Untitled - Iverieli

Ramaz Khalvashi
APOSTLE ST. ANDREW IN GEORGIA
Summary
The oldest sources on St Andrew’s missionary activities are preserved
in apocryphal literature in which two different traditions have been formed
on the above mentioned issue. One part of the texts connects the apostle’s
preaching to the Black Sea countries whereas the other part – to Scythia.
Georgia was included into both missionary routes. Therefore the Roman
and Byzantine authors specify the Iberian-Caucasian section of St Andrew’s
preaching route and together with ancient Greek settlements include into it
the following strategic centers of the Roman world: Trapezus (city in
Lazika), Phasis (river of Chorokhi), fort of Apsarus (Gonio), the second
Ethiopia (Cholchis), Iberia, Susania, Phusta, Abazgia, Sebastopolis
(Sokhumi) and Nikophsia.
The earliest information about St Andrew’s preaching in Georgia is
found in the Georgian translations that were included into the polycefhalon
(5 th -6 th centuries). It is confirmed by the Klarjeti polycefhalon (10 th century)
according to which St Andrew preached among the population of the city of
Sebastopol, in the camp of Apsarus, in the river Phasis (Chorokhi) basin and
Ethiopians (Cholchians). The same missionary route is given in the old
Georgian translation of Pseudo-Basil’s work The Most Holy Virgin’s
Assumption.
The echo of the existing ancient tradition about the apostle’s preaching
in Georgia among the original Georgian works is first met in St Abo’s
Martyrdom.
In 1011 Eptvime Atoneli (955-1028) translated Nikita-David of
Paphlagon’s St Andrew the Apostle’s Journeys (9 th century). This canonical
hagiographic text confirms that Christianity was preached in Georgia by
three apostles: Andrew the First-Called, Simon Kananaios and Matthias. In
fact, The Journeys answered all the questions connected with the
autocephaly of the Georgian Church as well as the apostles’ preaching.
Therefore, all the later Georgian authors who studied St Andrew’s
preaching issues referred exactly to this text.
St. Giorgi Atoneli (1009-1066) used the Greek original of St Andrew
the Apostle’s Journeys during the dispute (1057) with Theodosius II,
Patriarch of Antioch, in defense of the apostolic nature of the Georgian
Church and its autocephaly.
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In the second half of the 9 th century Leonti Mroveli included the
information on the apostles’ preaching into the official history of Georgia –
Kartlis Tskhovreba (Georgian Chronicles) and put more emphasis on the
conversion of Western Georgia (Egrisi and Abkhazia) to Christianity. At the
same time he confirmed that the expression «up to the river Chorokhi» in
the Journeys means St Andrew’s preaching «on the way to Klarjeti».
With the same logic, the monk Arsen named one more province – «the
villages of Nigali» in the Apostle’s missionary route in the Chorokhi basin,
thus defining the location of «Sosangeti village» in the text of the Journeys
(metaphrastic edition of St Nino’s Life).
Leonti Mroveli’s tradition was developed by Ioane Ancheli according
to whose hagiographic canon Chants of Anchi Icon St Apostle Andrew
introduced into Klarjeti the heir of Hierapolis Keramidion – the icon of
Anchi. This original opinion of the Bishop of Anchi can find its premises in
Correspondence between Abgar and the Christ and St Andrew the Apostle’s
Journeys.
Leonti Mroveli’s History of Georgian Kings, Eprem Mtsire’s Story of
Georgia’s Conversion, The Code of Ruis-Urbnisi Church Council (1104)
and Monk Arsen’s St Nino’s Life explain the necessity of St Nino’s
preaching by the fact that after the apostles Georgia again turned to
paganism.
At the same time, The Code spreads and generalizes the fact of St
Andrew’s preaching throughout all Georgia and states that the apostle
preached the Gospel «all through the country of Georgia».
A different tendency can be noticed in the first Georgian edition of the
Journeys and Meskhian tradition.
The Georgia edition of the Journeys was formed in the 13 th -15 th
centuries. It is presented in the full form in A-161 manuscript. The author of
this edition «reads» the historical document from his contemporary
perspective considers literary tradition and includes into Eptvime’s
translation historical-geographical glosses the majority of which aims at
vast depiction of Meskheti in the missionary journeys of Apostle Andrew.
Together with the Chorokhi basin (Tao-Klarjeti-Nigali), the lands of the
Mtkvari basin – Artaani and Kola – also emerge in the glosses (as it is
known only the river Chorokhi is mentioned in the text of the Journeys).
The Meskhian tradition (1486-1516) formed with the dictation and
direct participation of Kvarkvare and Mzechabuk Atabagi expands St
Andrew’s missionary route in two directions: it adds Adjara into the
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