ABKHAZIA IN GEORGIA HAGIOGRAPHY
Abstract
Georgian hagiography reflected the political-social, ideological and cultural-historical situation of different parts of Georgia, the kingdom, the principality, which also has the context of the physical condition and symbolic understanding of a certain geographical space. The area of activity of these works is Kartli, Kakheti, South Georgia, Western Georgia; Each of them is referred to by different names in different historical epochs. The reflection of Abkhazia in Georgian hagiography is a problem that includes the depiction of the actions and events taking place here on the basis of the political-ideological and cultural background of Abkhazia as Western Georgia of the VIII-X centuries. Or related to it.
I will single out the following from the Georgian hagiographic works of IV-X centuries: “St. The Torture of Abo Tfileli "by Ioane Sabanisdze," St. The Life of Grigol Khantsteli ” by Giorgi Merchule, in which the main characters' working area extends to Abkhazia. Here are the metaphorical and Svinaxar editions of the "Torture of David and Constantine" created in the XII century, in which the geographical area of operation is Abkhazia and in terms of time it reflects the stories of the VIII century.
All three hagiographic works present the political-ideological, religious-ecclesiastical, social and cultural situation of one epoch. Therefore, in the second half of the VIII century, we paid attention to the current political-social, ecclesiastical-religious and cultural situation in western Georgia, which is called Abkhazia at that time, because these works more or less reflect the situation of the Kingdom of Abkhazia.
In the second half of the 8th century, Abkhazia was ruled by Leon II, like his predecessor, Leon I, a person of state and religious consciousness, who united all the political units in western Georgia and, as the successor to the Abkhazian prince, created a single state - the Kingdom of Abkhazia.It is true that during the reign of Leon II Abkhazia was still under the political influence of Byzantium, but it did not share the religious-ecclesiastical struggles in Byzantium, the heresy of iconoclasm. The Abkhazian Church, separated from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, became oriented towards the Patriarchate of Antioch, but gained independence in the first half of the ninth century and was associated with the Catholicosate of Mtskheta.
It is important to consider the status of the Georgian Orthodox Church, as it has been different for centuries, with the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Mtskheta extending to the whole of Georgia, to the dioceses of eastern, western and southern Georgia, to the north of Georgia.Nevertheless, there was a historical time when there were Greek dioceses in western Georgia, in particular on the Black Sea coast (e.g., Bichvinta Episcopate), which had its basis and needs to be explained. In the scientific literature, this fact is explained by the existence of military centers of strategic importance.
The working area of the holy characters of the above three works is Abkhazia, which is a political-cultural space as an integral part of "Every Kartli", with which the state language and religion have in common with the land, the territory. The point of view expressed in the hagiographic works of Giorgi Merchuli _ “Kartli is the one of the states where the worship of the God in the churches are in Georgian and Greece cyrillicon “Lord have Mercy” is made in Georgian (stories 1963/1964; 290). - Reaches and includes Abkhazia as a full-fledged part and member of "Every Kartli". "Prayer is every" is a complete liturgical process and it is performed in Georgian on the territory of "Every Kartli", and "Kvireleson" in Greek, in Georgian "Lord, have mercy" or "Lord, have mercy on you" unites the Georgian Church with the whole Orthodox world, thus strengthening the unity of churches.
Due to the genre specificity of the hagiographic literature, the theme of Abkhazia is not and could not be leading in the named works, because the purpose of the hagiography is to show the image of a saint. Political-ideological, social, cultural background The hagiographer needs to better imagine the face of a saint, but in reality it also shows the situation in which they have to live, work, martyr end.
Therefore, the historical facts and historical geographical area presented in hagiography are important, because hagiography is the best historical source to reflect these events and space, especially since the historical works reflecting the situation in modern Georgia about John Saban's son and George Merchuli have not survived. Late historians tell us.
