It is not possible to address a subject such as the spread of Christianity amongst the Georgians without, at the same time, describing the geographical area occupied by the Georgian population, both in the past and at present. This is absolutely essential, as the borders of the unified Georgian state—neither now, nor in the past, nor at any time—have ever encompassed all the regions inhabited by the indigenous Georgian population.
It is well known that during the first three centuries of Christianity, the principle of a metropolitan see did not yet exist within the organisation of the Church. Therefore, when speaking of a Local National Church from that period, we must not understand it in the current sense of the term, that is, a Church which has several suffragan dioceses under its jurisdiction and is contained within the borders of a nation state. ‘We recall that the very notion of “jurisdiction” was foreign to the vocabulary of the Christian Church during the first three centuries’1 Every Christian community situated within a clearly defined ethnic and geographical framework and led by an autocephalous bishop, in fact, constituted a National Local Church. “All bishops were equal amongst themselves, for such were the Holy Apostles, to whom the Saviour Jesus Christ entrusted the power to teach, sanctify and govern”2. Therefore, when we set out to study ‘The Spread of Christianity among the Georgians in the 1st–3rd Centuries’, we must refer to all Georgian Christian communities, regardless of whether they were situated within or outside the borders of the Georgian state.
Thus, following this brief introduction, our study will proceed to examine the geographical location of the Georgian state – Iberia (Ι’βηρια)3 – during the 1st–3rd centuries, and by presenting historical evidence attesting to the existence of the first Christian communities in this territory as early as the apostolic period.
In the 1st–3rd centuries AD, the borders of Iberia shifted to a greater or lesser extent. However, for the most part, we can say that to the west they encompassed the Black Sea coast, whilst to the east they extended not far from the Caspian Sea, such that the neighbouring kingdom of Albania often fell under Iberia’s influence;4 to the south, the Georgian state shared a border with Armenia, whilst to the north, the Alans and Sarmatians 5 fell within the sphere of influence of the Georgian kings. Thus, the Roman chronicler Pliny (23–79 AD), whilst in the town of Aphsar (now Gonio, in south-western Georgia, near the border with Turkey), where a Roman military unit was stationed at the time, wrote that ‘beyond these mountains lies Iberia’6
Another chronicler, Arianes, who, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (131–137 AD ), travelled along the Black Sea coast, wrote that the inhabitants of the region to the east of the Black Sea were subject to the King of Iberia, Pharsman 7.
A tombstone belonging to Amazasp, the brother of the Georgian king Mithridates III (2nd century AD), was discovered in Rome. The inscription on this stone also tells us about the geographical location of the Georgian state: “Amazasp, the renowned son of a king and brother of King Mithridates, whose native land lies at the gates of the Caspian Sea (emphasis added), an Iberian and son of an Iberian, is buried here in the holy city” 8.
To the south, Georgia has always had territories disputed with Armenia. Consequently, throughout history, those provinces were ruled either by Georgian kings or by Armenian kings. However, as confirmed by both Georgian and Armenian chroniclers, the indigenous population of the region, which encompassed the southern tributaries of the River Kura, has always been Georgian 9. For example, the Georgian source The History of Kartli states that Georgia was granted the region stretching from the south to the mountain ridge from which the rivers flow northwards and are tributaries of the River Kura 10.
It is well known that the indigenous people of the territories north-east of the Black Sea, lying between the Egrisistkali River 11 and the Roman fortress of Nikopsia 12, have always been Georgians. Archaeological discoveries show that, as early as the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the first millennium BC, this region, along with the rest of western Georgia and almost the entire south-eastern part of the Black Sea, constituted a single cultural and ethnic area over the millennia. This civilisation, known as the Colchian culture, is easily recognised by specialists through its weapons of war, copper tools, and metal and clay vessels, all made from a specific material not found elsewhere, which clearly proves the existence of the same, unique civilisation throughout the aforementioned territory 13.
The fact that the entire north-eastern part of the Black Sea was populated by Georgians is also attested to by countless Georgian and foreign historical sources. Thus, one of the earliest Georgian historical sources (The Chronicle of the Georgian Kings) states explicitly that this territory was inhabited by Georgians from the very beginning: ‘And to Egros (one of the mythological ancestors of the Georgians) was given the land by the sea, and its boundaries were defined: to the east, the Little Mountain, which is now called Lihi, 14 to the north, the River of Little Khazaria 15, where the edge of the Caucasus Mountains ends”16.
The Roman chronicler Strabo, in his work Geography, written in the first half of the 1st century AD, wrote: “Among the peoples dwelling in Dioscuria 17 [...] are the Soani [...], who are the most warlike and powerful of all the others. In any case, they rule over all the peoples living around them, occupying the peaks of the Caucasus that rise above Dioscuria. They have a king and a council of 300 men. As is said, they can mobilise an army of up to 200,000 men [...]. Some also call them Iberians, just like the others who live in other parts18".
