch granted autocephaly to the Georgian Church in 457 looks more convincing (this version is reflected in the official data of the Orthodox Church Calendar for 2000, published by the Moscow Patriarchy). The researcher also believes that autocephaly was granted in 457, but not by Antioch, but by the Church of Constantinople.

Initially, the Primate of the Georgian Church bore the title of "Catholicos-Archbishop", and from 1012 - "Catholicos-Patriarch".

Gradually, from the Iberians, Christianity spread among the Abkhazians, as a result of which, in 541, an episcopal see was established in Pitiunt (modern Pitsunda). Even in ancient times, Abazgia (Western Georgia) usually served as a center of exile. During the persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian, the martyr Orentius and his 6 brothers were exiled to Pitiunt; on the way to Pitunt (in Komany - near modern Sukhumi) in 407, St. died. But in ecclesiastical and political relations, Abazgia until the end of the 8th century. was dependent on Byzantium. The official language of the administration and the Church was Greek. Probably only at the turn of the VIII - IX centuries. the Abkhazian (Western Georgian) kingdom appeared independent of Byzantium (with its center in Kutaisi). At the same time, tendencies began to appear towards the formation of an independent Church here.

7.2. Georgian Church under Arab and Turkish rule ( VIII - XVIII centuries). Division into Catholicosates

From the end of the 7th c. The North Caucasus is beginning to experience the wave of Arab conquests. The Byzantine Empire acted as a natural ally of the Christian Caucasian peoples in the struggle against the Muslim conquerors.

Nevertheless, in 736, the Arab commander Marvan ibn Muhammad (in Georgian sources - Murvan the Deaf) with a 120,000-strong army decided to conquer the entire Caucasus. In 736 - 738 years. his troops devastated southern and eastern Georgia (Kartli), where in 740 they met fierce resistance from the Aragveti princes David and Constantine. These princes were taken prisoner, subjected to severe torture and were thrown by the Arabs from a cliff in the river. Rioni. Following this, the Arab army moved further to Western Georgia (Abazgia), where, under the walls of the Anakopia fortress, they were defeated and were forced to leave Western Georgia. According to the historian Dzhuansher, the victory of the Christian Abkhaz army over the Arabs is explained by the intercession of the Anakopia Icon of the Mother of God - "Nikopeia". However, on the territory of Western Georgia, the Tbilisi Emirate was created, subordinate to the Arab Caliph.

As a result of these wars, the dynasty of the rulers of Abazgia - Western Georgia - grew stronger. This contributed to the unification of the region of Laziki (Southern Georgia) with Abazgia into a single West Georgian (Abkhazian) kingdom. In parallel with this process, an independent Abkhazian is also taking shape in Abazgia. Most likely, this happened under the Abkhazian king George II (916 - 960), when, regardless of the interests of Byzantium, an independent episcopal Chkondid see was formed here. By the end of the ninth century the Greek language in worship is gradually giving way to Georgian.

In 1010 - 1029. in Mtskheta - the ancient capital of Georgia - the architect Konstantin Arsukisdze built the majestic Cathedral "Sveti Tskhoveli" ("Life-Giving Pillar") in the name of the Twelve Apostles, considered the mother of Georgian churches. The enthronement of the Georgian Catholicos-Patriarchs has since been performed only in this Cathedral.

Under King David IV the Builder (1089 - 1125), Georgia was finally united - Western (Abkhazia) and Eastern (Kartli). Under him, the Tbilisi Emirate was liquidated, and the capital of the state was transferred from Kutaisi to Tiflis (Tbilisi). At the same time, a church unification took place: the Mtskheta Catholicos-Patriarch extended his spiritual authority to all of Georgia, including Abkhazia, as a result of which he received the title of Catholicos -Patriarch of all Georgia, and the territory of Western Georgia (Abkhazia) became part of the single Mtskheta Patriarchate.

Thus, at the turn of the XI - XII centuries. the position of the Iberian Church has changed. It has become one - the division into the West Georgian and East Georgian Churches has disappeared. King David was actively engaged in the construction of new temples and monasteries. In 1103, he convened a Church Council, at which the Orthodox confession of faith was approved and the canons concerning the behavior of Christians were adopted.

The golden age for Georgia was the time of David's great granddaughter, St. Queen Tamara (1184 - 1213). She expanded the territory of Georgia from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. Works of spiritual, philosophical and literary content were translated into Georgian.

A particular danger to Georgia since the XIII century. began to represent the Mongol-Tatars, especially after they converted to Islam. One of the most cruel for Georgians was the campaign of Timur Tamerlane in 1387, which mercilessly destroyed cities and villages, hundreds of people died.

Under the influence of the ongoing conquests and political unrest at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries. there is a violation of order in church life. In 1290, the Abkhazian Catholicosate separated from the united Georgian Church - it extended its jurisdiction to Western Georgia (the center was in Pitsunda from 1290, and in Kutaisi from 1657). The title of the Primate is the Catholicos-Patriarch of Abkhazia and Imereti.

On the territory of Eastern Georgia, the Eastern Georgian Catholicosate (center - Mtskheta) simultaneously appeared. The title of Primate is the Catholicos-Patriarch of Kartalya, Kakheti and Tiflis.

