Melchizedek III ( ka, მელქისედეკ III) (November 2, 1872 – January 10, 1960) was a

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia ''Catholicos-Patriarch'' has been the title of the heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1010. The first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia was Melkisedek I (1010–1033). In the 15th century the Georgian Orthodox Church was divided into th ...

from 1952 until his death. His full title was ''His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia''. Born as Mikheil Pkhaladze (მიხეილ ფხალაძე) in the Tiflis Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, the future prelate received his education at the theological colleges of

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, and

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...

in Russia. He then taught at various seminaries in Russia and Georgia. In 1915, Melchizedek was ordained to the priesthood. When the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

broke free of Russian control in 1917, he returned to his homeland and, in 1922, became a priest at the

Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral The Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition () is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the name o ...

and then at Anchiskhati. He then served as bishop at Alaverdi (1925–27), archbishop at

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

(1927–28), chief priest at the Tbilisi Church of the Transfiguration (1928–1935), metropolitan of Sukhumi and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...

(1935–38), and chief priest at the Tbilisi Didube Church (1944–52). After the death of Patriarch Callistratus, Melchizedek was elected as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia in 1952. Despite pressure from the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

government, he was able to reopen the churches of Bodbe and

Ilori Ilori ( ka, ილორი; ab, Елыр, ''Elyr''; russian: Илори) is a village in the Ochamchira District of Abkhazia, Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea. The elevation of the village is 10 meters above sea level. The locati ...

during his tenure.Wieczynski, Joseph L. (ed., 1976), ''The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History'', Vol. 21, p. 189. Academic International Press,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchizedek 03 Of Georgia, Patriarch 1872 births 1960 deaths Catholicoses and Patriarchs of Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Georgia (country)