We should note that the Soans (or, according to other sources, the Suans) or Svans, as they are known in Georgian, are one of the Georgian ethnic groups still in existence today, inhabiting the mountains of north-western Georgia, including the towns of Mestia, Lentehi, Lecihumi and Tsageri. The information provided by the chronicler Strabo is particularly significant because he defines the Svans and the Iberians as one and the same people.
Furthermore, according to the account of another Roman chronicler, Claudius Ptolemy (1st–2nd centuries AD), the territory that currently encompasses the towns of Gagra and Bicivinta was inhabited by the Colchi-Svans 19. Furthermore, an Armenian source, the Armenian Geography (7th century AD), mentions that the territory between the present-day towns of Bicivinta and Adler was inhabited by the Svani 20.
We note an important detail: that this territory to the north-east of the Black Sea was, for several centuries running, periodically under Roman occupation and, subsequently, Byzantine rule.
Having identified the geographical area covered by the Kingdom of Iberia and the Georgian population in the Caucasus during the first three centuries, we shall now demonstrate that the indigenous population of the Roman provinces of Cappadocia and Pontus was also Georgian.
The fact that the central part of Asia Minor, known by the place name Cappadocia and encompassing the territory between the Taurus Mountains to the south and the Pontic Mountains to the north, between the River Halys (now the Kizil-Irmak) to the west and close to the source of the Euphrates to the east, was inhabited by one of the oldest Georgian tribes, known as the Meshi (21), was well known to both the ancient and later worlds. The name of this Georgian tribe, in the writings of Roman, Greek or Jewish chroniclers, is found with slight variations—either ‘Mesehi’, ‘Mosohi’ or ‘Meshini’—and in the Georgian language this tribe is still known as the ‘Meshi’.
Thus, the Roman chronicler of Jewish origin, Josephus Flavius (c. 39–95 AD ), in his work entitled The Jewish History, provides us with interesting information about the origins of various peoples, including the Georgians – the Iberians and the Meshi – who are descended from the grandsons of the biblical patriarch Noah: ‘From Ioannus came the Ionians and all the Greeks. Thobelos also settled the Thobelians, who are now called the Iberians; and the Mosochians, founded by Mosochus, the Cappadocians (n.) have only recently been so named, whilst a sign of their ancient name is evident; for there is still a city among them called Mazaka, thus indicating to those capable of understanding that the entire nation was once so named”22 (From John come the Ionians and all the Greeks. Thobel gave rise to the Thobelians, who are now called the Iberians; the Mosohians descend from Mosoh; more recently they have been called Cappadocians, and the trace of their ancient name is evident in the fact that even today they have a city called Mazaka, which shows to those capable of understanding that, in the past, the entire nation was so called).
Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch from 324 to 330, in his writings, in turn, confirms that the indigenous population of Cappadocia was made up of Georgians – the Meshi: ‘Έγένοντο οϋν τῶ Νῶε τρεῖς υιοί, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; setting out from the mountains of Taurus and Amman, they travelled and went as far as the river Tanais in Asia, and in Europe as far as the Gadeiri. These are the tribes: Gamer, who founded the Gamarai—now known as the Galatians; Agod, who founded the Magodai—now known as the Scythians … Obel, son of Theobelus, founded the people now known as the Iberians; Osoch, son of Meschenaeus, founded the people now known as the Cappadocians23 (emphasis added) (Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth; they settled in territories stretching from the Taurus and Amman Mountains and reached as far as the Tanaidos River in Asia, and as far as Gadir in Europe. [Their descendants] are as follows: Gamer, from whom the Gamarenians descended and who are today called the Galatians; Agod, from whom the Magozes descended and who are today called the Scythians; … Obel, from whom the Thobelians descended and who are today called the Iberians; Osoh, from whom the Meshinians, today’s Cappadocians, are descended”.
The fact that the people who lived in Cappadocia were descendants of the biblical figure Mosoh, also known as Meseh or ‘24’, and that this was also the original name of the entire people, is attested to by other Byzantine historians and chroniclers. For example, one of these is Bishop Theodoret of Cyr, the disciple and close friend of Saint John Chrysostom. Saint Theodoret lived and ministered in the first half of the 5th century in the city of Cyrrhus (Κῦρρος), situated to the east of Antioch, in a location geographically close to Cappadocia. We must therefore conclude that Theodoret of Cyr was well aware of the ethnic composition of Cappadocia, and the information he provides should be taken seriously. 25
Furthermore, this same information is confirmed by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (912–959) 26 and the chronicler Leo the Grammarian (Λέοντος Γραμματικος). The latter describes the history of the world from Adam up to a period close to his own lifetime, that is, up to the end of the reign of Romanos Lekapenos (919–944). Regarding the origin and lineage of the Georgian people, Leon the Grammarian wrote: ‘From the sons of Japheth … and from Thobel came the Thobelians, now known as the Iberians; and from Mesch came the Meschenians, now known as the Cappadocians’27”.