The long series of disasters for the Georgian Church was continued by the Ottoman Turks and Persians. During the XVII - XVIII centuries. they periodically made predatory and devastating raids on the territory of Transcaucasia.

It is not surprising that until the second half of the XVIII century. there were no theological schools in Georgia. Only in the middle of the XVIII century. in Tiflis and Telavi, theological seminaries were opened, but before they had time to get stronger, they were destroyed by the conquerors.

According to the Georgian historian Platon Iosselian, for fifteen centuries there was not a single reign in the Kingdom of Georgia that was not accompanied by an attack, or ruin, or cruel oppression by the enemies of Christ.

In 1783, King Erekle II of Kartal and Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) formally recognized Russia's patronage over Georgia. As a result of negotiations with Russia, in 1801 Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto, according to which Georgia (first Eastern, and then Western) was finally annexed to Russia.

Prior to the accession of Georgia to the Russian Empire, the Georgian one consisted of 13 dioceses, 7 bishops, 799 churches.

7.3. Georgian Exarchate within the Russian Orthodox Church. Restoration of autocephaly in 1917

After reunification with Russia, the Georgian Orthodox became part of the Russian on the basis of the Exarchate. Western Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch Maxim II (1776-1795) retired to Kyiv in 1795, where he died the same year. From that moment on, the spiritual authority over both Catholicosates passed to the East Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch Anthony II (1788-1810). In 1810, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Church, he was removed, and the Exarch of Iveria, Metropolitan Varlaam (Eristavi) (1811 - 1817) was appointed in his place. Thus, the Georgian became directly dependent on the Russian Orthodox Church and was illegally deprived of its autocephaly.

On the other hand, the presence of Orthodox Georgians under the wing of the Russian Church revived and stabilized the spiritual life in Georgia, which could not be achieved under the previous conditions of constant conquest.

During the existence of the Georgian Exarchate, important positive changes took place: in 1817 a theological seminary was opened in Tiflis, in 1894 a seminary in Kutaisi. Diocesan women's schools and parochial schools were opened.

Since the 1860s The journal "Georgian Spiritual Bulletin" (in Georgian) began to be published. Since 1886, a two-week church-religious magazine "Mtskemsi" ("Shepherd") began to appear in Georgian and Russian, which was published until 1902. From 1891 to 1906 and from 1909 to 1917. The weekly official journal "The Spiritual Herald of the Georgian Exarchate" began to be published in Russian and Georgian languages ​​with a mandatory subscription for the clergy.

Under Exarch Archbishop Paul (Lebedev) (1882 - 1887), the Brotherhood of the Most Holy Theotokos was established, which published spiritual and moral literature in Russian and Georgian, organized religious and moral readings, spiritual concerts, etc. In 1897 it was reorganized into the Missionary Spiritual and Educational Brotherhood.

From the 70s of the XIX century. in Abkhazia, the construction of small stone and wooden churches and monasteries is developing. At the same time, it was here, thanks to the Russian monks who arrived here from the Holy Mount Athos, that the center of Orthodox monasticism was being revived. The fact is that, according to church tradition, the Apostle Simon Kananit was buried on this land, and also in the Middle Ages, Abkhazia was one of the well-known centers of Orthodoxy in Western Georgia.

Having received here a significant plot of land (1327 acres), the Russian monks of the St. Panteleimon Athos Monastery from 1875 - 1876. began to build up this area, as a result of which the monastery was founded. By 1896, the monastery complex was completely built, and by 1900, the New Athos Cathedral was erected. The painting of the monastery and the cathedral was carried out by the Volga icon painters Olovyannikov brothers and a group of Moscow artists led by N. V. Malov and A. V. Serebryakov. The new monastery was named the New Athos Simono-Kananitsky (New Athos), which still exists today.

A special direction in the activities of the Georgian exarchs is missionary work among the highlanders. The preaching of Christianity among the Chechens, Dagestanis and other Caucasian peoples began as early as the 18th century. In 1724 St. John Manglissky spread Orthodoxy in Dagestan by founding the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery in Kizlyar. On his initiative, a special mission was created, headed by Archimandrite Pakhomiy, during the course of which many Ossetians, Ingush and other highlanders were converted to holy Orthodoxy.

In 1771, a permanent Ossetian spiritual commission was created (with its center in Mozdok). In the 90s. 18th century its activities temporarily stopped and was resumed in 1815 under the first exarch Varlaam. On the basis of the Ossetian Spiritual Commission in 1860, the "Society for the Restoration of Christianity in the Caucasus" arose, the main tasks of which were, firstly, the preaching of Orthodoxy, and, secondly, the spiritual enlightenment of the Caucasian population.

By the beginning of the twentieth century. The Georgian Exarchate had 4 eparchies, 1.2 million Orthodox believers, over 2 thousand churches, approx. 30 monasteries.

With the beginning of the revolutionary events of 1917 and the most acute political crisis of the Russian state, a movement for political and ecclesiastical independence began in Georgia.

