The Missionary Journey of Bishop Antoni (Giorgadze) to Tusheti, Pshavi and Khevsureti

Abstract

By order of Innokenty, Exarch of Georgia, Bishop Antoni (Giorgadze) of Gori undertook a journey through various regions of Georgia, including Tusheti and Khevsureti, from May 22 to June 30, 1912. During this period (1912–1914), the Georgian Orthodox Church was subordinate to the Russian Synod.
The journey of Bishop Antoni (Giorgadze) was missionary in character, meaning that the Orthodox Church regarded the religious practices of the mountain communities as „incorrect“ or „distorted“ from a Christian standpoint.
Bishop Antoni Giorgadze’s 1912 missionary journey and his work – A Religious-Ethnographic Essay on Pshavi-Tusheti-Khevsureti – constitute an important source that depicts the complex and contradictory picture of Georgia’s mountainous regions at the beginning of the twentieth century. These records amount to considerably more than a simple ecclesiastical report.
The „grave spiritual condition“ and „distorted customs“ mentioned in the text represent a reality as perceived from the bishop’s own perspective.
The institutions of the khevisberi (mountain community elder/priest) and the dekanozi (deacon) existing in Pshav-Khevsureti frequently stood in opposition to the teachings of the Christian Church.
The bishop’s records possess considerable ethnographic value. Although the author, as a hierarch, adopts a critical stance, his records are unique in that they describe in detail a way of life that today has been partially lost or transformed.