In anticipation of a question that a careful researcher might ask us, namely: what evidence is there that those Mesehi, whether Mosohi or Meshini, who inhabited the lands of Cappadocia, were ethnically the same as the Georgians, we shall reply as follows.
It has been established that the territory inhabited by the Meshil people extended well beyond the borders of the Roman province of Cappadocia, particularly to the north and north-east. Archaeological excavations carried out in the town of Vani, situated on the Kolkhis Plain in western Georgia, have uncovered layers dating from the 4th–3rd centuries BC, which clearly indicate the presence of the Meshis in this area. 28
The ancient historian Herodotus (5th century BC), in describing several Georgian tribes that inhabited vast territories stretching from Asia Minor to the Caucasus Mountains, along with their culture and customs, repeatedly mentions the Mosohi. 29
The Roman chronicler Strabo, who accompanied Pompey on his expedition into the Caucasus, refers to a certain part of the Kolchis plain in western Georgia as the land of the Mosohi. 30
The cultural and ethnic identity of the Meshils, who also inhabited a large part of the Kura River valley as far as the city of Mtskheta (eastern Georgia), with those of Cappadocia is further corroborated by another archaeological discovery. The description of the god Haț, found in cuneiform inscriptions from the city of Hattusa, situated in the territory of ancient Cappadocia, and the depiction of this god found on the gate of the same city are practically identical to the description of the idol Gaț in the 4th-century Georgian hagiographic work, The Life of Saint Nina. 31 The idol Gaț was one of the principal gods in the Georgian pantheon; his cult was practised on the summit of Mount Armazi, near the city of Mtskheta, where Saint Nina saw and described him. 32
Speaking of Saint Nina herself, a native of Cappadocia, 33 it is hard to imagine how she could have carried out such extensive missionary work in Iberia, being a stranger in both race and language to those to whom she preached the word of God.
At the same time, Georgian historical sources tell us of the King of Georgia, Vahtang Gorgasal, who, in the second half of the 5th century, initiated a wide-ranging reform of the church’s organisation. The main force with which King Vahtang Gorgasal worked to implement these ecclesiastical reforms was a group of 12 clergymen, brought all the way from Cappadocia. 34 All of them were ordained as bishops, and one of them was even elevated to the rank of Catholicos of All Georgia. According to some scholars, the main aim of Vahtang Gorgasal’s reforms was precisely to secure autocephaly for the Georgian Church. 35 It is hard to believe that a king who fought to free his Church from foreign influence would have entrusted its leadership to bishops of a different ethnicity and language. This may be regarded as yet another argument in support of the view that the population of Cappadocia was, ethnically, culturally and linguistically, identical to that of the Kingdom of Iberia.
The fact that the Mesh (Mosh) ethnic group is identical to the Georgian one is also supported by the researcher Gvantsa Koplatadze, who demonstrates that John Moshos (Ίωάννης ο Μόσχος), the author of the well-known hagiographic work Limonariu or The Spiritual Orchard (36), is of Georgian origin. 37
The final argument we put forward as evidence in favour of the Meshil people being of Georgian origin is that this people still exists today, inhabiting southern Georgia, including the towns of Ahalkalaki, Ahaltihe, Abastumani, and retains its national identity as Georgians. When discussing the area inhabited by the Georgian population, we must also mention the territory encompassing the entire length of the Pontic Mountains, situated in the northern part of Asia Minor. To the west, these mountains extend as far as the River Halys (now the Kizil Irmak), to the east, as far as the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; to the south, they end in the valley of the Ciorohi River (now the Çoruh Nehri); and to the north, they descend to the Black Sea. During the Roman period and subsequently in the Byzantine era, the aforementioned territory was part of an administrative-territorial unit known as Pontus, with its administrative centre in the city of Trebizond. The fact that this territory had always been inhabited by a Georgian people known as the Laz was well known to people in the Middle Ages. Several Byzantine writers and chroniclers from the 4th and 8th centuries, mentioned below, provide evidence of this.
Epiphanius (c. 314–403), Bishop of Constantia (Salamis) in Cyprus, wrote: ‘Trebizond, the city in Lazica.’ 38
Gelasius of Caesarea (4th century AD): ‘The Iberians and the Lazians who dwell in Pontus.’ 39
Socrates Scholasticus (c. 380–440): “Ίβηρες δὲ ούτοι προσοικοῦσι μὲν τὸν Εϋξεινον Πόντον 40 (These Iberians dwell in the Euxine Sea).”
Turranius Rufinus (4th century AD): “Iberorum gens, quae sub axe Pontico iacet 41 (The Iberian people, who dwell in Pontus)”.