The entry of the Georgian Church into the Russian Church in 1810 was envisaged on the basis of church autonomy, but soon nothing remained of the autonomous rights of the Georgian Exarchate. From 1811 bishops of Russian nationality were appointed exarchs to Georgia; the church property of Georgia was transferred to the full disposal of the Russian authorities, and so on. The Georgians protested against this situation. The autocephalous sentiments of Orthodox Georgians especially intensified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. during the work of the Pre-Council Presence (1906-1907), convened for the purpose of preparing and studying a draft of the forthcoming reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church.

On March 12, 1917, shortly after the overthrow of the emperor's power in Russia, Orthodox Georgians independently decided to restore the autocephaly of their Church. The Georgian church hierarchs informed the Exarch of Georgia Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvensky) (1915-1917) that from now on he ceases to be an Exarch.

The church administration of Georgia transmitted its decision to Petrograd to the Provisional Government, which recognized the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but only as a national Church - without geographical boundaries, - thus leaving the Russian parishes in Georgia under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Being dissatisfied with this decision, the Georgians filed a protest to the Provisional Government, where they said that the recognition of the nature of national, and not territorial, autocephaly for the Georgian Church, strongly contradicts church canons. The autocephaly of the Georgian Church must be recognized on a territorial basis within the ancient Georgian Catholicosate.

In September 1917, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Kirion (Sadzaglishvili) (1917 - 1918) was elected in Georgia, after which the Georgians began to nationalize religious and educational institutions.

The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Tikhon, opposed the act of the Georgian hierarchs, declaring that it was not canonical.

The Georgians, represented by the new Catholicos-Patriarch Leonid (Okropiridze) (1918-1921), declared that Georgia, having united with Russia more than 100 years ago under a single political authority, never showed a desire to unite with it in church terms. The abolition of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church was a violent act of the secular authorities, contrary to church canons. Catholicos Leonid and the Georgian clergy were completely confident in their rightness and the immutability of observing church rules.

As a result, in 1918 there was a break in prayerful communion between the Georgian and Russian Churches, which lasted 25 years. Only the election of Patriarch Sergius of Moscow and All Russia served as a good pretext for the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Callistratus (Tsintsadze) (1932-1952) to restore relations with the Russian Orthodox Church on the issue of autocephaly.

On October 31, 1943, the reconciliation of the two Churches took place. In the ancient cathedral cathedral of Tbilisi, the Divine Liturgy was performed, uniting in prayerful communion the Catholicos Kallistrat and the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Anthony of Stavropol. After that, the Holy Synod of the Russian Church, chaired by Patriarch Sergius, issued a ruling, according to which, firstly, prayerful and Eucharistic communion between the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches was recognized as restored, and, secondly, it was decided to ask the Catholicos of Georgia to provide Russian parishes in the Georgian SSR to preserve in their liturgical practice those orders and customs that they inherited from the Russian Church.

7.4. The current state of the Georgian Orthodox Church

Monasticism and monasteries. The spreaders of monasticism in Georgia were 13 Syrian ascetics, headed by St. John of Zedazne, sent here in the 6th century. from Antioch, St. Simeon the Stylite. It was they who founded one of the first monasteries in Georgia - David Gareji. The most ancient monasteries of Georgia also include Motsameti (VIII century), Gelati (XII century), where the kings of the Georgian kingdom are buried, Shio-Mgvime (XIII century).

Since 980, the Iberian Monastery, founded by St. John Iver. The monk asked the Byzantine emperor for a small monastery of St. Clement on Athos, where the monastery was subsequently founded. The Iberian monks were honored with the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God, named after the Iberian monastery, and after its location above the monastery gates, the Vratarnitsa (Portaitissa).

In 1083, the Byzantine feudal lord Grigory Bakurianis founded the Petritson Monastery (now Bachkovsky) on the territory of Bulgaria - one of the largest centers of medieval Georgian culture and monasticism. Through this monastery, close cultural ties were established between Byzantium and Georgia. Translation and scientific-theological activity was actively going on in the monastery. At the end of the XIV century. The monastery was captured by the Ottoman Turks and destroyed it. From the end of the 16th century the monastery was taken over by the Greeks, and in 1894 the monastery was transferred to the Bulgarian Church.

Of the saints of the Georgian Orthodox Church, the most famous are St. equal to ap. Nina (d. 335) (Comm. January 14), Martyr Abo of Tbilisi (VIII century), St. Hilarion the Wonderworker (d. 882), ascetic of the monastery of St. David of Gareji (Comm. 19 November), St. Gregory, rector of the Khandzo monastery (d. 961) (Comm. 5 October), St. Euthymius of Iberia (d. 1028) (Comm. 13 May), Queen Ketevan of Georgia (1624), who died at the hands of the Persian Shah Abbas (Comm. 13 September).

Of the martyrs (although not canonized saints) of recent times, the Georgian theologian Archim. Grigory Peradze. He was born in 1899 in Tiflis in the family of a priest. He studied at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Berlin, then at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Bonn. For the work "The Beginning of Monasticism in Georgia" he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He taught at the University of Bonn and at Oxford. In 1931 he accepted monasticism and the priesthood. During the Great Patriotic War, he ended up in the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died in a gas chamber.

Management of the Georgian Orthodox Church and modern life. According to the Regulations on the Administration of the Georgian Orthodox Church (1945), legislative and supreme judicial power belongs to the Church Council, which consists of clergy and laity and is convened by the Catholicos-Patriarch as needed.

