George the Hagiorite
Iviron on Mount Athos | |
|---|---|
| Athonite Father | |
| Born | 1009 Trialeti, Kingdom of Georgia |
| Died | 27 June 1065 Athens |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Georgian Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 27 June (OS) (10 July NS) |
| Patronage | Georgia Mount Athos |
George the Hagiorite
One of the most influential
Biography
George was born in
At some point between 1052 and 1057, George left his fellow monk George of Oltisi in charge of the Iviron monastery, and set off to
In the gradually increasing polarity of the patriarchates of Rome and Constantinople that preceded the
Although George declined Bagrat IV's repeated urges to lead the Georgian church, he, in 1057/8, took up the royal invitation to return to Georgia for five years. There, he initiated reforms in the Georgian church that were to contribute to a cleansed ecclesiastic hierarchy and regulate its relations with the increasingly strengthening royal authority.[4] On his way back to Greece, George visited Constantinople and obtained the imperial decree for the education of Georgian students at Athos. He did not reach his destination, however, and died at Athens on 29 June 1065. The Athonite monks interred him at the Iviron monastery.
George the Hagiorite was subsequently canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church and is remembered annually on 10 July.
Legacy
The influence of George’s legacy on Georgian religious tradition was immense. He worked on an updated translation of the
The activity of George and his fellow Athonite Georgians laid a foundation for the basic principles of the practice and moral life of Christians as well as the relationship between the royal court and the church later promoted and officially adopted by the national ecclesiastic council of Ruisi-Urbnisi held under the presidency of the king David IV in 1103.[7]
"The Vitae of Our Blessed Fathers John and Euthymius and an Account of their Worthy Achievements" (ცხოვრება ნეტარისა მამისა ჩუენისა იოანესი და ეფთჳმესი და უწყებაჲ ღირსისა მის მოქალაქობისა მათისაჲ) is George's most important original work, dedicated to his Athonite forerunners. It combines hagiography with religious and political propaganda, and historical record. Written some time after 1040, this manuscript of some 12,000 words in the Athos collection is a history and praise of the Iviron community, their contribution to the Georgian patristic literature and the defense of Byzantine monasticism. Apart from its political and theological message, George’s work is noted for its graphic rhythmic prose, describing the monks working in the garden and vineyards. In 1066, a year after his death, George himself became the subject of a similar biography by his disciple George the Minor (or Priest-Monk George [died post-1083]).[4]
References
- ^ also known as George of Athos, Giorgi Mtatsmindeli, Giorgi Atoneli, George the Iberian or George the Georgian
- ISBN 9781108425865.
- Toumanoff, Cyril. Christian Caucasia between Byzantium and Iran: New Light from Old Sources. Traditio 10 (1954) 109-190.
- ^ Buckler, Georgina (1968), Anna Comnena: A Study, p. 314. Oxford University Press.
- ^ ISBN 0-7007-1163-5.
- ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed., 2007) Giorgi Atoneli Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine. Dictionary of Georgian National Biography. Retrieved on January 3, 2008.
- ISBN 0-19-826170-5.
- ISBN 1-57958-282-6.
Further reading
- (in Georgian) Baramidze, Alexander (ed., 1966). "გიორგი მთაწმიდელი" (Giorgi Mt’ats’mindeli) in: ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორია (History of Georgian Literature). Tbilisi: Sabchota Sakartvelo.
- Lives of all saints commemorated on June 27: Venerable George of Mt. Athos, Georgian. Orthodox Church in America.
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