Epiphanius of Constantinople (8th century AD): “Άπάρας δε απο Άμισοῦ ηλθεν εις Τραπεζοῦντα, πόλιν τῆς Λαζικηῆς 42 (Having left Amisus, he came to Trebizond, the city in Lazica)”.
Proving the national identity of the Laz people as being the same as that of the Iberians (Georgians) is not a major problem. As we can see from the quotations above, chroniclers often refer to the population of the province of Pontus as either Lazians or Iberians, which shows that, in fact, they are the same ethnic group. However, when a distinction is apparently made between the two, this is because, during the Roman period and subsequently in the Byzantine era, the term ‘Iber’, in addition to its ethnic connotation, was often used in a political sense as well. In other words, the Georgians living within the borders of the Kingdom of Iberia were called ‘Iberians’, whilst the Georgian tribes living outside this state were referred to by their tribal names – Laz, Meshi43
The fact that the terms ‘Lazica’ and ‘Iberia’ had political connotations, yet their populations belonged to the same Georgian ethnic group, becomes clear when we compare the information preserved in the well-known historical document Notitiae Episcopatuum with certain well-documented historical events. Namely, in the first half of the 7th century, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius conquered the western provinces of the Kingdom of Iberia44. The result of this was the creation of an administrativeecclesiastical administrative-territorial unit under the jurisdiction of Constantinople, known as the Metropolis of Lazica, which encompassed the entire eastern and south-eastern coast of the Black Sea, with its metropolitan centre in the city of Fasidos (Φάσιδος), now Poti in western Georgia. Following the return of these provinces to the Kingdom of Iberia, the Church of Constantinople automatically lost all authority over these territories, and the metropolitan see of the Metropolis of Lazica was moved to Trebizond. 45 Thus, the same geographical area, depending on its political affiliation, is referred to either as Lazica or Iberia; this is why the Georgian population in these territories is sometimes called Lazians and at other times Iberians.
The fact that the same indigenous Georgians from the regions east and south-east of the Black Sea are referred to by various writers as either Laz or Iberians is also confirmed by the following historical sources.
Arianes, the Roman chronicler (2nd century AD), wrote that those living in the western part of present-day Georgia are Lazians 46.
Eusebius of Caesarea (260–340), an ecclesiastical chronicler, quoting Megasthenes (3rd century BC), refers to the inhabitants of the region east of the Black Sea as Iberians 47.
Mar-Abas-Katina (1st century BC) also wrote that the Iberians inhabited the land east of the Black Sea 48.
Further support for the claim that the indigenous population of the Roman province of Pontus was of Georgian ethnicity can be found in the life of Evagrius, a well-known ascetic and Christian writer of the 4th century.
Evagrius (†399) enjoyed great authority during his lifetime for his ascetic writings, but was condemned as an Origenist by the Fifth Ecumenical Council in the year 553. Nevertheless, his writings—with the exception of his teachings on the pre-existence of the soul and apocatastasis—continued to be highly regarded even afterwards 49.
The most valuable information about the life of Evagrius of Pontus is found in the Lausiac History (Λαυσαϊκ̀η Ίστορία), written by Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia, a former friend and disciple of Evagrius. The Lausiac History tells us that Evagrius was by birth from Pontus, from the city of the Iberians. 50 Other ecclesiastical writers, such as Sozomen and Nicephorus Callistus, also provide the same information regarding Evagrius’s origin as being from Pontus and from the city of the Iberians. In the Coptic translation of the Lausiac History, we read that ‘Evagrius was the son of a presbyter from Iberia’ (Evagrie Iberiae presbyteri filius erat), whilst the Armenian translation also refers to Iberia: ‘51’. Thus, with regard to Evagrius’s origins, the association between the province of Pontus and its Iberian population is evident.
We note that not all contemporary patristic scholars are unanimous regarding Evagrius’s origin. Their differing views are based on certain manuscripts of the Lausiac History, which state that Evagrius was born in the town of Ίβόρα; furthermore, Jerome also refers to Evagrius as Hiboritam of Ίβόρα 52. However, the overwhelming number of historical documents that explicitly refer to Evagrius’ Iberian (Georgian) origin seems to us sufficient to consider this matter sufficiently proven. Thus, Professor Simon Kaukhchishvili also notes that some medieval philologists, such as Valois or Galland, doubted that the Iberians lived on the shores of the Black Sea and therefore proposed a correction: that instead of Ίβήρων it should read Ίβόρων; and thus they came to believe that Evagrius was not of Iberian descent, but hailed from the city of Ibora, which was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 525. This assumption is entirely without foundation, since, according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus’s treatise entitled Περί θεμάτων, the city of Ibora was situated in the third Cappadocia and therefore could not possibly have been located on the shores of the Black Sea, that is, in Pontus 53.