The Catholicos-Patriarch is elected by the Church Council by secret ballot. Under the Catholicos-Patriarch, there is a Holy Synod consisting of the ruling bishops and the vicar of the Catholicos. The full title of the Primate of the Georgian Church is “His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi.”

The diocese is led by a bishop. The dioceses are divided into deanery districts.

The parish is governed by the Parish Council (it includes members of the clergy and representatives from the laity, elected by the Parish Assembly for 3 years). The chairman of the Parish Council is the rector of the church.

The largest centers for the training of Orthodox clergy are the Mtskheta Theological Seminary (operating since 1969), the Tbilisi Theological Academy (operating since 1988), and the Gelati Theological Academy.

Divine services in the Georgian Church are performed in Georgian and Church Slavonic languages. In the Sukhumi-Abkhaz diocese, where there are Greek parishes, services are also performed in Greek.

Georgian is a member of the World Council of Churches (since 1962), participated in all five All-Christian World Congresses (second half of the 20th century).

At the Pan-Orthodox Conferences, the Georgian Orthodox Church did not take its rightful place, since the Patriarchate of Constantinople treated its autocephaly ambiguously. In the 1930s The Ecumenical Throne recognized the autocephaly of the Georgian Church, and later took a more restrained position: it began to consider it autonomous. This follows from the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarchate invited only two representatives of the Georgian Church to the First Pan-Orthodox Conference in 1961, and not three (according to the established procedure, autocephalous Churches sent three representatives-bishops, and autonomous ones two). At the Third Pan-Orthodox Conference, the Church of Constantinople believed that the Georgian Church should occupy only 12th place among other Local Orthodox Churches (after the Polish one). The representative of the Georgian Church, Bishop Ilia of Shemokmed (now Catholicos-Patriarch) insisted that the decision of the Patriarchate of Constantinople be revised. Only in 1988, as a result of negotiations between the Constantinople and Georgian Churches, the Ecumenical Throne again began to recognize the Georgian Church as autocephalous, but in the diptych of the Local Orthodox Churches put it in 9th place (after the Bulgarian Church).

In the diptych of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Church has always occupied and continues to occupy the 6th place.

From 1977 to the present, the Georgian Orthodox Church has been headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II (in the world - Irakli Shiolashvili-Gudushauri). He was born in 1933. Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II continued the revival of the Georgian Church begun by his predecessors. Under him, the number of dioceses increased to 27; the ancient Orthodox Gelati Academy, seminaries and the Theological Academy in Tbilisi again turned into centers of education, with their theologians, translators, scribes and researchers; the construction of a new cathedral in the name of the Holy Trinity in Tbilisi is nearing completion, the main icon for which was painted by His Holiness; edited and published translations of the Gospel and the entire Bible in modern Georgian.

In October 2002, the most important event in the life of the Georgian Orthodox Church took place: a concordat was adopted - “The Constitutional Agreement between the State of Georgia and the Autocephalous Orthodox Apostolic Church of Georgia” - this is a unique document for the Orthodox world, covering almost all aspects of the life of the Church with its ancient canonical dispensation in a modern Orthodox state. In addition to the "Law on freedom of conscience" the state and confirm the willingness to cooperate on the basis of respect for the principle of independence from each other. The state guarantees the observance of church sacraments, recognizes marriages registered by the Church. The property of the Church is now protected by law, its property (Orthodox churches, monasteries, land plots) cannot be alienated. Church valuables stored in museums and depositories are recognized as the property of the Church. The twelfth holidays become holidays and weekends, and Sunday cannot be declared a working day.

The canonical territory of the Georgian Orthodox Church is Georgia. The episcopate of the Georgian Orthodox Church has 24 bishops (2000). The number of believers is up to 4 million people (1996).

Chapter I. Georgian Orthodox Church

The jurisdiction of the Georgian Orthodox Church extends to Georgia. However, “it is customary in the Georgian Church to believe,” testifies Metropolitan of Sukhumi-Abkhazia (now Catholicos-Patriarch) Ilia, in his answer of August 18, 1973 to the letter of inquiry from the author of this work, “that the jurisdiction of the Georgian Church extends not only to the borders of Georgia, but to all Georgians, wherever they live. An indication of this should be considered the presence in the title of the Primate of the word "Catholicos".

Georgia is a state located between the Black and Caspian Seas. From the west it is washed by the waters of the Black Sea, it has common borders with Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

Area - 69.700 sq. km.

Population - 5.201.000 (in 1985).

The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi (1.158.000 inhabitants in 1985).

