ON THE DATE OF THE CONSECRATION OF THE FIRST CATHOLICOS OF KARTLI

Abstract

The time of establishment of the institute of the Catholcos in the Kingdom of Kartli and the consecration of the first Catholicos are directly related to the chronology of Vakhtang Gorgasli’s reign, since it is known that Vakhtang requested that Byzantium send a Catholicos to Kartli after returning from his an eight-year campaign with the Shah of Persia in India. At the same time, a conflict erupted between the king and Archbishop of Kartli Michael, which culminated in the latter's expulsion from the country.

Since until now some researchers have considered the years 442/445-502/505 as the years of Vakhtang’s life, while others have suggested 431-491, determining the date of the arrival of Peter, the first Catholicos, in Kartli has proven quite challenging. Difficulties in establishing the chronology of Peter's arrival in Kartli were resulted from the fact that some scholars identified him with Gabriel, who attended the Council of Dvin in 506 allegedly as a Catholic, while others completely rejected the idea of Peter being the first Catholicos, instead considering Samuel, "the head of the bishops", mentioned in The Martyrdom of Shushanik, to be the first Catholicos of Kartli. Everything falls into place when we consider the new chronology of Vakhtang Gorgasali's life, as proposed by us, and based on it, reevaluate the information of Georgian sources pertaining to the issue.Начало формыКонец формы

Vakhtang Gorgasali did not reign during the era of Shushanik's martyrdom. He was only 4/5 years old at the time of Shushanik’s death (475). Shushanik was martyred during the rule of his father, Mirdat (years of rule - approx. 466-478). From the 460s onwards, i. e. from the end of King Archil's reign, the Church of Kartli was led by Christian bishops of Persian descent - Mobidan-Mobeds. The first among them, Samoel, is mentioned in The Martyrdom of Shushanik as the "head of the bishops," while the name of his successor archbishop, Yovel, is only preserved in The Chronicle of The Conversion of Kartli.Начало формыКонец формы

After Vakhtang's slaying of Varsken in 484 (not 482), the failure of the revolt against Persia, and the reconciliation of the young Vakhtang with the Persian Shah Kavad (488-496; 498-531), the Mobidan-Mobeds, leading the Kartli Church at that time, were replaced by Persian-sent Binkar, the same Binkaran (Dinkar, according to M. Andronikashvili, meaning “the doer of religion, faith" in Iraian languages). This person is mentioned as Glonokor in The Chronicle of The Conversion of Kartli. Glonokor is a distortion resulting from a misreading of the acronym G(abrie)l(di)nkar. The Persian-Byzantine war in which Vakhtang participated is the war of 502-507. In the years 504-506, Kavad fights against Vakhtang and the Huns (who, according to sources, invaded the South Caucasus during that period) already in Kartli. In 506, Gabriel Dinkar attended the Council of Dvin, only to be captured by Vakhtang the same year. Gabriel managed to escape and led the Persian army into Kartli but died shortly after entering the land.Начало формы

Why do The Book of Epistles, and based on it Ukhtanes, refer to Gabriel as the Catholicos of Kartli? Ukhtanes derives his information from The Book of Epistles. Within The Book of Epistles, specifically in the letters sent by Abraham, the Catholicos of Armenia, to Cyrion, the Catholicos of Kartli, supposedly under the influence of Cyrion being the Catholicos of Kartli at that time, Cyrion’s distant ancestor, the leader of the church of Kartli (used by Abraham as an exmaple for Cyrion) is mentioned as the Catholicos too. At the same time, both The Book of Epistles and Ukhtanes preserve the list of bishops who participated in the Council of Dvin from the Kartli side. In both texts, Gabriel is mentioned as "Gabriel, the prominent bishop of Mtskheta," underscoring his being on the throne of the archbishop of Mtskheta sitting in the main church of this bishopric – Samtavro. 

In 506, Vakhtang appointed Michael to replace the expelled Gabriel as the archbishop, assigning him the task of implementing the policies of Zeno and Anastasius. By 508, Vakhtang journeyed with Kavad to India, returning by 516. In 518, Anastasius died, and Justin I (518-527) ascended to the throne of Byzantium. The new Caesar shifted his religious policy toward a strictly Chalcedonian direction. Vakhtang, in turn, had to follow suit, thus requesting that Justin ordain Chalcedonian Peter as Catholicos and send him to Kartli. For Michael, a follower of Henoticon, the ordination of Chalcedonian Peter as Catholicos of Kartli (i.e., his superior) would have been unacceptable, sparking a conflict between Michael and the king. Taking into account the duration of the journey, the timing of consecration of Peter as Catholicos and 12 bishops with him, and the additional fact that the consecrated individuals traveled to Antioch before heading to Kartli, it is reasonable to assume that Peter the Catholicos and the bishops arrived in Kartli around 519-520 or slightly later.Bottom of Form