There is a misconception, widespread particularly in the Greek-speaking world and beyond, that, since the Holy Fathers and ecclesiastical writers of Cappadocia and Pontus wrote their works in Greek, the population of these provinces must have been of Greek ethnicity. However, the evidence that the indigenous peoples of Cappadocia and Pontus, both linguistically and ethnically, possessed their own identity, distinct from that of the Greeks, is demonstrated by the text of Holy Scripture itself. In the Acts of the Apostles, in the account of the Day of Pentecost and the gift of speaking in different tongues, which was bestowed upon the Holy Apostles, it is stated:
‘Now there were devout men from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. When this sound occurred, the crowd gathered and was bewildered, for each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, ‘Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear them speaking in our own language, the language in which we were born? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and those living in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus (emphasis added) and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and Romans passing through, Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the marvellous deeds of God” (Acts of the Apostles II, 5–11)54. This quotation clearly shows that being from Cappadocia and Pontus implied a specific ethnicity and native language. If this ethnicity and language had been identical to the Hellenic ethnicity and the Greek language, then Saint Luke the Apostle would not have mentioned them separately.
Finally, as in the case of the Meshils, so too with the Laz people, proving their ethnic identity with the Georgians and the fact that the Laz people inhabited the Roman province of Pontus is not a major problem, since they still inhabit this territory today, namely in the north-eastern part of Turkey 55, in the cities of Samsun, Trabzon, Rize, Artvin etc., as well as in western Georgia 56, in the cities of Poti, Zugdidi, Senaki, Khobi and Martvili.
We consider the arguments set out in the preceding pages to be sufficient to prove that the indigenous population of Cappadocia and Pontus, during the apostolic period and thereafter, was represented by the Georgian peoples of the Meshils and Lazs.
Professor G. Gozilashvili wrote: “Pontus and Cappadocia are integral parts of one and the same world. Both territories belonged to one and the same ethnic group – the ancient Georgian peoples’57’. ‘Pontus and Cappadocia, from an ethnic point of view, were inseparable from the Georgian world’58’. “Cappadocia – Pontus – Colchis (the eastern shore of the Black Sea, n.n.) – Iberia: this is that unified ethnic world, which shared the same cultural life”59.
Having outlined the geographical area inhabited by Georgians in the early centuries of Christianity, we shall now proceed to present the historical evidence attesting to the presence of Christian communities in this region and to describe the organisational structures of the early Church.
Firstly, Holy Scripture tells us that on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Holy Apostles, pilgrims from Cappadocia and Pontus were also present in Jerusalem. ‘And there were in Jerusalem devout men from every nation under heaven… Cappadocia,… Pontus’54 Of the three thousand souls who were baptised following the sermon of Saint Peter the Apostle, and the tens of thousands more whom ‘the Lord added to the Church daily’60, we may assume that there were also those from Cappadocia and Pontus, who, upon returning to their homelands, went on to form the first Christian communities there.
The History of Kartli (qarTlis cxovreba) is a systematic collection of historical writings, compiled over many centuries and, as such, constitutes the principal source for the study of the history of the Georgian people and state 61. This book contains a chapter entitled ‘The Christianisation of Georgia by Saint Nina’ 62, which recounts that on Golgotha, during the crucifixion of Christ the Saviour, two Jews were also present: Elioz of Mtskheta and Longhinoz of Kars, who had come from the Georgian kingdom of Iberia. They are said to have purchased the Saviour Christ’s tunic from the soldiers and brought it to the city of Mtskheta 63. Elioz’s mother and sister, believing that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, became the first Christians in Iberia. Thus, the history of Kartli attests to the emergence of the first Christian community in Georgia very shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ the Saviour. 64
As regards the missionary activity of the Holy Apostles amongst the Georgians, this fact is confirmed by several Byzantine and Georgian chroniclers. Thus, Eusebius of Caesarea (260–340), quoting Origen (185–255), wrote in his work entitled Ecclesiastical History: ‘The Holy Apostles and the Holy Disciples of the Saviour, spreading throughout the whole earth […], Peter preached to the Jews scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia and Asia […]. Origen recounts all this in the third book of his65 commentary on Genesis (my emphasis).
From the Acts of the Holy Apostles we know that the Apostles’ mission, although directed primarily at the Jews, was not reserved solely for them. The Apostles, having received the command from Christ the Saviour: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Matthew 28:19)66, preached the Gospel and brought everyone into the Church, regardless of their ethnicity. Therefore, from the information passed down to us by Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea, we understand that the Christian churches founded by Saint Peter the Apostle in Cappadocia and Pontus also included indigenous Georgians.
Of particular interest to us is a piece of information provided by the same Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea, which states that Saint Andrew the Apostle, in his preaching of the Gospel, was assigned ‘the region of the Scythians’67 What, then, did the chroniclers of the early centuries of Christianity mean when they spoke of Scythia? Having studied a number of pre- and post-apostolic documents, we have come to the conclusion that, by the term ‘Scythia’, the ecclesiastical writers primarily meant the entire region of the Caucasus, of which the Kingdom of Iberia was also a part. For example, the ancient author Plutarch wrote that ‘the Phasis is a river in Scythia, which flows down to the city of the same name’68). It is known that the river Phasis is the present-day Rioni, and the city of Phasis is the present-day Poti on the Black Sea coast, in western Georgia.
