Arsen of Tbilisi ( ka, არსენ თბილელი, ''Arsen Tbileli''), born Iese (იესე) (died 30 November 1812), was a Georgian churchman and scion of the royal line of the Bagratid

House of Mukhrani The House of Mukhrani is a Georgia (country), Georgian princely family that is a branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi, from which it sprang early in the 16th century, receiving in appanage the domain of Mukhrani, in the Kingdom of Kart ...

. Arsen was also known by the surname Naibadze (ნაიბაძე) after the title of his father. He was

Metropolitan Bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

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 ( ...

with the title of ''Tbileli'' from 1795 to 1810 and is known for his controversial role in the Georgian church affairs in the early years of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

rule.

Early life

Arsen was born as Iese, a son of

Abdullah Beg of Kartli 'Abdu'llah Beg ( ka, აბდულა-ბეგი, ''Abdula-Begi''), born Archil (არჩილი), (1713 – 1762) was a Georgian royal prince ( batonishvili) of the House of Mukhrani of the Bagrationi dynasty and claimant to the kingsh ...

by his wife, Princess Ketevan-Begum of

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

. He was, thus, a grandson of two monarchs, King Jesse of Kartli on his father's side and King Heraclius I of Kakheti on his mother's side. Iese's father, Abdullah Beg, was a convert to Islam and a pro-

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian

naib Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the Ge ...

(governor) of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

, eventually ousted by his Kakhetian in-law Heraclius II in 1747. Little is known about Iese's early life. He was widowed young and retired to a monastery, taking the name of Arsen. In the 1760s, after his brother David and cousin

Paata The pluriarc, also called paata, mapu, luku, kissanga, and bow lute is a stringed musical instrument of West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#West ...

, were put to death for plotting a coup against Heraclius II, Arsen fled to the

Kingdom of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, I ...

(western Georgia) and for many years served at the Katskhi Monastery. Eventually, through the patronage of Catholicos Anton II, a son of Heraclius II, Arsen was able to return to Kartli and appointed as a bishop of Nikozi. In 1795, Anton further elevated Arsen's rank, to the displeasure of his father, to metropolitan bishopric of Tbilisi, the capital of the kingdom, which then lay in ruins after the Iranian invasion. By 1800, his parish consisted of Tbilisi and 18 other settlements, with seven noblemen, three ''

tavadi ''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

'' and four ''

aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility. History The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, co ...

''.

Russian loyalist

As the

rule spread to Georgia in 1800, Arsen cooperated with the Russians. He served a liturgy at the Sioni Cathedral to celebrate the imperial manifesto on the Russian annexation of Georgia in February 1801. That same year, he testified against Prince Solomon Lionidze, a leading figure in anti-Russian opposition, suspected of being involved in a secret correspondence with Queen Dowager Darejan. Arsen's loyalty during the disorders in Georgia was awarded by the Russian government with the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class, in 1802 and a precious white

klobuk Klobuk of Patriarch Philaret of Moscow (1619-33), Kremlin museum A klobuk is an item of monastic clothing worn by monks and, in the Russian tradition, also by nuns, in the Byzantine Rite, composed of a kalimavka (stiffened round black hea ...

with a special

rescript A rescript is a public government document. More formally, it is a document issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response to a question (usually legal) posed to the author. The word originates from replies issued by Roman emperors t ...

of appreciation from Tsar Alexander I in 1807.

Confrontation with the catholicos

As the Russian control of the Georgian church affairs tightened, Arsen did everything possible to secure his position against his fellow churchmen. He, thus, accused Catholicos Anton II of appropriating the church properties and denounced Dositheos Pitskhelauri, the

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

of Kvatakhevi, on account of being unlawfully appointed during the regency of

Prince David of Georgia David Bagrationi ( ka, დავით ბაგრატიონი, ), also known as David the Regent ( ka, დავით გამგებელი, ) (1 July 1767 – 13 May 1819), was a Georgian royal prince (batonishvili), writer ...

. In a notable incident in January 1803, Arsen was assaulted and injured in a street in Tbilisi following an argument with Anton's protege, the

protoiereus A ''protoiereus'' (from , "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας), or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a larger church. The title is roughly equiv ...

Solomon, at the Sioni Cathedral. The Russian authorities suspected Solomon's children and arrested one of his sons. In August 1809, Arsen sent a lengthy letter to Alexander I, reminding him of his past services and complaining about the pressure he experienced from Catholicos Anton. In response, in February 1810, Anton convened a church court, which ruled that Arsen should be removed from his office and sent to a remote convent on charges of misconduct, abuse of office, and corruption, which the bishop vehemently denied and filed a complaint to the Russian governor of Georgia, General

Alexander Tormasov Count Alexander Petrovich Tormasov (; 22 August 1752 – 25 November 1819) was a Russian cavalry general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. Early life Alexander Tormasov was born on 22 August 1752 into an old Russian noble family. At t ...

. In the meantime, the Russian government proceeded with the outright abolition of the Georgian

autocephaly Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

. Catholicos Anton was escorted to Russia in November 1810 and deposed by the Imperial decree in July 1811. Arsen quickly ran afoul of the new Russian-appointed prelate, Exarch Varlam. The defiant bishop was relieved from his position. An inquiry into allegations of his corruption was launched, but then dropped because of Arsen's death.

References

{{authority control Year of birth unknown 1812 deaths Bishops of the Georgian Orthodox Church House of Mukhrani (royal line) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class 18th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 19th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 18th-century people from Georgia (country) 19th-century people from Georgia (country)