Christianity in the 4th century - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georgian Orthodox Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

‪Georgian Orthodox Church‬

‪The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Georgian: საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, sak’art’velos samots’ik’ulo avt’okep’aluri mart’lmadidebeli eklesia) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church. It is Georgia's dominant religious institution, and a majority of Georgian people affirm their membership in the Church. It asserts apostolic foundation, and its historical roots can be traced to the conversion of the Kingdom of Iberia to Christianity in the 4th century AD. Christianity, as embodied by the Church, was the state religion of Georgia until 1921, when a constitutional change separated church and state.[3]‬
‪The Georgian Orthodox Church is in full communion with the other churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. Its autocephaly is recognized by other Orthodox bodies, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople since 1990. As in similar autocephalous Orthodox churches, the Church's highest governing body is the Holy Synod of bishops. It is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. The current Patriarch is Ilia II, who was elected in 1977.‬
‪The Constitution of Georgia recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country's history, but also stipulates the independence of the Church from the State. The relations between them are regulated by the Constitutional Agreement of 2002. It is the only religious institution to have received official recognition in Georgia.‬

‪History‬

‪Origins‬

‪Traditions regarding Christianity's first appearance in Iberia and Colchis‬

‪The propagation of Christianity in present-day Georgia before the 4th century is still poorly known. The first documented event in this process is the preaching of Saint Nino and its consequences, although exact dates are still debated. Saint Nino, honored as Equal to the Apostles, was according to tradition the daughter of a Roman general from Cappadocia. She preached in the kingdom of Iberia (also known as Kartli) in the first half of the 4th century, and her intercession eventually led to the conversion of King Mirian III, his wife Queen (later Saint) Nana and their family. Cyril Toumanoff dates the conversion of Mirian to 334, his official baptism and subsequent adoption of Christianity as the official religion of Iberia to 337.[6]‬
‪The royal baptism and organization of the Church were accomplished by priests sent from Constantinople by Constantine the Great. Conversion of the people of Kartli proceeded quickly in the plains, but pagan beliefs long subsisted in mountain regions. The western kingdom of Egrisi was politically and culturally distinct from Kartli at that time, and culturally more integrated into the Roman Empire; some of its cities already had bishops by the time of the First Council of Nicea (325).‬
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‪Expansion and Transformation of the Church‬
‪The conversion of Kartli marked only the beginnings of the formation of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In the next centuries, different processes took place that shaped the Church, and gave it, by the beginning of the 11th century, the main characteristics that it has retained until now. Those processes concern the institutional status of the Church inside Eastern Christianity, its evolution into a national church with authority over all of Georgia, and the dogmatic evolution of the church.‬