Anthim the Iberian (, ka, ანთიმოზ ივერიელი – ''Antimoz Iverieli'';

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

: ''Andria''; 1650 — September or October 1716) was a Georgian

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, scholar,

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and one of the greatest ecclesiastic figures of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, led the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

of the prince of Wallachia, and was

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1708–1715.

Early life

Anthim was born in the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval and early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a tripar ...

, a Georgian kingdom then known as Iberia in the west. Anthim was taken prisoner by Ottoman troops, and sold in the slave market at Constantinople. He was trained as an artisan, learning wood sculpting, painting, embroidery, and calligraphy.Old, Hughes Oliphant and Bulgakov, Sergeĭ Nikolaevich. "Antim of Iveria", ''The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church'', Vol. 5, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, p. 376
At some point he was ransomed by the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

. He took orders in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, while living on the compounds of the Patriarchate. Patriarch Dositheos traveled to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, taking Anthim with him. A Greek printing office had been established there in 1682.

In Wallachia

In 1689 he was asked to settle in Wallachia by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was List of Wallachian rulers, Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension Constantin Brâncoveanu was the son of Pope Brâncoveanu (Matthew) and his wife, Stanca Can ...

, and in 1691 was given charge of the newly founded printing press in Bucharest.Maxim Marian Vlad. (2020). "The Testamentary and Philanthropic Value of the Settlement Bequeathed to All Saints’ Monastery by Its Founder, Saint Anthim the Iberian, Metropolitan Bishop of Wallachia". ''Technium Social Sciences Journal'', 13(1), 551–560
/ref> In 1693, he published the ''

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

s'' in Romanian. In 1695, being appointed father superior (egumen) of the Snagov Monastery, and established a printing office at the new location."Anthimus of Iberia", in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007 edition. Retrieved May 23, 2007
Anthim spoke and wrote Greek, Turkish, and Arabic. He soon acquired a thorough knowledge of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, and was instrumental in helping to introduce that language into the local church as its official language. citing M. Gaster, ''Chrestomathie roumaine'' (1881) and "''Gesch. d. rumänischen Litteratur,''" in Grober, ''Grundriss d. rom. Philologie'', vol. ii. (1899); and E. Picot, ''Notice sur Anthim d'Ivir'' (Paris, 1886). In 1702 he returned to Bucharest. He became

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Râmnic in 1705, and in 1708 Metropolitan of Wallachia. In 1709 Anthim was a founder of the first Georgian printing press in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

; he also trained Georgians in the art of printing, and cut the type with which under his pupil Mihai Iștvanovici printed the first Georgian ''Gospels'' (1710). He also printed a short

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

to assist his priests in giving catechetical instruction. In addition, Anthim published 25 other books in Romanian, as well as

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(usually in bilingual volumes, such as the Greek-Arabic ''

Missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a priest ...

'' of 1702); this meant that he was also the first in Wallachia to use Arabic fonts. His homiletic work, the ''Didache'',"St. Antim of Iberia, Martyr Metropolit of Romania (1650-1716)", Saint John the Evangelist Pomanian Orthodox chirch, Toronto
/ref> was a collection of

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s meant as a sharp critique of contemporary habits and morals; notably, beside Christian sources, Anthim made reference to

classical philosophy Classical may refer to: European antiquity *Classical antiquity, a period of history from roughly the 7th or 8th century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. centered on the Mediterranean Sea * Classical architecture, architecture derived from Greek an ...

. Alongside his literary output, the cleric was the builder of the ''All-Saints Monastery'' in Bucharest, now known as the Antim Monastery in his memory.

Death

Anthim's overt opposition to Ottoman tutelage over Wallachia made him an adversary of the

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

regime. The new Prince

Nicholas Mavrocordatos Nicholas Mavrocordatos (, ; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first Phanariot Hospodar of the Danubian Principalities, Prince of Moldavia, an ...

imprisoned him, and subsequently

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

d him to

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

. Anthim was captured by the Ottomans while making the trip, and

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

somewhere in modern-day

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(his body would have been discarded in the

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,

or the

Tundzha The Tundzha ( ; ; ''Tonsus'' in antiquity) is a river in southeastern Bulgaria and northwesternmost Turkey, a left tributary of the Maritsa. With a length of 390 km, of which 350 km are in Bulgaria, it is Maritsa's longest tributary, ...

). It is alleged that his murder was ordered by Mavrocordatos himself.

Canonisation

In 1992 Anthim was

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

by the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the East ...

having his saint day on September 27. In memory of 300 years of his death, Romanian Orthodox Church declared 2016 as Saint Anthim the Iverian year.

Legacy

In the modern day, Anthim represents a symbol of the relations between Georgia and Romania. A

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

trophy, the

Antim Cup The Antim Cup ( ka, ანთიმოზ ივერიელის თასი, tr; ) is contested between the rugby union teams of Romania national rugby union team, Romania (The Oaks) and Georgia national rugby union team, Georgia ("The Lel ...

, contested between

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

every year, is named after him.

References

Sources

* "Antimoz Iverieli", in ''Sakartvelo Encyclopedia'', Vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 158 * Otar Gvinchidze, ''Antimoz Iverieli'', Tbilisi, 1973 *

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...

, ''Istoria literaturii române''

București Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2. ...

, 1968, p. 19

External links

''Didahii'' (online transcript)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthim The Iberian 1650 births 1716 deaths 18th-century Christian saints Christian saints from Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Georgia (country) Romanian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Romanian Orthodox metropolitan bishops Founders of Christian monasteries 17th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians 18th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians Romanian theologians 17th-century Wallachian writers 18th-century Wallachian writers Calligraphers from Georgia (country) 17th-century printers 18th-century printers Romanian printers Romanian typographers and type designers Publishers (people) from Georgia (country) Romanian book publishers (people) Romanian people of Georgian descent Georgia (country)–Romania relations Assassinated religious leaders Christian saints killed by Muslims People assassinated in the 18th century