Anton I of Georgia

Anton I of Georgia
Anton I as depicted on an 18th century oil painting.
Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia
Tenure	1744–1755 1764-1788
Predecessor	Nikoloz VIII
Successor	Ioseb (Jandieri) (after 1st term) Anton II of Georgia(after 2nd term)
Born	28 October 1720
Died	12 March 1788
Burial	Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Dynasty	Bagrationi dynasty
Father	Jesse of Kartli
Mother	Elene-Begum Bagrationi
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church
Khelrtva

Anton I(Georgian:ანტონ I;28 October [O.S.17 October] 1720 – 12 March [O.S.1 March] 1788),born asTeimurazBagrationi,was theCatholicos–Patriarchof theGeorgian Orthodox Churchin the period 1744–1755 and again in 1764–1788.

Biography

Being one of the sons ofJesse of Kartliby his wife Princess Elene-Begum (a daughter of KingErekle I of Kakheti),Anton was born a royalprince(batonishvili).He was raised together with his cousin princeErekle,the future king Erekle II, inTelavi,Kakheti.There, he studied in order to become priest, as well as learning theGreek,"Tatar",andPersianlanguages.At age 15, Anton became engaged to the daughter of the influential politicianGivi Amilakhvari,however, his bride was taken away byNader Shahwhen the latter tookTiflis(Tbilisi) in 1735.According to Prof.Alexander Mikaberidze,therefore, the reconquest of Georgia over the Ottomans by Nader Shah in 1735 through theOttoman-Persian War of 1730-1735had a profound effect on Anton, for he left the court and became a monk at theGelati Monasteryin 1738.Five years later, he moved to theGareja Monasteryin Kakheti, and was elected catholicos-patriarch of the Orthodox Church in 1744.In a row of important political events that occurred in 1744, this event coincided with theIranianking Nader Shah granting the kingship ofKartliand Kakheti to Anton's uncleTeimuraz IIand his cousin Erekle II, respectively.

Anton established close relations with the Catholic missions active in Georgia and worked to improve contacts with Western Europe; regarding the former, he received criticism from the conservative clergy, who accused him of corrupting the Georgian Orthodox faith and trying to introduce Catholicism in Georgia.When Teimuraz II nullified the Catholic presence by moving them from Georgia, Anton's opponents took their chance. The ecclesiastical council led by Anton's opponent Zacharias A. Gabashvili,had Anton dismissed from his position on 17 December 1755,and he was succeeded by Catholicos-Patriarch Ioseb Jandieri. After his dismissal, which basically meantbanishment,as well as 18 months of imprisonment,he moved toRussia,where he reportedly succeeded in getting himself cleansed from these charges at the Holy Synod of theRussian Orthodox Churchon 16 March 1757,and was appointedArchbishop of Vladimiron 23 November 1757 by the decree ofCatherine II.

Upon Erekle II's invitation, in 1762, Anton returned to the newly establishedKingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.In the subsequent church council, now back in his homeland, Anton I defeated the conservatives and was reelected to the position catholicos-patriarch in 1764, thus starting his 2nd term.He was involved in the political life of his cousin, and renewed his efforts to bring the Georgian principalities closer to Europe.In the years of 1772-1782 (he was sent in 1772 by Erekle II himself,Anton took part in the negotiations which led up to theTreaty of Georgievskof 1783.

Anton I died on 12 March 1788 and was buried in theSvetitskhoveli CathedralinMtskheta,in front of the king's gate.

Socio-cultural efforts

Anton was a generous supporter of the Georgian arts andliterature,and supervised the establishment of a number of schools, which included the seminaries of Tbilisi andTelaviin 1755 and 1782 respectively.He personally directed the drafting of the curricula in these schools, wrote the textbookQrtuli ghrammatikain 1753, and translated European treatises onphysics,which he taught in seminaries.As further stated by Prof. Mikaberidze, he was instrumental in reorganizing the new ecclesiastial calendar, wrote original hymns and canons, and translated numerous Slavic Orthodox works into Georgian.

In 1769, Anton completed one of his greatest works namedMartirikaand began his long poetical study of the cultural history of Georgia, titled with the nameTsakobilstikvaoba.Responsible for directing the educational system in Kartli-Kakheti for a quarter of a century, as stated by Prof. Mikaberidze, under his guidance a new generation of Georgian artists, scientists, and writers were produced, amongst whom Ambrosi Nekreseli, Gaioz Rektori, Philip Qaitmazashvili, amongst others.Thanks to his efforts, he left a deep imprint on the 18th-century sciences in Georgia, specifically on philosophy and literature.

Bibliography

• Dowsett, Charles (1997).Sayatʻ-Nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study.Peeters Publishers.ISBN978-9-06831-795-4.
• Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015).Historical Dictionary of Georgia(2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-44224-146-6.
• Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994).The Making of the Georgian Nation.Indiana University Press.ISBN978-0-25320-915-3.

Further reading

• ბაბუნაშვილი ე., ბარამიძე რ., კუკავა თ., პარკაძე ვ., როგავა ა., ქსე, ტ. 1, გვ. 497-498, თბ., 191975 (in Georgian)
• ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ძეგლები, VI, ტექსტი გამოსცა და გამოკვლევა დაურთო მ. ქავთარიამ თბილისი, 1980. (in Georgian)
• ანტონ ბაგრატიონი, წყობილსიტყვაობა, გამოსაცემად მოამზადა, გამოკვლევა, კომენტარები და ლექსიკონი დაურთო ივანე ლოლაშვილმა, თბილისი, 1980. (in Georgian)
• პაპუნა ორბელიანი, ამბავნი ქართლისანი, ტექსტი გამოსცა, გამოკვლევა, შენიშვნები და საძიებლები დაურთო ე. ცაგარეიშვილმა, თბილისი, 1981. (in Georgian)
• ანტონ პირველი, სპეკალი, ტექსტი გამოსაცემად მოამზადა, გამოკვლევა და ლექსიკონი დაურთო გ. დედაბრიშვილმა, თბილისი, “მეცნიერება”, 1991. (in Georgian)
• კ. კეკელიძე, ანტონ ბაგრატიონი/ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორია, I, თბილისი, 1960. (in Georgian)
• მ. ქავთარია, XVII საუკუნის ქართული საზოგადოებრივი აზროვნების ისტორიიდან, თბილისი, 1977. (in Georgian)