The Byzantine writer Libanius (314–393), in his work Progymnasmata, associates the Georgian kingdom of Colchis 69 with Scythia 70.
Stephen the Byzantine (ό γραμματικ̀ὸς Στέφανος) (5th century), author of a geographical dictionary entitled Ethnika, wrote that: ‘The tribes of the Scythians are: the Aphsilii, the Sanigii, the Lazii (emphasis added)’ 71.
Another Byzantine chronicler, John Tzetzes (Ίωάννης ο Τζέτζης) (1110–1180), wrote: “The Kolhii, who are also known as the Lazii; these are Scythians from Asia, who are also called the Levoskiri; they dwell in that part of Asia where the river Phasis is situated’72.
Thus, as we have seen, both ancient and Byzantine writers, when speaking of Scythia and the Scythians, also mention Georgian geographical locations and Georgian peoples. We can therefore maintain that Scythia—which Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea described as the area of the missionary activity of Saint Andrew the Apostle—included the Kingdom of Iberia.
This fact is also confirmed by other Byzantine writers. For example, Epiphanius of Constantinople, the abbot of a monastery in the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century, also provides us with valuable information about the evangelisation of the Georgians by Saint Andrew the Apostle. Epiphanius is the author of two works: The Life of the Virgin Mary and The Life of Saint Andrew the Apostle. In the second work, Epiphanius, having synthesised all the sources relating to the life of Saint Andrew the Apostle known at that time (Clement of Rome, Evagrius of Sicily, Epiphanius of Cyprus, etc.), writes that he was not content with these alone and therefore travelled to several places where Saint Andrew the Apostle had carried out his apostolic mission. Thus, regarding the preaching of the Apostle Andrew, as well as that of the other Holy Apostles, amongst the Georgians, Epiphanius provides us with the following accounts:
“Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, according to tradition, tells us that the Blessed Apostle Andrew preached to the Scythians, the Sogdians and the Gorsins in the great city of Sebastopol (today’s Sukhumi, n.n.), where the fortress of Apsaru, the port of Yssu and the river Phasis are situated; there the Iberians dwell (emphasis added)’73”.
“Thus, Andrew preached in many towns and villages and brought them to Christ. After leaving Amisu, he came to Trebizond, the city of Lazica. From there he set off for Iberia (emphasis added). After enlightening [through baptism] many inhabitants of the [Black Sea] coast, he returned to Jerusalem”74. “After the feast of Pentecost, Andrew, Simon the Canaanite, Matthias and Thaddeus remained at Avgaros; the others, however, travelled through the towns, preaching and healing many people of various ailments. They reached Iberia and Phasis and, a few days later, Susania (that is, the region inhabited by the Georgian people – Suani) [...]. Matthew, together with his disciples, remained in that country (in Susania), preaching and performing miracles. Simon and Andrew, meanwhile, set off for Alania and the town of Fusta, where they healed many and enlightened many, after which they went on to Abasgia (the Georgian province of Abkhazia as we know it today). When they arrived in the great city of Sebastopol (present-day Sukhumi), they preached the word of God. Andrew left Simon there with his disciples, whilst he himself set off for Zikhia75
Epiphanius of Constantinople, quoting Epiphanius of Cyprus (4th century), also tells us that “Matthias preached the Gospel in Second Ethiopia (Kolhida), where the fortress of Apsaru and the port of Yssu are situated […], and there he died and is buried to this day”76
The location of the fortress of Apsaru and the port of Yssu is well known. According to the description by Procopius of Byzantium (6th century), the fortress of Apsaru and the port of Yssu were situated on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, approximately ten kilometres south of the present-day city of Batumi 77.
Efrem Mtsire, the 11th-century Georgian scholar, who also had access to numerous historical documents of the time, wrote that Saint Bartholomew the Apostle is said to have preached in Georgia 78.
The existence of Christian communities within the territory of the state of Iberia during the first three centuries AD is also evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. For example: the Christian tombs discovered in several locations in the city of Mtskheta, a church in the village of Nastakisi 79, and an underground church discovered in the Muguti caves in Tetritskaro district 80, all dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries.
- 1
Assistant Professor Dr Nicolae Dură, ‘The Church of Alexandria and the canonical and pastoral work of its hierarchs up to the Council of Chalcedon (451)’
- 2
Assistant Professor Nicolae V. Dură, ‘The Christian Church in the First Four Centuries: Its Organisation and Canonical Foundations’
- 3
The emergence of the first Georgian states, Diaohi and Kolhida, dates back to the 13th–12th centuries BC (N. Berdzenishvili, History of Georgia, State Publishing House of Pedagogical Literature ‘Tsodna’
- 4
Albania – a state that once existed on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan.