History of the Georgian Orthodox Church

baptism of Georgians; concerns of the rulers of Georgia about the structure of the Church; the question of autocephaly; the ruin of the Church by the Mohammedans and Persians; defenders of the Orthodox people- clergy and monasticism; Catholic propaganda; establishment of the AbkhazCatholicosate; appeal for help to united Russia

The first preachers of the Christian faith on the territory of Georgia (Iveria), according to legend, were the holy apostles Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Zealot. “We think that these traditions,” writes Gobron (Mikhail) Sabinin, a researcher of the ancient history of his Church, “have the same right to be heard and taken into account as the traditions of other Churches (for example, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, etc.) , and that the fact of the direct apostolic foundation of the Georgian Church can be proved on the basis of these traditions with the same degree of probability with which it is proved in relation to other Churches, on the basis of similar facts. One of the Georgian chronicles tells the following about the embassy of the holy Apostle Andrew to Iberia: “After the Lord ascended into Heaven, the Apostles with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, gathered in the Zion room, where they awaited the coming of the promised Comforter. Here the Apostles cast lots as to where to go with the preaching of the Word of God. During the throwing of lots, the Blessed Virgin Mary said to the Apostles: “I wish I also accept the lot with you, so that I also have a country that God Himself is pleased to give Me.” Lots were cast, according to which the Blessed Virgin went to the inheritance of Iberia. The Lady with great joy accepted Her inheritance and was already ready to go there with the word of the gospel, when just before Her departure, the Lord Jesus appeared to Her and said: “My mother, I will not reject Your lot and I will not leave Your people without participation in heavenly good; but send the First-Called Andrew instead of Yourself to Your inheritance. And send with him Your image, which will be depicted by attaching the board prepared for that to Your face. That image will replace You and serve as the guardian of Your people forever. After this divine appearance, the Blessed Virgin Mary called the holy Apostle Andrew to Herself and conveyed to him the words of the Lord, to which the Apostle only replied: “The holy will of Your Son and Yours will be forever.” Then the Most Holy One washed Her face, demanded a board, put it to Her face, and the image of the Lady with Her Eternal Son in her arms was reflected on the board.

On the verge of the 1st-2nd centuries, according to the testimony of the historian Baronius, the Tauride Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, sent into exile by Emperor Trajan to Chersonesos, “led to the gospel truth and salvation” of local residents. “A little later than this time,” adds the historian of the Georgian Church, Plato Iosselian, “there arose in the Colchis Church the natives of Colchis, Palm, Bishop of Pontus, and his son, the heretic Marcion, against whose delusions Tertullian armed himself.”

In subsequent years, Christianity was supported "firstly ... by Christian missionaries who came out of the border Christian provinces ... secondly ... frequent clashes between Georgians and Christian Greeks favored and introduced the pagan Georgians to Christian teachings."

The mass baptism of Georgians took place at the beginning of the 4th century thanks to the Equal-to-the-Apostles labors of St. Nina (born in Cappadocia), to whom the Mother of God appeared in a dream vision, handed over a cross made of vines and said: “Go to the Iberian country and preach the Gospel; I will be your patroness." Waking up, Saint Nina kissed the miraculously received cross and tied it up with her hair.

Arriving in Georgia, St. Nina soon attracted the attention of the people with her holy life, as well as many miracles, in particular, the healing of the queen from illness. When King Mirian (O 42), having been in danger while hunting, called for the help of the Christian God and received this help, having safely returned home, he accepted Christianity with his whole house and himself became a preacher of the teachings of Christ among his people. In 326 Christianity was proclaimed the state religion. King Mirian built a temple in the name of the Savior in the capital of the state - Mtskheta, and on the advice of St. Nina sent envoys to St. Constantine the Great, asking him to send a bishop and clergy. Bishop John, sent by Saint Constantine, and the Greek priests continued the conversion of the Georgians. The successor of the famous king Mirian, King Bakar (342-364), also worked hard in this field. Under him, some liturgical books were translated from Greek into Georgian. The foundation of the Tsilkan diocese is associated with his name.

Georgia reached its power in the 5th century under King Vakhtang I Gorgaslan, who ruled the country for fifty-three years (446-499). Successfully defending the independence of his homeland, he did a lot for his Church. Under him, the Mtskheta temple, which collapsed at the beginning of the 5th century, was rebuilt, dedicated to the Twelve Apostles.

With the transfer of the capital of Georgia from Mtskheta to Tiflis, Vakhtang I laid the foundation of the famous Sioni Cathedral, which exists to this day, in the new capital.

Under King Vakhtang I, according to Georgian historians, 12 episcopal departments were opened.

By the care of his mother Sandukhta - the widow of King Archil I (413 - 434) - around the year 440, the books of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were first translated into Georgian.

In the middle of the 6th century, a number of churches were built in Georgia and an archbishop's see was established in Pitsunda.

Somewhat difficult due to the lack of necessary documents is the question of the time when the Georgian Orthodox Church received autocephaly.

The well-known Greek canonist of the 12th century, Patriarch Theodore Balsamon of Antioch, commenting on Canon 2 of the Second Ecumenical Council, says: “The decision of the Council of Antioch honored the Archbishop of Iberia with independence. They say that in the days of Mr. Peter, His Holiness Patriarch Theopolis, i.e. Great Antioch, there was a conciliar order that the Church of Iberia, then subordinate to the Patriarch of Antioch, be free and independent (autocephalous).”

