Shortly after the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus instructed His disciples to spread the Gospel unto all the earth. Soon after the ascension of Christ and His enthronement at the right hand of God the Father, the disciples came together and tried to decide where each one of them would go. As a solution they decided to cast lots as to which countries they would go to and share the Good News. At this time the blessed Virgin Mary stepped forward and wanted to cast lots along with her Son’s disciples. In the beginning they didn’t want her to be troubled by this daunting task, but soon reasoned that she being the Lord’s mother had every right to spread the Gospel of her only begotten Son. When she cast her lot, it fell to the country of Iberia, the ancient name of the territory we know today as the country of Georgia.
Although she had every intention of making it to Iberia, the blessed Virgin did not reach the country that fell to her by lot. What did happen, was that she and the Apostle John were traveling by boat to reach the island of Cyprus, where their friend Lazarus (he whom Christ raised from the dead) was living at the time. However, the ship they were sailing in was blown off course and they did not arrive in Cyprus. Instead, the two holy ones came to the banks of a remote peninsula in northeastern Greece, which was crowned by a large mountain that protruded up from the Aegean Sea. As soon as the Virgin Mary set foot on the mountain’s shore, an idol that was perched at the top of the mountain fell over and the demon that lived behind it cried out in a shriek. Upon seeing these things the blessed Virgin made a prayer to her Son, that this place would be her garden for those who are seeking to be saved.
In the centuries that followed, monastic communities were established on the mountain. Subsequently the mountain would be called the Holy Mountain, and more commonly known as Mount Athos. And even though the blessed Virgin Mary did not have the opportunity to share the Gospel with the inhabitants of the country of Iberia, a Georgian monastery was built in the late 10th century close to the site where St. John and the Virgin landed on the mountain centuries before. This monastery is known as Iviron, the Georgian monastery of Mount Athos.
One of Jesus’ disciples, Simon the Zealot, did manage to plant some seeds of Christianity in Georgia, but it would not be until the 4th century that the conversion of Georgia took place. For in 323 AD a young virgin named Nino or Nina, who was also a relative of St. George, traveled to Georgia from Jerusalem in order to evangelize the country. For previously the Mother of God appeared to Nino in a dream and told her, “Depart to the land that I was sent to by lot, and preach the Gospel of my Son, and I will guide and protect you.” But Nino answered, “O’ Queen, how can I accomplish this task? For I am a worthless and ignorant woman.” Then the blessed Virgin Mary stretched out her hand upon a vine branch which grew close to Nino’s bed and cut it off and fashioned it into a cross and gave it to Nino saying, “Let this be your protection. By it, you may overcome all your foes and preach your message. I will be with you and will not abandon you.” After this vision, Nino awoke and found the cross in her hands.
Through the efforts of St. Nino, King Mirian (265-342) and Queen Nana received Christ and accepted baptism and proclaimed Christianity as the state religion in 326 AD. At this time the Byzantines had authority over the region, so St. Constantine the Great (306-337) sent a bishop and many priests in order to baptize the Georgians along with architects to build churches. Shortly after this the first bishop of Georgia was ordained at Antioch, establishing the birth of the Georgian Church under the See of Antioch. In 482, during the reign of the great Georgian king St. Vakhtang Gorgasali, Georgia received its first Catholicos (meaning head of an independent Church) whose new role signaled the independence of the Church. The Georgian Church now had its own hierarchy to manage internal affairs, ordinations, and the installation of bishops.
In pre-Christian times, several centuries before the birth of the Savior, tradition tells us that a group of Jews believed to descend from the royal house of David traveled to Iberia and settled in Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia. During the time of Christ some of the Jews of Mtskheta were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. The Jews of Georgia were invited to the crucifixion by the high-priest Annas. Annas’ invitation was thus written, “to my ancestor Elioz – He to whom the kings of Persia came to bring gifts has grown up to manhood. He calls Himself the son of God. Come here to be present at His execution, which will fulfill the law of God and Moses.” The Jews of Georgia did go, and brought back with them the Lord’s robe.
In modern times the Georgian Orthodox Church experienced hardships during the Communist regime. Only in the 1970’s did the Church go through a revival under the leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Since his enthronement on December 25, 1977, he has restored many churches and monasteries, as well as theological academies and seminaries. And though Georgia is a small country, this sacred land has produced thousands of saints who’s memory bears witness to a rich history and a holy Orthodox spirituality.
References:
Lang, D.M. Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1976).
Machitadze, Z. Lives of the Georgian Saints. (Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2006).