- 5
Archbishop Anania Japharidze, History of the Georgian Apostolic Church, Vol. I, ‘Merani’ Publishing House
- 6
Ibid., p. 21.
- 7
Ibid., p. 22.
- 8
Ibid., p. 29.
- 9
Ibid., p. 104, p. 126.
- 10
The History of Kartli, Vol. I, p. 3.
- 11
The River Egrisisțkali, now known as the Galidzga, flows near the town of Ociamcire in western Georgia.
- 12
The fortress of Nikopsia, now the town of Tuapse in the Russian Federation.
- 13
N. Berdzenishili, The History of Georgia, pp. 9–10.
- 14
The Lihi Mountain Range stretches from north to south, from the Greater Caucasus to the Lesser Caucasus, dividing the territory of Georgia into two almost equal parts.
- 15
The River of Little Hazar, now known as the River Kuban, which rises in the north of the Caucasus Mountains and flows into the southern part of the Sea of Azov.
- 16
The History of Kartli, Vol. I, p. 5.
- 17
Dioscuria, now the city of Sukhumi, the capital of the Georgian province of Abkhazia.
- 18
Archbishop Anania Japharidze, Abkhazia (“Abkhazisation”)
- 19
Ibid., p. 14.
- 20
Ibid., p. 15.
- 21
The Georgian people still comprise a confederation of several ethnic groups (Kartlians, Kakhetians, Imeretians, Meshi, Svans, Megrelians, Laz, etc.), who in the past inhabited a vast territory stretching from the central and northern parts of Asia Minor to the Caucasus Mountains, reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, and who were united by a common language, culture and national consciousness. Even today, Georgians living in different provinces maintain the tradition of belonging to their ethnic group. This is exactly the same as the situation in Romania, where all Romanians are divided into several ethnic groups (Mountain Romanians, Moldovans, Transylvanians, Oltenians, etc.).
- 22
Gheorghica, Information on Georgia from Byzantine Writers, Vol. I. The texts were edited, with translations and commentary, by Al. Gamkrelidze and Simon Kauchcishvili, Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Tbilisi, 1961, p. 271. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Hasefer Publishers, Bucharest, 2002, p. 25.
- 23
Gheorghica, Vol. I, p. 34.
- 24
Holy Scripture itself, in its various versions, renders the name of Noah’s grandson differently, either using the Greek pronunciation ‘Mosoh’ or the Hebrew ‘Meșeh’. For example: In the Septuagint – Υιοὶ Ιαφεθ˙ … Θοβελ καὶ Μοσοχ… (THE OLD TESTAMENT ACCORDING TO THE SEVENTY (SEPTUAGINT) SCIENTIFIC EDITOR Prof. D. Dr. Alfred Ralhvs HELLENIC BIBLE SOCIETY 50 Emm. Benaki Street, Athens, p. 13). In Russian – The Sons of Japheth: … Phuval, Meshech… (BIBLE: BOOKS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS T.B.S. 217 Kingston Road, London, SW 19 3NN England, p. 9). In French – Sons of Japheth: … Tubal, Meshech… (See: Ecumenical Translation of the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, translated from the original Hebrew and Greek texts, with introductions, essential notes and a glossary, new revised edition 1992, Universal Bible Alliance – Le Cerf, p. 31). In Romanian – The sons of Japheth were: … Tubal, Meshech… (The Bible or Holy Scripture, printed under the guidance and care of His Beatitude Father Teoctist, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, with the approval of the Holy Synod, published by the Biblical and Missionary Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Bucharest, p. 20).
- 25
Gheorghica, Vol. I, pp. 221–223.
- 26
Gheorghica, Information on Georgia from Byzantine Writers, Vol. IV, Part 2. The Greek texts were translated and edited by Simon Kauchcishvili, Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Tbilisi, 1952, p. 299.
- 27
Gheorghica, Vol. V. The Greek texts were translated and edited by Simon Kauchcishvili, Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Tbilisi, 1963, p. 3.
- 28
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, History of the Georgian Apostolic Church, Vol. I, p. 64.
- 29
Ibid., p. 91.
- 30
Ibid., p. 65.
- 31
V. Goiladze, The Beginnings of the History of the Georgian Church, published by ‘Mețniereba’
- 32
See: The Life of the Most Venerable, Equal-to-the-Apostles and Blessed Nina, published in Georgian Prose, Book I, Literature of the 5th–11th Centuries, edited by L. Nanitașvili, published by ‘Sabciota Sakartvelo’
- 33
The Life of Saint Nina, translated into Romanian; see in the Georgian Paterikon, translated by Doru Ionuț Vasile and Cristian Spătărelu, published by Cartea Ortodoxă and Egumenița.