This vague phrase of Balsamon is understood in different ways. Some tend to think that the definition was under Patriarch Peter II of Antioch (5th century), others - under Patriarch Peter III (1052-1056). Hence, the announcement of autocephaly is attributed to different periods. For example, the Locum Tenens of the Moscow Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Pimen of Krutitsy and Kolomna, in his message dated August 10, 1970 addressed to Patriarch Athenagoras (correspondence on the occasion of the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America) wrote that the independence of the Church of Iveria "was established by her Mother - the Church of Antioch - in 467 (see Balsamon's interpretation of Canon 2 of the Second Ecumenical Council about this)." The former Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Jerome, on the issue of the time of the proclamation of autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church, is inclined to think that in 556 the decision of this issue by Antioch

The Synod was still not final, and in 604 this decision was recognized by other Patriarchs. “The fact,” he wrote, “that the autocephalous status of the Church of Iberia was not recognized by all the other Holy Churches until 604, is clear evidence that the decision of the Synod of Antioch was nothing more than a proposal on this issue and temporary approval, without which , however, secession of any part of the jurisdiction of the Patriarchal Throne would never be the object of attempts. In any case, we agree with the opinion that the decision of the Synod in Antioch and the recognition by the rest of the Churches of the autocephalous status of the Church of Iberia, unjustifiably belated for unknown reasons, seem historically completely unclear.

According to the calendar of the Greek Orthodox Church for 1971, the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church was proclaimed by the Sixth Ecumenical Council, and "since 1010

the head of the Georgian Church bears the following title: His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. The first Catholicos-Patriarch was Melchizedek I (1010-1045).” And Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshey) of Brussels and Belgium declares: “The Georgian Orthodox Church, which has been dependent on the Patriarchate of Antioch since the 5th century, has been autocephalous since the 8th century, and became Patriarch in 1012, and since then its head has the traditional title of “Catholicos- Patriarch”, was deprived of autocephaly in 1811 by a unilateral act of the Russian imperial power, after Georgia was included in Russia.

Georgian church leaders (Bishop Kirion - later Catholicos-Patriarch, Hierodeacon Elijah - now Catholicos-Patriarch) believe that until 542 the Mtskheta-Iberian Primates were confirmed in their rank and rank by the Patriarch of Antioch, but since that time the Iberian Church was a charter of the Greek Emperor Justinian recognized as autocephalous. This was done with the consent of Patriarch Mina of Constantinople, as well as all the other Eastern First Hierarchs, and was approved by a special decision of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which decreed: equal to the Patriarchs and have command over the archbishops, metropolitans and bishops in the entire Georgian region.

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia David V (1977) on the issue of the time of declaring autocephaly of the Georgian Church expresses the same opinion as the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. “In the 5th century,” he says, “under the famous king Vakhtang Gorgaslan, the founder of Tbilisi, autocephaly was granted to our Church.”

Priest K. Tsintsadze, specifically studying the issue of the autocephaly of his Church, as if summarizing everything stated, claims that the Georgian Church was almost independent since the time of Tsar Mirian, but received full autocephaly only in the XI century from the Council of metropolitans, bishops and noble Antiochians, convened by Patriarch Peter III of Antioch. Here are his words: “The council chaired by Patriarch Peter, taking into account ... the fact that a) Georgia was “enlightened” by the preaching of the two Apostles, b) since the time of Tsar Mirian it has been ruled by almost independent archbishops, c) since the time of Tsar Vakhtang Gorgaslan ( 499); Georgia, which, however, did not entail any special unrest, f) from the time of Patriarch (Antioch. - K.S.) Theophylact (750), the Georgians received the formal right to appoint themselves Catholicos at the Councils of their bishops in Georgia - and that the Georgian Catholicos were worried mainly intervention

Patriarchal exarchs and abbots in the affairs of their Church”, finally, also taking into account the fact that “modern Georgia is the only Orthodox state in the East (moreover, it is quite powerful and well-organized), therefore it does not want to endure extraneous guardianship ... granted the Georgian Church full autocephaly. “None of the subsequent Patriarchs of Theopolis,” concludes Priest K. Tsintsadze, “disputed this independence from the Georgian Church, and starting from the eleventh century (more precisely, from 1053), she enjoyed this independence uninterruptedly until 1811.” A generalizing judgment on the issue of the time of obtaining the autocephaly of the Georgian Church is also the opinion of the Metropolitan of Sukhumi-Abkhazia (now the Catholicos-Patriarch) Ilia. In the above-mentioned letter dated August 18, 1973, he says: “Autocephaly is a complex issue and requires a lot of painstaking work with manuscripts, most of which have not yet been published... The history of the Georgian Church says that the official act of granting autocephaly to the Georgian Church dates back to the middle of the 5th century, at the time of the primacy of Patriarch Peter II of Antioch (Knafei) and the Georgian Catholicos-Archbishop Peter I. Of course, the Church of Antioch could not immediately grant all the rights of the Georgian Autocephalous Church. Conditions were set: the commemoration of the name of the Patriarch of Antioch at divine services, the annual material tribute from the Georgian Church, the taking of the Holy Myrrh from Antioch, etc. All these issues were resolved in subsequent times. Therefore, historians differ in their opinions regarding the time of granting autocephaly.

So, the Georgian Church received autocephaly in the 5th century from the Church of Antioch, under whose legal subordination it was. The Georgian Church has never been legally subordinate to the Church of Constantinople. On the Black Sea coast of Georgia, after the preaching of the holy apostles Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Zealot, many adopted Christianity; dioceses were even founded here. In the acts of the First Ecumenical Council, among other bishops, Stratofil, Bishop of Pitsunda, and Domnos, Bishop of Trebizond, are mentioned. There is evidence from subsequent centuries that the dioceses of Western Georgia for some time were subject to the throne of Constantinople.