- 34
V. Goiladze, op. cit., p. 30.
- 35
The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, Editor-in-Chief: A. M. Prokhorov, ‘Soviet Encyclopaedia’ Publishing House
- 36
See: Ioan Moshu, Limonariu or The Spiritual Orchard. Translated and annotated by Rev. Prof. Dr T. Bodogae and D. Fecioru, Alba Iulia, 1991.
- 37
Koplatadze, Limonari, in the journal Tbilisis Sasuliero Academiis da Seminariis Șromebi, no. 2, Patriarchate of Georgia, Tbilisi, 1990, pp. 6–7.
- 38
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, op. cit., p. 40.
- 39
Ibid., p. 66.
- 40
Gheorghica, Vol. I, p. 230.
- 41
Ibid., p. 201.
- 42
Gheorghica, Vol. IV, Part 1. The Greek texts were translated and edited by Simon Kaukhchishvili, published by the Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Tbilisi, 1941, p. 58.
- 43
For further details, see Archbishop Anania Japaridze, op. cit., pp. 63–67.
- 44
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, History of the Georgian Apostolic Church, Vol. II, published by ‘Merani’
- 45
Gheorghica, Vol. IV, Part 2, pp. 180, 184, 185.
- 46
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, Abkhazia, Diocese of Manglis-Tsalkha of the Patriarchate of Georgia, 2001, p. 15.
- 47
Gheorghica, Vol. I, p. 30.
- 48
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, The History of the Apostolic Church of Georgia, p. 65.
- 49
Paladius, The History of the Lausians (Lavsaicon), short biographies of hermits. Translation, introduction and notes by the Venerable Father Dumitru Stăniloae, published by the Biblical and Missionary Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Bucharest, 1993, p. 84, note 80.
- 50
Ibid., p. 84.
- 51
Patriarch Justin, Evagrius of Pontus, published by the Diocese of Argeș and Muscel / Anastasia, Bucharest, 2003, p. 63.
- 52
Ibid., p. 63.
- 53
Gheorghica, Vol. II. The texts have been edited, with translations and commentary, by Simon Kauchcishvili, published by ‘Mețniereba’
- 54a54b
The Bible or Holy Scripture, op. cit., p. 1237.
- 55
In the absence of official statistics, the Georgian population in Turkey, including those of Laz descent, is estimated at around 5–6 million.
- 56
In Georgia, the Laz people – or, as they are also known, the Megrelians – number around 500,000.
- 57
G. Gozilashvili, Mithridates of Pontus, Tbilisi, 1962, p. 237.
- 58
G. Gozilashvili, Two Moments in the History of Pontus and Cappadocia, Tbilisi, 1965, p. 42.
- 59
Ibid., p. 43.
- 60
The Bible or Holy Scripture, op. cit., p. 1238.
- 61
The History of Kartli, Vol. I. The text has been compiled from the main manuscripts by S. Khauhcishvili, published by ‘Sahelgami’
- 62
The History of Kartli, Vol. I, pp. 72–138.
- 63
Mtskheta, the capital of Iberia from the 4th century BC to the 5th century AD.
- 64
The History of Kartli, Vol. I, p. 100.
- 65
Church History and the Life of Constantine the Great, by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, Bucharest, ‘Church Books’ Printing House
- 66
The Bible or Holy Scripture, op. cit., p. 1137.
- 67
Church History and the Life of Constantine the Great, by Eusebius of Caesarea, Bucharest, ‘Cărților Bisericești’ Printing House
- 68
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, The History of the Apostolic Church of Georgia, p. 18.
- 69
Colchis, a Georgian kingdom that existed from the 13th to the 8th centuries BC. The ancient poet Homer wrote about the kingdom of Colchis in his famous work, the Argonautica. See: History of Georgia, edited by N. Berdzenishili, ‘Tzodna’ State Publishing House for Literature on Pedagogy and Teaching
- 70
Gheorghica, Vol. I, p. 68.
- 71
Gheorghica, Vol. III. The Greek texts were translated and edited by Simon Kauchcishvili, Tbilisi University Press, Tbilisi, 1936, p. 272.
- 72
Gheorghica, Vol. VII. The texts were translated and edited by Simon Kauchcishvili, ‘Mețniereba’ Publishing House
- 73
Gheorghica, Vol. IV, Part 1, p. 57.
- 74
Ibid., pp. 57, 58.
- 75
Ibid., p. 58.
- 76
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, The History of the Apostolic Church of Georgia, p. 39.
- 77
Studies on the History of Georgia, Vol. I. The volume is edited by Academician Shota Meshia, published by ‘Sabciota Sakartvelo’
- 78
Archbishop Anania Japaridze, The History of the Apostolic Church of Georgia, p. 41.
- 79
Ibid., p. 55.
- 80
Artanugi, History Journal, 1999, no. 8–9, p. 38.