What was the situation in Eastern Georgia?

King Mirian, after the sermon and miracles of St. Nina, having believed in Christ, sends a delegation to Constantinople with a request to send the clergy. Saint Mirian could not avoid Constantinople and the emperor, since this was not only a religious question, but also an act of great political significance. Who arrived from Constantinople? There are two opinions. 1. According to the chronicle “Kartlis tskhovrebo” and the history of Vakhushti, Bishop John, two priests and three deacons arrived from Constantinople. 2. According to the testimony of Ephraim the Minor Philosopher (XI century) and at the direction of the Ruiss-Urbnis Cathedral (1103), the Patriarch of Antioch Eustathius arrived in Georgia at the order of Emperor Constantine, who installed the first bishop in Georgia and performed the first baptism of Georgians.

Most likely, these two information complement each other. It can be assumed that Patriarch Eustathius of Antioch arrived in Constantinople, where he received appropriate instructions from the emperor and ordained Bishop John, priests and deacons. Then he arrived in Georgia and founded the Church. Since that time, the Georgian Church entered the jurisdiction of the See of Antioch.”

It is natural to believe that from the time of autocephalous existence, the Iberian Church, headed and led by the Georgians, should have entered a phase of gradual improvement. However, this did not happen, because. Georgia was forced already at the dawn of its independent church life to begin a centuries-old bloody struggle against Islam, the bearer of which was primarily the Arabs.

In the VIII century, the whole country was subjected to terrible devastation by the Arabs, led by Murvan. The rulers of Eastern Imereti, the Argveti princes David and Konstantin, courageously met the advance detachments of Murvan and were about to defeat him. But Murvan moved all his forces against them. After the battle, the brave princes were taken prisoner, subjected to severe torture and thrown off a cliff into the river Rion (Comm. 2 October).

By the 10th century, Islam had been planted in a number of places in Georgia, but not among the Georgians themselves. According to the priest Nikandr Pokrovsky, referring to the message of the Arab writer Masudi, in 931 the Ossetians destroyed their Christian churches and adopted Mohammedanism.

In the 11th century, countless hordes of Seljuk Turks invaded Georgia, destroying churches, monasteries, settlements and the Orthodox Georgians themselves on their way.

The position of the Iberian Church changed only with the accession to the royal throne of David IV the Builder (1089-1125), an intelligent, enlightened and God-fearing ruler. David IV put the church life in order, built temples and monasteries. In 1103, he convened a Council, at which the Orthodox confession of faith was approved and the canons concerning the behavior of Christians were adopted. Under him, “the long silent mountains and valleys of Georgia resounded again with the solemn ringing of church bells, and instead of sobs, songs of cheerful villagers were heard.”

In his personal life, according to Georgian chronicles, King David was distinguished by high Christian piety. His favorite pastime was reading spiritual books. He never parted with the Holy Gospel. The Georgians reverently buried their pious king in the Gelati monastery he created.

The zenith of Georgia's glory was the age of the famous great-granddaughter of David, the holy Queen Tamara (1184-1213). She was able not only to preserve what was under her predecessors, but also to expand her power from the Black to the Caspian Sea. The legendary legends of Georgia attribute almost all the remarkable monuments of the past of their people to Tamara, including many towers and churches on the tops of the mountains. Under her, a large number of enlightened people, orators, theologians, philosophers, historians, artists and poets appeared in the country. Works of spiritual, philosophical and literary content were translated into Georgian. However, with the death of Tamara, everything changed - she, as it were, took the happy years of her homeland with her to the grave.

The Mongol-Tatars became a thunderstorm for Georgia, especially after they converted to Islam. In 1387, Tamerlane entered Kartalinia, bringing destruction and devastation with him. “Georgia then presented a terrible sight,” writes priest N. Pokrovsky. - Cities and villages - in ruins; corpses lay in heaps in the streets: the stench and stench of their decay infected the air and drove people away from their former dwellings, and only predatory animals and bloodthirsty birds feasted at such a meal. The fields were trampled and scorched, the people fled through the forests and mountains, and a human voice was not heard for a hundred miles. Those who escaped the sword died of hunger and cold, for a merciless fate befell not only the inhabitants themselves, but also all their property. It seemed that

a fiery river rushed through sad Georgia. Even after that, its sky is more than once illuminated by the glow of Mongolian fires, and the smoking blood of its ill-fated population marks the path of the formidable and cruel ruler of Samarkand in a long strip.

Following the Mongols, the Ottoman Turks brought suffering to the Georgians, the destruction of the shrines of their Church and the forced conversion of the peoples of the Caucasus to Islam. The Dominican John of Lucca, who visited the Caucasus around 1637, spoke of the life of its peoples in the following way: “The Circassians speak Circassian and Turkish; some of them are Mohammedans, others of the Greek religion. But Mohammedans are more ... Every day the number of Muslims is increasing.

A long series of disasters suffered by Georgia during its 1500-year history ended with a devastating invasion of

1795 by the Persian Shah Aga Mohammed. Among other cruelties, the shah ordered on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord to seize all the clergy of Tiflis and throw them from a high bank into the Kura River. In terms of cruelty, this execution is equal to the bloody massacre committed in 1617, on Easter night, over the Gareji monks: by order of the Persian Shah Abbas, six thousand monks were hacked to death within a few moments. “The Kingdom of Georgia,” writes Plato Iosselian, “in the course of fifteen centuries does not represent almost a single reign that would not be marked either by an attack, or ruin, or cruel oppression by the enemies of Christ.”

In times of distress for Iveria, monks and white clergy, strong in faith and hope in God, who themselves came out of the bowels of the Georgian people, acted as intercessors for ordinary people. Sacrificing their lives, they courageously defended the interests of their people. When, for example, the Turks invading Georgia seized the priest Theodore in Quelta and, under threat of death, demanded that he show them the place where the Georgian king was, this Georgian Susanin decided: “I will not sacrifice eternal life for the temporary, I will not be a traitor to the king ”and led the enemies into the impenetrable mountain jungle.

Another example of bold intercession for his people before the Muslim enslavers was shown by his act of Catholicos Domentius (XVIII century). Motivated by deep love for the holy Orthodox faith and for his fatherland, he appeared before the Turkish sultan in Constantinople with a bold intercession for his Church and for his people. The courageous defender was slandered at the Sultan's court, sent into exile on one of the Greek islands, where he died.

“It is hardly possible to find in the history of mankind any political or ecclesiastical society,” writes Bishop Kirion, “that would have made more sacrifices and shed more blood in defense of the Orthodox faith and the people than did the Georgian clergy and especially monasticism. Due to the enormous influence of Georgian monasticism on the fate of the native Church, its history has become an integral and most important part of Georgian church-historical life, its valuable adornment, without which the history of subsequent centuries would have been colorless, incomprehensible, lifeless.

But the Arabs, Turks and Persians inflicted mainly physical blows on Orthodox Georgia. At the same time, she was in danger from the other side - from the Catholic missionaries, who set the goal of converting Georgians to Catholicism and subordinating them to the Pope of Rome.

Starting from the 13th century - from the day Pope Gregory IX sent Dominican monks to Georgia in response to the request of Queen Rusudan (daughter of Queen Tamar) to provide military assistance in the fight against the Mongols - until the first decades of the 20th century, persistent Catholic propaganda was carried out in Georgia. “The popes - Nicholas IV, Alexander VI, Urban VIII and others,” writes Meliton Fomin-Tsagareli, “sent various admonishing messages to the Georgian kings, metropolitans and nobles, seeking to somehow persuade the Georgians to their religion, and Pope Eugene IV has finally he imagined that at the Council of Florence the desire of the Roman pontiffs would be realized by using the strongest convictions over the Georgian metropolitan; but all attempts by the Catholics to convince the Georgians to recognize their religion were in vain.

Even in 1920, a representative of the Catholic Church arrived in Tiflis, who proposed to Catholicos Leonid to accept the primacy of the pope. Despite the fact that his proposal was rejected, JB 1921 the Vatican appointed Bishop Moriondo as its representative for the Caucasus and Crimea. At the end of the same year, Rome appointed Bishop Smets to this position. Together with him, a large number of Jesuits arrived in Georgia, who roamed the ancient country, recommending themselves as archaeologists and paleographers, but in fact trying to find favorable ground for spreading the ideas of papism. Attempts by the Vatican and this time ended unsuccessfully. In 1924, Bishop Smeta left Tiflis and went to Rome.

The establishment of two Catholicosates in Georgia in the 14th century in connection with the division of the country into two kingdoms - Eastern and Western - was also a violation of the order of church life. One of the Catholicoses had his residence in Mtskheta at the Cathedral of Sveti Tskhoveli and was called Kartalinsky, Kakhetian and Tiflis, and the other - first in Bichvint (in Abkhazia) at the Mother of God Cathedral, erected in the VI century by Emperor Justinian, and then, from 1657, in Kutaisi was called at first (since 1455) Abkhaz and Imereti, and after 1657 - Imereti and Abkhaz. When in 1783 the king of Kartalinsky and Kakhetian Heraclius II formally recognized the protection of Russia over Georgia, the Imeretino-Abkhazian Catholicos Maxim (Maxime II) retired to Kyiv, where he died in 1795. The supreme administration of the Church of Western Georgia (Imereti, Guria, Mingrelia and Abkhazia) passed to the Metropolitan of Gaenat.

The difficult situation of the Orthodox Georgians forced them to ask for help from the same faith Russia. Beginning in the 15th century, these appeals did not stop until the accession of Georgia to Russia. In response to the request of the last kings - George XII (1798 -1800) in Eastern Georgia and Solomon II (1793 -1811) in Western - on September 12, 1801, Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto, by which Georgia - first Eastern, and then Western - was finally annexed to Russia. “The delight of the Georgians,” writes Bishop Kirion, “when receiving this manifesto of accession is indescribable.

Everything was suddenly reborn and came to life in Georgia... Everyone rejoiced at the accession of Georgia to Russia.”

The memory of the courageous thousand-year struggle of the Georgian people with their many enemies is sung in Georgian folk tales, in the work of the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli (XII century), in the poems of King Archil II of Imereti and Kakheti (1647-1713).